– Al-Attiyah targets victory in a Challenger car for the second time
– Khalifa Saleh Al-Attiyah and Dania Akeel locked in duel for FIA Middle East Baja Cup
The Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) has put the finishing touches to this weekend’s Qatar International Baja and competitors have now set up their equipment in the expansive Baja service park, adjacent to the Lusail International Circuit, north of Doha.
Forty-three cars, 54 motorcycles and four quads are expected to tackle the penultimate rounds of the FIA World and Middle East Baja Cups and the FIM Bajas World Cup.
Rally officials have also made minor tweaks to the route in the days building up to the event. The Prologue to determine the starting order for the first stage will now run for 10.59km on Thursday afternoon.
This precedes a slightly revised opening stage of 220.31km on Friday and the final run through the dunes of southern Qatar on Saturday that has been slightly lengthened to 234.19km.
Five-time Dakar Rally winner Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah proved last December that it is possible to beat the Ultimate category cars and take an outright victory in a round of the FIA World Baja Cup (he and Pablo Moreno won the Dubai round in a Taurus T3 Max) in a Challenger class machine.
The Qatari has a busy weekend ahead offering support vehicles to the QMMF Team. As he explained in the service park on Tuesday morning: « We tried hard in Dubai last year and we won. It was really nice. Now, we have made a lot of development with the car (Taurus) in South Africa also. We have worked on the cooling and the power of the engine.
« It is very nice to have the Nasser Racing and QMMF teams for our region and to help the people. It is amazing. We try to improve every time. It’s also a good chance for me to keep focused before the Dakar with Dacia. That’s another reason we are here. I am also with Fabian (Lurquin), my co-driver for Dakar, and we are here to learn more together. I didn’t want to miss this race. »
One of the entrants in the SSV category at the wheel of an RX-Sport-supplied Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR is Nora Al-Jassasi. The first Emirati female to be licenced by the FIA as a driver is teaming up with navigator Egor Okhotnikov. After starting out in equestrian endurance racing, Nora switched to motorcycling and has also taken part in the Jameel Rally in Saudi Arabia on a couple of occasions.
« I’m excited to be a part of the Qatar Baja, » said Nora. « I know Qatar’s terrain will be challenging but that’s what pushes you to improve. I will also compete in Dubai as preparation for the 2026 FIA Middle East Baja Cup. I took part in the Abu Dhabi Baja Challenge at the end of October and was third in T4 and second in the Ladies Cup. »
Rashid Al-Ketbi is a former rally driver himself and would often give Mohammed Ben Sulayem and Abdullah Bakhashab a run for their money on rounds of the FIA Middle East Rally Championship. He is now running Dubai-based RX-Sport and overseeing the exploits of Oman’s Hamed Al-Wahaibi in this year’s FIA World Baja Cup.
Al-Wahaibi is currently tied third in the SSV standings with Briton Paul Severn and behind runaway series leader Mitchel van den Brink and Italy’s Amerigo Ventura.
Al-Ketbi said: « I am very excited to be here and to see so many old friends again. We have been managing Hamed all season in the World Championship and we are aiming for the podium. We reach a certain time in our motorsport careers as we get older and we decide to support each other as best we can. It is becoming a motorsport family more than just a motorsport challenge. »
Al-Attiyah’s brother Khalifa Saleh is in pole position to win the FIA Middle East Baja Cup outright. The QMMF Team Taurus driver takes an 11-point lead over Saudi Arabia’s Dania Akeel into the weekend in the overall Drivers’ Championship. He leads team-mate Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari by 32 points in the SSV standings. « I need to be cautious, not take risks, find a fast pace and make sure that I score points, » said Khalifa Saleh.
Rival Akeel kept in match practice last weekend by finishing second overall at the Qassim Rally in Saudi Arabia. She will run an Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux this weekend.
Last year, Akeel was on the verge of history by becoming the first woman ever to win a Baja-type event in the Middle East. She led at the start of the final stage in Qatar and then stopped shortly before the finish with a broken steering arm. Desperate emergency repairs enabled her to reach the finish in fifth place.
Juan Cruz Yacopini arrives in Doha trying to defend a 22-point lead in the Drivers’ Championship in the FIA World Bajas Cup. The Argentine’s closest rival is Czech veteran Miroslav Zapletal. Yacopini has only scored points on four rounds so far this year. He finished second to Yazeed Al-Rajhi at the Saudi Baja and scored maximum points in Jordan, Italy and Spain.
Mohammed Al-Balooshi starts as the favourite in the FIM Bajas World Cup category and is also the leader of the local Qatar Baja series.
Michael Anderson has a growing reputation in the area for his speed, while this year’s Saudi Baja winner Alex McInnes has changed the engine on his bike in the bivouac after last weekend’s Qassim Rally.
Both Barry Howe and Hamdan Al-Ali will be absent from the start list because of injury but Qatari riders Mohammed Al-Kubaisi and Abdulrahman Al-Sheeb will be raring to go. Meanwhile, Briton Ben Harvey-Grounds will line-up full of confidence after his win on a Kove in the prestigious 24-hour Dawn to Dusk Enduro in Wales.
Tomorrow (Wednesday), competitors go through their administration and scrutineering checks at the Lusail International Circuit before a dozen of the leading drivers and riders attend the pre-event press conference in the circuit’s media centre from 18.00hrs.
Neil Perkins,