The Qatar International Baja will be the penultimate round of the FIM Bajas World Cup on November 6th-8th.
While competitors in the FIA World Baja Cup wait for the outcome of this weekend’s Baja Portalegre 500 in Portugal before the latest championship standings are known before the Lusail-based event, riders competing in the FIM category are already making final preparations for their title-deciding rounds in Qatar and Dubai.
This year’s FIM Bajas World Cup is being fought out over just seven counting rounds after the Hungarian Baja pulled out of the series in August.
Action began across the deserts of north-central Saudi Arabia for the Hail Baja at the start of February and then moved on to the narrow and twisty gravel tracks of Portugal for the Baja Escuderia Castelo Branco in wet conditions.
British rider Alex McInnes claimed his maiden win on the series opener and then Junior rider Martin Ventura got the better of Jorge Brandao and Paulo Cardoso to win in Portugal.
MX Ride Dubai’s Mohammed Al-Balooshi then confirmed his fifth victory at the Jordan Baja in April, an event that was held across the spectacular desert terrain of Wadi Rum in the south of the Hashemite Kingdom. That victory pushed the defending champion into title contention.
The series then returned to Europe for back-to-back Bajas in Spain. Professional Honda rider Tosha Schareina overcame tricky muddy conditions to get the better of Javi Vega at the Baja TT Dehesa Extremadura at the start of May. Lorenzo Santolino then guided his Sherco to victory over Neels Theric and Vega in the Teruel-based Baja Spain Aragón in the heat of the Spanish summer.
Entries closed today for the event being organised by the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) and the final lists will be announced on October 29th.
But Dubai-based Al-Balooshi is expected to take the start with a nine-point advantage over his Lebanese team-mate Rafic Eid in the overall 450cc riders’ championship. Vega is third in the rankings, ahead of Brandao, Cardoso and a tying Santolino, Schareina, Ventura and McInnes. Tragically, Brandao lost his life while competing at the recent W2RC event in Morocco.
Rafic Eid leads the Veterans’ category by six points from Al-Balooshi.
The FIM Bajas World Cup also has a well-supported Ladies’ category. Alona Ben Natan leads the way on 58 points and has an eight-point cushion over Spaniard Sara Garcia Alvarez. Equador’s Maria Taranto is third, five points in front of Sarah Khuraibet from Kuwait. Kove Factory Racing’s Lili-may Mansuy and the Duust Rally Team’s Joanna Modrzewska are also in the points’ hunt.
Polish rider Konrad Dabrowksi won the Qatar International Baja outright on two wheels in 2022 and 2023. He currently trails Spain’s Victor Manuel Moya Aguilera by 13 points in the race to become the leading Junior rider in 2025. Dabrowski rides for the Duust Rally Team and is tied in second place in the standings with Jordan’s Abdullah Al-Batayneh, Ventura and McInnes.
Experienced Saudi rider Hani Al-Noumesi won last year’s Qatar International Baja in the quad category and has a 16-point advantage in the FIM’s quad standings over Frenchman Antoine Sanchez and Portugal’s Fernando Jorge Sampaio.
Frenchman Jérôme Connart and the Saudi duo of Haitham Al-Tuwaijri and Abdulaziz Al-Shayban are also in the hunt.
Administration and technical scrutineering will be based at Qatar’s Lusail International Circuit on Tuesday, November 4th with re-scrutineering for any FIA vehicles on Wednesday, November 5th.
Competitive action will then take centre stage from Thursday, November 6th through to Saturday, November 8th over a total route of 773.83km and 453.21 competitive kilometres.
Neil Perkins,