AQABA, JORDAN – Overdrive Racing’s Juan Cruz Yacopini and Dani Oliveras took a narrow debut victory at the sixth Jordan Baja and moved into the lead of the 2025 FIA World Baja Cup, but their success was overshadowed by an accident that stopped team-mates Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk on Saturday morning.
Heartbreak for Al-Rajhi
Overnight leaders Al-Rajhi and Gottschalk attacked from the front of the car field, caught all the bikes ahead and looked set to win the 189.92km second stage through Wadi Rum. But they lost their way on the run to the finish and hit a sand hole hard. The impact forced the crew to stop with back pain, and they were airlifted to hospital for checks. Their exit opened the door for Yacopini.
I am really happy to finish this race. It was a tough one and I enjoy a lot. It was my first time and, for sure, I will come again. We had a good pace on the last stage. The road book was good but quite hard, so Dani had to see a lot of tracks and we had to be really focused. We both made a good job. I am proud of my team and of myself to win my first World Cup event.
Juan Cruz Yacopini
Al-Kuwari second, 11 seconds back
Punctures cost Qatar’s Khalifa Saleh Al-Attiyah and Bruno Jacomy a likely second place and the Challenger win in their QMMF Team Taurus T3 Max. That let team-mate Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari and Oriol Mena take the Challenger win and second overall, just 11 seconds behind Yacopini, with maximum FIA Middle East Baja Cup points.
I always seem to have good days in Jordan. This is my favourite country for rallying. We won the Challenger and we finished second. It was a very good event for us but the navigation was difficult We lost a lot of places. The co-drivers are amazing. If I got paid one million Euros, I would never be a good co-driver. I just try to drive.
Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari
Czech driver Miroslav Zapletal and Slovak navigator Marek Sýkora were fourth and second in Ultimate in their Ford F-150 Evo, and Zapletal was the leading Master driver. Hamza Bakhashab (Can-Am) climbed three places to fifth with Polish navigator Marcin Pasek, winning the SSV category and the Junior classification.
It was very tough in terms of driving and navigation. I thank Marcin for his amazing job. We had a lot of moments with navigation, sideways and flying but no punctures and we finished. Thanks to Jordan for this amazing event with beautiful landscapes and stages.
Hamza Bakhashab
Sergei Remennik added World Cup points in sixth in his Nasser Racing Team Taurus, and Paul Severn was seventh and second in SSV. Ahmed Al-Kuwari won the final stage on his way to eighth, with Qatari team-mates Nouef Al-Sowaidi and Mohammed Al-Harqan completing a haul of five QMMF Team Challenger finishers in the top 10. Toyota’s Martin Kaczmarski and Armand Monleón, second overnight, retired with broken suspension on the final stage.
Qatar’s Abdullah Al-Rabban won the Stock category and scored vital Middle East Cup points, with World Cup-registered Majed Al-Thunayyan second. Omani veteran Hamed Al-Wahaibi and Qatar’s Mohammed Al-Meer stopped early on the final stage but continued, Al-Wahaibi finishing 14th.
Fifth win for Al-Balooshi
MX Ride Dubai’s Mohammed Al-Balooshi (Husqvarna) led from the front to win the event for a fifth time by 2min 24sec and extend his FIM Bajas World Cup lead. Lebanese team-mate Rafic Eid (GasGas), Germany’s Philip Horlemann (KTM) and Saudi quad rider Hani Al-Noumesi stopped to help at Al-Rajhi’s accident, were given the time back by officials, and finished second, third and as the leading quad.
Amazing. This task was difficult. I am really happy to win this event for the fifth time. I worked hard for this and I am still blessed. I am still delivering. There is a lot more in me and there is more to come. I am still improving and learning. It was an amazing weekend, a job well done.
Mohammed Al-Balooshi
Rafic and I stopped (Al-Rajhi’s incident) and we waited until the helicopter came because they both had back injuries.
Philip Horlemann
Local rider and stage two winner Abdullah Abu Aisheh (GasGas) and Thomas Childs (KTM) were fourth and fifth, and Jordan’s Abdallah Al-Bataynah won the Junior category in ninth. Emirati Hamdan Al-Ali fell heavily on the last stage and was taken to hospital, and France’s Frederic Fontarosa finished 10th after a 40-minute penalty for breaching refuelling rules and a two-minute late check-in penalty.
Palestinian pair Taha Masoud and Taha Emran took a second straight Jordan National Baja win in a Can-Am Maverick, and the second Wadi Al-Qamar Navigational Rally also ran successfully.
Final results (unofficial)
- Cars: 1. Juan Cruz Yacopini / Daniel Oliveras (Toyota Hilux Overdrive) 5hr 23min 13.3sec; 2. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari / Oriol Mena (Taurus T3 Max) 5hr 23min 24.3sec; 3. Khalifa Saleh Al-Attiyah / Bruno Jacomy (Taurus T3 Max) 5hr 30min 38.7sec; 4. Miroslav Zapletal / Marek Sýkora (Ford F-150 Evo) 5hr 30min 56.0sec; 5. Hamza Bakhashab / Marcin Pasek (Can-Am Maverick R) 5hr 44min 30.6sec
- Bikes: 1. Mohammed Al-Balooshi (UAE) Husqvarna RR450 7hr 53min 52.4sec; 2. Rafic Eid (LBN) GasGas RX Rally Bike 7hr 56min 16.4sec; 3. Philip Horlemann (GER) KTM 450 Rally Replica 8hr 08min 54.7sec; 4. Abdullah Abu Aisheh (JOR) GasGas 450 Rally 8hr 21min 52.8sec; 5. Thomas Childs (UAE) KTM 450 Rally 8hr 24min 31.1sec
- Quad: 1. Hani Al-Noumesi (KSA) Yamaha YFM 700R 8hr 25min 01.8sec