AMMAN, JORDAN – Jordan Motorsport has announced details of the Jordan Baja, the seventh and penultimate round of the FIA World Baja Cup and FIM Bajas World Cup and round three of the FIA Middle East Cup. Based in Aqaba, the event runs on November 14–16.
The Kingdom’s premier off-road event returns to the international calendar after a one-year absence and again uses the spectacular desert of Wadi Rum in southern Jordan.
Route and schedule
Competitors face 566.46 competitive kilometres over two legs in a 775.31km route, set by Organising Committee Chairman Zaid Balqez, Clerk of the Course Khaled Zakaria, deputy Loai Marei and their team, with Omar Zarour as Clerk of the Course for the FIM event.
The rally is based at the Hyatt Regency Aqaba Ayla Resort, with start and finish at the nearby Arab Revolt Plaza beside the Red Sea. Scrutineering at the Aqaba Service Park and admin checks at rally HQ take place on Wednesday, November 13. The 3km Prologue starts at 14:07 (first FIM) on Thursday, November 14, before the ceremonial start at 16:45.
Friday’s 349.14km stage through Wadi Rum is split into sections of 243.00km and 106.14km, followed by a 214.32km stage on Saturday. The podium and prize-giving at the Arab Revolt Plaza begin at 17:00, with the press conference at 18:00.
We are delighted to be back in the international FIA and FIM motor sporting calendars this year and are looking forward to the return of world-class cross-country rallying to Jordan.
Zaid Balqez, Chairman of the Organising Committee
This particular area of southern Jordan is blessed with some of the most spectacular terrain on the planet and our competitors will be able to appreciate the beauty of the region. We continue to tweak and make improvements to our round of the FIA and FIM Bajas World Cups and I am sure that competitors coming here for the first time with be awestruck with some of the scenery we use for the Baja. This has been showcased frequently by numerous blockbuster Hollywood films, including The Martian, Aladdin, Dune and Star Wars.
Zaid Balqez
Defending winners
After the 2023 event was cancelled, Saleh Al-Saif is defending champion, having won outright and in T3 (now Challenger) in 2022 in his Can-Am Maverick X3 with Egor Okhotnikov. Kuwait’s Meshari Al-Thefiri and France’s François Cazalet won T4 (now SSV). The UAE’s Mohammed Al-Balooshi won the bikes for a third straight time, and Saudi Arabia’s Abdulmajeed Al-Khulaifi won his first quad title on a Yamaha Raptor. Entries close on Wednesday, October 30.