LUSAIL, QATAR – This weekend’s Qatar International Baja will go a long way towards deciding the various categories of both the FIA World Baja Cup and the FIA Middle East Baja Cup.
The Lusail event hosts the penultimate round of both championships, with the Dubai International Baja closing both calendars the following weekend (November 5th-8th).
Four drivers in the World Baja Cup title fight
The FIA World Baja Cup Drivers’ and Navigators’ Championships are heading for a thrilling finish, with four drivers in Qatar holding a very realistic chance of the title.
Saudi Arabia’s Dania Akeel leads on 273 points, but the Toyota driver has already scored from her permitted six events and must watch from the sidelines as Mitchel van den Brink, Francisco Barreto, Lionel Baud and Saood Variawa fight for the crown. Van den Brink, Barreto and Variawa have four scores each, while Baud has five.
Van den Brink is also the runaway Challenger leader and arrives in Lusail in his South Racing Can-Am on 265 points, seven clear of Barreto, who has won in both Italy and Portugal this year in an SVR Toyota.
Baud is the outsider, 18 points behind van den Brink. Jordan Baja winner Variawa is 33 points adrift but, crucially, still has two Bajas to complete. Barreto, Baud and Variawa will also be fighting to overtake Akeel in the Ultimate class.
Akeel’s navigator Sébastien Delaunay leads the Navigators’ Championship but is also absent, leaving Bart van Heun, Paulo Fiúza and Lucie Baud to fight for supremacy. Lionel Baud leads Hamed Al-Wahaibi in the Master driver category.
Challenger, SSV and Stock
Van den Brink leads Hamed Al-Wahaibi by 60 points in Challenger. Al-Wahaibi returns from a freak leg injury hoping to help R-X Sport to Teams’ glory, but he needs van den Brink to slip up in at least one of the last two Bajas to win the class. The QMMF Team’s Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari is a distant third, while van Heun leads Maciej Giemza among the Challenger navigators.
Neither SSV and Junior leader Hedda Hosås nor Emirati Mansour Al-Helai has travelled to Qatar, opening the door for Argentina-based Fernando Alvarez. The Can-Am driver is 33 points behind Hosås with one score in hand, and his navigator Xavier Panseri is in a similar position in the Navigators’ standings.
Al-Mashna Al-Shammeri has already used his six scores, totalling 226 points in Stock, and must wait to see whether fellow Nissan driver Majed Al-Thunayyan can finish in Qatar and take the title.
Al-Attiyah in control of the Middle East Baja Cup
The FIA Middle East Baja Cup looks far more straightforward. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and Max Delfino have already won in Saudi Arabia and Jordan this year and hold 17-point leads in their respective championships over the absent Yasir Seaidan and Xavier Flick.
Al-Attiyah will be among the favourites for overall victory in his MD Optimus Rallye. He has won the Qatar event in its various forms a dozen times since 2004.
Talented young Qatari Mohammed Al-Marri leads the Junior standings, is third in the Drivers’ Championship and has a 58-point lead in the SSV class. Joined this time by Pierre Delorme, he knows a strong finish in Qatar will be enough to fend off Hamad Al-Harbi, Maha Al-Hamali and Mohammed Al-Atteya for the SSV title.
Seaidan’s absence gives Dubai-based Briton David Mabbs and navigator Dave McBride a chance to make a late push for Challenger honours. Mabbs trails Seaidan by 68 points and faces strong Qatari opposition this weekend. He is also in the running for the regional Master Driver title, 37 points behind the absent Miroslav Zapletal.
Final preparations
Tuesday is a day of preparation in the service park for teams, while the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) finalises event logistics ahead of administrative checks, scrutineering and the pre-event press conference at the Lusail International Circuit on Wednesday.
FIA World Baja Cup standings after round 6 of 8
Drivers (overall) – number of Bajas tackled in brackets, maximum of six scores
- 1. Dania Akeel (KSA) – 273pts (6)
- 2. Mitchel van den Brink (NED) – 265pts (4)
- 3. Francisco Barreto (POR) – 258pts (4)
- 4. Lionel Baud (FRA) – 240pts (5)
- 5. Saood Variawa (RSA) – 232pts (4)
- 6. Al-Mashna Al-Shammeri (KSA) – 226pts (6)
- 7. Majed Al-Thunayyan (KSA) – 223pts (5)
- Ultimate: 1. Akeel 273 (6), 2. Barreto 258 (4), 3. Baud 240 (5), 4. Variawa 232 (4)
- Challenger: 1. van den Brink 265 (4), 2. Hamed Al-Wahaibi (OMA) 205 (4), 3. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT) 160 (4)
- SSV: 1. Hedda Hosås (NOR) 215 (5), 2. Mansour Al-Helai (UAE) 212 (5), 3. Fernando Alvarez (ARG) 182 (4)
- Stock: 1. Al-Shammeri 226 (6), 2. Al-Thunayyan 223 (5)
FIA Middle East Baja Cup standings after round 2 of 4
- 1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT) – 172pts
- 2. Yasir Seaidan (KSA) – 155pts
- 3. Mohammed Al-Marri (QAT) – 128pts
- 4. Miroslav Zapletal (CZE) – 124pts
- 5. David Mabbs (UAE) – 87pts
- 6. Abdullah Al-Fahad (KSA) – 81pts
- Ultimate: 1. Al-Attiyah 172, 2. Zapletal 124, 3. Ahmed Al-Shamy (UAE) 68
- Challenger: 1. Seaidan 155, 2. Mabbs 87, 3. Al-Fahad 81, 4. Nouef Al-Suwaidi (QAT) 53
- SSV: 1. Al-Marri 128, 2. Hamad Al-Harbi (KSA) 70, =3. Maha Al-Hamali (KSA) 68, =3. Mohammed Al-Atteya (QAT) 68, 5. Ahmed Al-Kuwari (QAT) 56, 6. Camelia Liparoti (SMN) 35
- Stock: 1. Abdulaziz Al-Saud (KSA) 4