AMMAN, JORDAN – Jordan Motorsport received a flood of late entries for the Jordan Baja. Twenty cars, 12 motorcycles and four quads from 20 nations will contest the seventh and penultimate round of the FIA World Baja Cup and FIM Bajas World Cup, and round three of the FIA Middle East Baja Cup, on November 14–16.
All the leading title contenders will make the trip to southern Jordan. Czech veteran Miroslav Zapletal and Slovak co-driver Marek Sykora head the field in their self-built Ford F-150 Evo.
Titles at stake
The focus is on the overall, Challenger and SSV titles in the World Cup, and the overall, Challenger, SSV and Stock crowns in the Middle East Cup. Nine crews chase World Cup points and 11 target the Middle East Cup.
The eight-strong Challenger class includes World Cup front-runners Eduardo Pons, Khalid Al-Jafla and Diego Martinez, plus Middle East contenders Hamad Al-Harbi, Maha Al-Hamali, Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, Khalifa Saleh Al-Attiyah and Rashid Al-Muhannadi.
World Cup leader Fernando Alvarez faces closest rival João Ferreira, plus Amerigo Ventura, Middle East Cup leader Ahmed Al-Kuwari, João Dias and Saudis Ibrahim Al-Muhanna and Dania Akeel – the latter switching from a Toyota to a Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR. Qataris Abdullah Al-Rabban and Mohammed Al-Meer take on Saudi class leader Majed Al-Thunayyan in Stock.
Bikes and quads
Round six of the FIM Bajas World Cup is under way in Portugal, where Mohammed Al-Balooshi aims to hold his lead over Portuguese rivals David Megre and Pedro Bianchi Prata. In Jordan, the MX Ride Dubai rider faces Kuwait’s Abdullah Al-Shatti, local rider Abdullah Abu Aisheh, Lebanon’s Rafic Eid, Saudi Abdulhalim Al-Mogheera and Qatar-based Australian Martin Chalmers, along with his brother Sultan, Britain’s Steven Holt, Emirati Marwan Al-Rahmani and Jordanians Tia’at Al-Shishane, Hamza Al-Zawahreh and Abdullah Al-Batayneh.
Hani Al-Noumesi comes straight from the Baja Oeste de Portugal. Winner of the quad class at the recent Qatar International Baja, he is now in the FIM title hunt, and Saudi rivals Haitham Al-Tuwaijri, Abdulaziz Al-Shayban and Abdulaziz Al-Atawi have also entered on Yamaha Raptors.
This year’s event is based at the Hyatt Regency Aqaba Ayla Resort, with 566.46 competitive kilometres through Wadi Rum in a compact route of 775.31km.