Stars names of rally-raid racing came out to play at this weekend’s 2025 Baja Aragón. The 800-kilometre route over hot, dusty tracks inland from the Balearic Sea proved to be the perfect summer tune-up. In the Ultimate class we witnessed a heavyweight battle between Ford Raptor, Toyota Hilux and Dacia Sandrider machines. Let’s find out who emerged victorious in Spain…
The entire race was a game of cat and mouse from lights out on Friday night’s 6.5km Prologue Stage until Sunday’s conclusion in the city of Teruel. Ever-present at the business end of the Ultimate class leaderboard were Nasser Al-Attiyah, Nani Roma and Joao Ferreira as the trio took turns to top the weekend’s timesheets.
Portugal’s Ferreira alongside co-driver Filipe Palmeiro won the Ultimate class Prologue in their Toyota Hilux IMT EVO. Former Dakar Rally winners Roma and Al-Attiyah were fourth and fifth respectively on the Prologue… a plan of attack for the following stages already taking shape.
Roma and co-driver Alex Haro blasted through Saturday morning’s 172km timed special between Argente and Cella, winning the stage and taking the lead of the rally. However, by nightfall on Saturday it was Al-Attiyah and co-driver Fabian Lurquin who had leapfrogged Roma’s Raptor to put their Dacia into the race lead. The stage was set for a dramatic finale at the 2025 Baja Aragón!
As we rolled into Sunday things were too tight to predict in the Ultimate class. On the third and final stage the leaderboard was in a constant state of flux. Once the dust had settled at the finish line it was Ferreira who had claimed the overall win… by a remarkable gap of just two seconds over Al-Attiyah! Unbelievable that such a fine margin separated the rivals after nearly six hours of racing.
« It was amazing to race the Baja Aragón with our Dacia Sandrider. I was really hoping to win this race because we had such a great time here this weekend. » – Nasser Al-Attiyah
Completing the final Ultimate class podium with a total time of less than two minutes behind Ferreira and Al-Attiyah was Spanish native Roma.
« This was a very tough, demanding race, but also very interesting from start to finish. We were able to test the car and push things to the limit. » – Nani Roma
In the SSV class there was a timely reminder from Gonçalo Guerreiro to the rest of convoy about his own exceptional talent. Guerreiro’s been backing up that Challenger class runner-up result on his Dakar debut earlier this year with a string of impressive outings. The latest of this year’s stunning results is a start to finish SSV victory at the 2025 Baja Aragón behind the wheel of his Polaris RZR PRO R alongside co-driver Joel Lutas. Not only did Guerreiro win the SSV class, he was 13th overall of all four-wheel competitors in Spain!
« It’s a second win in a row here in Aragón and this time we were not just the fastest SSV, but also faster than all the Challengers! » – Gonçalo Guerreiro
Spaniard Pau Navarro made the strongest possible start in pursuit of a home victory on the Prologue Stage of the Challenger class. However, a puncture on Saturday’s opening stage saw Navarro and co-driver Jan Rosa in difficultly. The pair eventually battled back from misfortune to park their Taurus T3 Max on the overall Challenger podium.
« I’m very happy with the work done these days. Now we’re looking to stay stronger than ever for what’s next in the World Championship. » – Pau Navarro
Also racing on their home patch this weekend were Cristina Gutiérrez and co-driver Pablo Moreno. The Dacia Sandrider duo stepped out of their regular ride to take control of a Taurus machine in the Challenger class. After celebrating her birthday on the eve of the race, Cristina logged plenty of useful kilometres on her way to eighth place overall in the Challenger category.
« I love to come back to Spain to race. It’s been more or less three years since I raced here. It’s super nice to see all the people supporting us. » – Cristina Gutiérrez
Another all-Spanish crew fighting their way through the course from start to finish were Laia Sanz and co-driver Luka Larrosa. A tough Prologue Stage had this pair on the back foot from the beginning, but they stuck to their task to bring their Taurus to the finish line… cheered on all the way by their home crowd.
« We had a very delayed start to the first stage due to our prologue. The first special was pretty frustrating: we spent 80 km stuck behind another driver in the dust, then suffered a puncture. » – Laia Sanz
Over in the bike race it was great to see CS Santosh once again lining up against international class opposition. Santosh rode for the Indian Royal Enfield Team in Spain and impressed in a two-wheeled contest that eventually saw Lorenzo Santolino crowned champion.
« The Himalayan bike is catching everyone’s attention, doing what it has never done before and I’m enjoying the attention! » – CS Santosh
Catch the World Rally-Raid Championship convoy back in action this September as Round 4 takes us to Portugal. With narrow gaps across the W2RC rankings we’re all set for a week of dramatic off-road racing. We’ll see you there!
2025 Baja Aragón final results
ULTIMATE – Top 3 : 1. J. FERREIRA / F. PALMEIRO – TOYOTA 05:50:39 ; 2. N. AL-ATTIYAH / F. LURQUIN – DACIA +00:02 ; 3. N. ROMA / A. HARO – FORD +01:42…
CHALLENGER – Top 3 : 1. C. MUNSTER / L. PASCAUD – TAURUS 06:11:17 ; 2. A. LOTTERER / A. GIROUD – TAURUS +01:57 ; 3. P. NAVARRO / J. ROSA – TAURUS +02:40…
SSV – Top 3 : 1. G. GURREIRO / J. LUTAS – POLARIS 06:10:14 ; 2. A. PINTO / B. OLIVEIRA – POLARIS +01:17 ; 3. J. MONTEIRO / N. MORAIS – CAN-AM +07:07
* All results provisional until confirmed by race organisers
QUOTES
Nasser Al-Attiyah: « It was amazing to race the Baja Aragón with our Dacia Sandrider. I was really hoping to win this race because we had such a great time here this weekend. Thanks to all the spectators who came out to support us and thanks to the race organisers for putting on such an enjoyable event. »
Nani Roma: « This was a very tough, demanding race, but also very interesting from start to finish. We were able to test many things on the car and see how it coped with being pushed to the limit. We wanted to win, but we ended up learning a lot so it was a good weekend for us. »
Gonçalo Guerreiro: « This was a very difficult rally with a lot of dust. I tried my best and I’m happy we could win the race. It’s a second win in a row here in Aragón and this time we were not just the fastest SSV, but also faster than all the Challengers! »
Pau Navarro: « I’m very happy with the work done these days. Thanks to my family, sponsors and everyone who’s been supporting me from abroad. Now we’re looking to stay stronger than ever for what’s next in the World Championship. »
Cristina Gutiérrez: « I love to come back to Spain to race. It’s been more or less three years since I raced here. It’s super nice to see all the people supporting us. Racing the Taurus this weekend has been fun. »
Laia Sanz: « We had a very delayed start to the first stage due to our prologue. The first special was pretty frustrating: we spent 80 km stuck behind another driver in the dust, then suffered a puncture. But I’ll keep the positive: the strong pace we showed once visibility improved. The Taurus ran fantastically! »
CS Santosh: « The Himalayan bike is catching everyone’s attention, doing what it has never done before and I’m enjoying the attention! »
Christine Fial