JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA – Saudi driver Dania Akeel clinched the FIA Middle East Baja Cup overall title with a sensational victory at last weekend’s three-day Dubai International Baja.
Akeel contested the four rounds with two co-drivers and three preparation companies, scoring enough to win both the overall championship and the flagship Ultimate category. She finished on the podium at every round – Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and Dubai.
From Toyota to Can-Am
The Jeddah-based driver scored at the first two Bajas in an Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux, even leading the Qatar event outright after day one. She then switched to SSV for the final two rounds, taking a valuable finish at the Aqaba-based Jordan Baja in a Santag Racing Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR, then a sensational win in Dubai with the South Racing Can-Am Team.
The title is the first won by a female driver in the history of Middle East motorsport, as Akeel continues to break boundaries for women in the sport.
The FIA Middle East Baja Cup developed into a very exciting season. Initially, I did not plan to do the whole championship. I took part in the Ha’il Baja as part of the Saudi Championship and I registered for the FIA Middle East Baja Cup to see how the points would look.
Dania Akeel
We had a good result in Ha’il and then we had the opportunity to race with a Toyota and the Overdrive team in the Ultimate category at the Qatar Baja. After that event, we saw that we had taken the lead in the Ultimate class in the Middle East Cup and were in second place in the overall classification.
Dania Akeel
With this position, I decided to do the Jordan Baja, because there was only a seven-point gap between myself and the leader of the overall. He was racing in the SSV class and I decided to race in the same class because we needed to close the gap with the leader. After that event, we finished in first place in the Middle East SSV class and we closed the gap to the leader to just two points before the final event in Dubai.
Dania Akeel
After racing in SSV, we raced in the SSV class again and we won in Dubai to secure the overall title. It was an exciting championship and it had a lot of elements to consider. It wasn’t just about the team and logistics but we had to think how we could gain the maximum points to win the overall title. I am also very happy that we secured the Ultimate class title but our bigger goal was the overall title.
Dania Akeel
I raced with Stéphane Duplé in Hail, Qatar and Dubai and with Sébastien Delaunay at the Jordan Baja. It was a pleasure to work with Overdrive for the Toyota and we worked with South Racing for the Can-Am in Dubai and with Santag Racing for the Jordan Baja in another Can-Am.
Dania Akeel
Akeel now turns her attention to Jeddah Rally Toyota, the final round of the Saudi Toyota Rally Championship, on December 19–21.