Ali and his initial crew - journalist Taha Alawi and photographers Ammar Hammad and Haider Rafiey - have driven through the Saudi desert and are now in Jordan where they have been joined by TV presenter Maria Ramos and radio personality David Bloomer. Asked if he could describe how he felt after the initial leg, during which he drove for nearly two days, Ali replied: "Exhausted!"

The Sakhir-to-Silverstone tour was earlier flagged off in Bahrain, with Ali driving across the 25-km causeway from Bahrain to Saudi Arabia in the early hours of Friday.

For more pictures of the drive through Saudi Arabia, view the Gallery section of this site.

Friendship Arabia Team