Badawi Trail to the Last Oasis 2026, Syd Stelvio Day 12 – Jeddah to Taif – 524km
It was odd driving out from Jeddah this morning, on the penultimate day of our Arabian adventure. The route took us down the same coastal road we had driven on the very first day of the rally, when the whole Kingdom stretched out before us. Then, the feeling was of palpable excitement at what was the come, but today, everything felt a touch forlorn, as we lamented that our time on the road here was very nearly at an end. There was certainly some nostalgia as well, particularly as the cars drove the final sporting time control section of the event, which was, perhaps fittingly, a repeat of the very first one all those kilometres ago. We had almost come full circle, the rally nearly complete.
Saudia Arabia still had some surprises to bestow upon us though, even if we needed to drive a couple of hours south down Highway 5 to get close to finding them. It looked like it would be another day in the desert, but, as the cars left the highway and headed towards the first of two regs, we were about to be treated to some alpine driving as the road took us up into the Hijaz range.
The first climb plotted a course up the rocky slopes of Jabal Umar. It was a twisting route, but on good tarmac and with inclines that weren’t too ridiculous, with a fantastic view afforded at the top after the final timing point. Unsurprisingly, the more powerful cars had an easier time of things and with just a second of penalty the honour of best on reg went to Xavier and Lucas de Sarrau, sitting at the top of the leaderboard and clearly determined not to drop time to their rivals, as they had on the previous day. Leaving the regularity with 3 seconds of penalty were Richard Clark and Jonathan Round, showing that the pre-war cars could mix it with the newer machines just as well.
If the excursion into the mountains had been a welcome departure from the desert, then the following regularity was to be a real treat. After descending to the valley floor following reg 1, the road took us onwards towards what would be the biggest climb of the event, up to Jabal Shifa’, who’s peak sits at over 2500m. Even the initial stages of the climb were good fun, with some narrow and sinuous baby climbs just to get everyone in the mood. As the road got closer though, the scale of the task became apparent, as the road began to go up in a big way.
These first steps up the mountain were, it would turn out, relatively easy, and though they featured bends the fun really was to come after the regularity had started. If anyone had had a map of the section, they would have seen the contours closing together and the line of the road looking more like a careless scribble. From above, the tarmac resembled an intertwining snake, as though a length of yarn had been dropped with abandon onto the mountainside and a road built where it had landed. We had experienced some wonderful mountain roads during our two weeks in Saudi, but nothing like this.
The reg may not have had the navigational challenge of the previous day’s effort, but sticking to the delta on the incline and maintaining momentum around the constricted radii of the turns was a test all of its own. For anyone who had been suffering from cooling issues, such as the boys in car five, still nursing a broken radiator, making it to the summit was going to be a tremendous achievement in its own right, never mind the stopwatch. Everyone did make it, though both Bentleys needed a breather at the end of the reg before advancing on the final summit, which was still quite a climb. There were some impressive performances as well, none more so than from the usual suspects in the black Ford V8, as Richard Clark and Jonathan Round finished up the section just a couple of seconds out of pocket.
The reward for everyone was the most incredible view from the top, which offered tremendous vistas in all directions and offered a glimpse down onto the twisting road that had been conquered – and all under a dramatic sky that was putting on a light show in the valley beyond.
The competition for the day had finished, but the great driving roads continued, almost all of the way into Taif, which we visit for the second time. There may have been a good chunk of motorway transit today, but in a country four times the size of France there always will be. But the highway miles had surely been worth it for such an incredible set of roads in the second half of the day, when the morning melancholy had been surpassed with afternoon delight.
In terms of the competition, it was pretty much a case of as you were as the results came in. There are just two regularities left tomorrow, but the gaps are such between the positions now that it would probably take a mechanical failure to alter anything, and nobody wants to inherit success like that. Tomorrow then ought to be a case of taking it steady and enjoying the final morning on the road in this Kingdom that has gifted us so much since we began our journey nearly a fortnight ago, as we head back to Jeddah, one last time.
Syd.