AQABA, JORDAN – Emirati driver Khalid Al-Jafla and co-driver Andrei Rudnitski won a dramatic Jordan Baja after Saturday’s final 185.30km stage through Wadi Rum.
Trailing Portugal’s João Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro (Can-Am) by 3.5 seconds overnight, the Taurus T3 Max crew were 42 seconds quicker on the final run to win the event for the first time by 38.5 seconds. Santag Racing’s João Dias and Gonçalo Reis completed the podium in their Can-Am Maverick X3.
We pushed today as much as we could to try and win the stage. Yesterday, we only lost 3.5 seconds. It was a shorter distance but it was a very fast track and we lost some time in the dust for around 20km. But we won the rally and the Challenger class. Now we go to Dubai. It is my home and my ground.
Khalid Al-Jafla
It was a super-fast stage with tricky navigation, like yesterday. It was a flat-out stage. It was a clean run for us. I am happy with the performance we put in over the last two days. In the future, if I have the opportunity I would like to come here again.
João Ferreira
I feel very good. It was my first time in Jordan, a most beautiful country. The most beautiful stage in my life. The team was perfect. P1 (SSV) for Ferreira and P2 for me.
João Dias
Al-Balooshi’s fourth Jordan win
MX Ride Dubai’s Mohammed Al-Balooshi was in a class of his own on two wheels, taking a fourth straight Jordan Baja win since 2019 and boosting his FIM Bajas World Cup hopes before the Dubai finale. He won by a huge 31min 09.3sec from Saudi rider Abdulhalim Al-Mogheera after Lebanon’s Rafic Eid missed three waypoints on the run to the finish and dropped to third.
Amazing to open the day from kilometre zero to the finish line, leading and navigating. It was a really fun day. I had a good rhythm and the road book spot on. There were some moments when I thought the guys maybe would catch me until I reached the first refuel. I waited three minutes, looked and no-one came. I just managed after that, calmed down and brought the bike home. This is my fourth Jordan Baja. I am so happy. I think I need just six points to secure the title back home. I would dedicate this win to my mom. She was worried about me even at my age. This win is for her…
Mohammed Al-Balooshi
Yamaha rider Abdulaziz Al-Shayban held off championship leader Hani Al-Noumesi to win the quads, with Abdulaziz Al-Atawi third; Al-Shayban and Al-Noumesi will decide the title in Dubai.
How the final day unfolded
Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari returned to action with heavy time penalties after a cooling-fan problem burst a water pipe on Friday, but was second fastest on the final stage. Argentina’s Diego Martinez was given 20 minutes for overtaking infringements, dropping from ninth to 12th before finishing 11th behind Hamad Al-Harbi.
All 19 FIA crews started the final stage. Al-Jafla closed in on road-opener Ferreira to beat him by 42 seconds. Behind the podium, a stage win lifted veteran Miroslav Zapletal to fourth in his Ford F-150 and maximum Ultimate points, while Eduardo Pons was fifth and lost ground to Al-Jafla in the World Cup Challenger fight.
Qatar’s Rashid Al-Muhannadi was sixth and top FIA Middle East Baja Cup finisher. Fernando Alvarez lost the overall World Cup lead to Ferreira by finishing seventh, and Dania Akeel set up a tense Middle East Cup finale by finishing eighth, one place ahead of title rival Ahmed Al-Kuwari.
In the bikes, Al-Balooshi opened the stage and pulled away, with Eid and Al-Mogheera together behind. Injuries kept Abdullah Abu Aisheh and Abdullah Al-Shatti from starting, and Britain’s Steven Holt withdrew. The stage ran along the Saudi border before turning north to finish in Wadi Rum’s Valley of the Moon. Eid pulled clear of Al-Mogheera on the run north but was penalised for the missed waypoints. Jordanians Abdullah Al-Batayneh, Hamza Al-Zawahreh and Tia’at Al-Shishane were fourth to sixth, with Qatar-based Australian Martin Chalmers completing the finishers.
Local crew Taha Masoud and Emran Taha won the National Baja in their Can-Am Maverick, and Farah Zakaria and Nadine Damiani were unofficial winners of the new Wadi Al-Qamar Navigation Rally in a Ford.
Final positions – cars (top 10)
- Khalid Al-Jafla / Andrei Rudnitski (Taurus T3 Max) – 6hr 17min 04.3sec
- João Ferreira / Filipe Palmeiro (Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR) – 6hr 17min 42.8sec
- João Dias / Gonçalo Reis (Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR) – 6hr 21min 08.4sec
- Miroslav Zapletal / Marcin Pasek (Ford F-150 Evo) – 6hr 23min 29.9sec
- Eduardo Pons / Jaume Betriu (Taurus T3 Max) – 6hr 26min 03.4sec
- Rashid Al-Muhannadi / Szymon Gospodarczyk (Taurus T3 Max) – 6hr 33min 03.8sec
- Fernando Alvarez / Xavier Panseri (Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR) – 6hr 33min 11.0sec
- Dania Akeel / Sébastien Delaunay (Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR) – 6hr 34min 00.3sec
- Ahmed Al-Kuwari / Augusto Sanz (Yamaha YXZ 1000R) – 6hr 47min 38.5sec
- Hamad Al-Harbi / Aleksei Kuzmich (Can-Am Maverick X3) – 6hr 57min 01.5sec
Bikes and quads
- Mohammed Al-Balooshi (KTM 450 Rally) – 7hr 51min 15.1sec
- Abdulhalim Al-Mogheera (KTM) – 8hr 22min 24.4sec
- Rafic Eid (GasGas RX450-F) – 9hr 03min 25.2sec
- Abdulaziz Al-Shayban (Yamaha Raptor 700) – 8hr 29min 40.4sec
- Hani Al-Noumesi (Yamaha Raptor 700) – 8hr 31min 11.6sec
- Abdulaziz Al-Atawi (Yamaha Raptor 700) – 9hr 38min 50.5sec