Qatar-based Australian Martin Chalmers, Saudi Arabia’s Haitham Al-Tuwaijri and Qatar’s Ahmed Al-Kuwari were fastest in the motorcycle, quad and SSV classes on Friday’s second desert stage of the Qatar International Baja, and lead their categories at this new fifth round of the FIM Bajas World Cup.
Riding a Yamaha WRF 450F, Chalmers set 4hr 08min 56sec, 4min 27sec quicker than MX Ride Dubai’s Mohammed Al-Balooshi, to lead overall by 3min 27sec. But the Australian was injured on the stage and will ride through the pain on the final day.
Today was very challenging with the heat above all else. Sections of the stage were very fast with a lot of navigation. We had sections with 300 or 400 metres between navigation points. A lot of the course was under waypoint. This certainly helped because there are a lot of car tracks in Qatar.
Martin Chalmers
The result was great from my side but it seems I have a suspected broken ankle. I’ll hand the bike into Parc Ferme and then go and get some x-rays. The intention is to ride tomorrow regardless and, hopefully, I can pull through. I am looking forward to a big section in the sand tomorrow.
Martin Chalmers
It’s a tough Baja, the toughest. Good navigation and perfect training for Dakar. Conditions are very hot and I enjoyed it. I am looking forward to tomorrow.
Mohammed Al-Balooshi
British youngster Robert Wallace rode impressively to lead the FIM Juniors and hold third overall, ahead of Kuwait’s Abdullah Al-Shatti in fourth.
How the stage unfolded
The 249.12km stage started at Al-Jumailiyah and covered a wide mix of desert terrain with the usual tough navigation on Qatar’s tricky trails. Al-Balooshi, Chalmers and Al-Shatti all started strongly and led the bikes through the second passage control at 146.87km after the refuel.
Bahrain’s Salman Mohamed and overnight leader Mohammed Jaffar Meshari were penalised for missing several waypoints, and by the 161.82km control (PC3) Chalmers had taken the virtual stage lead from Al-Balooshi and Al-Shatti.
Sheikh Mohammed Al-Thani rode strongly on his immaculate Honda to finish the stage sixth and holds seventh overall behind Barry Howe and Andrew Newland.
A minor injury kept Qatar’s Jamal Al-Jeteti from starting, and mechanical trouble ended Sarah Khuraibet’s challenge, though the Kuwaiti hopes to tackle Saturday’s final stage. Emirati Sultan Al-Balooshi had road-book holder problems and retired with engine damage, while Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Al-Muaikil was hampered by front tyre, rim and clutch problems.
Quads, SSVs and over-450cc
Al-Tuwaijri led the quads early on his Yamaha and held on to win the stage and build a huge overall lead. Overnight SSV leader Ahmed Al-Kuwari flew from the start to take the unofficial class win.
Today we did a great result. We drove very well. It was a tricky road book. I know this area very well and we did many cross-country and Baja here. I used my experience of the last Dakar and my work with Meshari Al-Thefiri to support Ahmed. So it was a very good result – first in our category and first overall.
Nasser Al-Kuwari, co-driver to Ahmed Al-Kuwari
Britain’s Patsy Quick and Vanessa Ruck rode together for much of the day, with the experienced Dakar veteran showing her younger team-mate the ropes in the over-450cc class. Ahmed Al-Jaber was fastest of the over-450s, with Brett Hunt and Mohammed Al-Khater completing the top three.
Saturday
The third selective section covers 249.68km from Al-Kharsaah, with passage controls at 36.39km, 49.17km, 86.21km and 124.96km and refuelling at the fourth. A 92.79km liaison then returns finishers to Losail before the post-event press conference (18.00hrs) and podium (18.30hrs) at Al-Bayt Stadium.
Positions after SS2 (unofficial)
- Motorcycles: 1. Martin Chalmers (AUS) Yamaha WRF 450F 4hr 30min 28sec; 2. Mohammed Al-Balooshi (ARE) KTM 450 RR 4hr 33min 55sec; 3. Robert Wallace (GBR) KTM 450 RR 4hr 38min 13sec; 4. Abdullah Al-Shatti (KWT) KTM 450 4hr 40min 37sec; 5. Edward Lines (NZL) KTM 450 RFR 5hr 08min 08sec
- Quads: 1. Haitham Al-Tuwaijri (SAU) Yamaha YFZ 450R 6hr 03min 29sec; 2. Sultan Al-Masoud (SAU) Yamaha Raptor 9hr 23min 56sec; 3. Hani Al-Noumesi (SAU) Yamaha Raptor 700 9hr 24min 04sec
- SSVs: 1. Ahmed Al-Kuwari/Nasser Al-Kuwari (QAT) Yamaha YXZ 1000 R 3hr 40min 59sec; 2. Khalid Al-Mohannadi (QAT)/Chris Barwick (GBR) Polaris RZR 1000 4hr 55min 28sec; 3. Abdullah Al-Khelaifi/Abdulaziz Al-Jabri (QAT) Yamaha YXZ 1000 R 5hr 04min 41sec
- Over 450cc: 1. Ahmed Al-Jaber (SAU) KTM 500 EXC-F 5hr 40min 06sec; 2. Brett Hunt (GBR) KTM Enduro R 5hr 40min 22sec; 3. Mohammed Al-Khater (SAU) KTM EXC 500 6hr 09min 02sec