Competitors and officials from around the world are arriving in Doha for final preparations for this weekend’s Qatar International Baja, round two of the FIM Bajas World Cup and the FIA Middle East Cup for Cross-Country Bajas.
After a busy start to the FIA and FIM seasons in the Middle East, Qatar hosts the last off-road event before the start of Ramadan at the end of next week. Temperatures are rising, with around 34˚C expected on Thursday before cooler (27-29˚C), windier and unsettled weather arrives for the weekend.
Panseri joins Sordo
Nasser Racing has confirmed that Frenchman Xavier Panseri will partner Dani Sordo on the Spaniard’s Middle East cross-country debut.
Panseri is best known recently for his off-road work with Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi, Bernhard Ten Brinke, Krzysztof Holowczyc and Adam Malysz, but the 51-year-old also has a strong asphalt rallying record. He has competed widely in France with drivers such as Bryan Bouffier, Emmanuel Guigou and Benôit Rousselot, with highlights including outright wins on the 2006 and 2014 Rally of Antibes, the 2011 IRC Rally Monte-Carlo, the 2013 Tour de Corse and numerous Polish rallies.
Sordo has yet to start his Hyundai Motorsport campaign in the new hybrid era of the 2022 FIA World Rally Championship and is competing in the southern Gulf for the first time. With three WRC wins, 51 podiums and 214 stage wins, the 38-year-old is the most experienced of the current WRC elite. His closest previous outings to Qatar were second and fourth places with Citroën on the Jordan rounds of the WRC in 2008 and 2010.
Father and son
Meshari Al-Thefiri was the star of last weekend’s Kuwait International Rally until an engine failure cost him the lead. The Kuwaiti had planned to race a Can-Am Maverick X3 in Qatar, but his late withdrawal has allowed his regular co-driver Nasser Al-Kuwari to join his father Sadoon in a T4 Can-Am.
The pair have competed together before, most notably finishing seventh overall on the 2005 Qatar International Rally, but the 61-year-old has been away from the driving seat for a long time.
Talented Qatari Khalid Al-Muhannadi was third in the SSV category at last year’s Qatar International Baja and won the national event held alongside the 2021 MERC round. He has switched from a Polaris to a Can-Am and will be partnered for the first time by New Zealand biker Nick Lines.
The QMMF is also running national events for cars and motorcycles. Saudi Arabia’s Abdulaziz Al-Yaeesh heads the six-car National Rally entry in his Nissan Patrol, and 16 riders are entered on the FIM national list, with Saudi Arabia’s Mishal Al-Ghuneim, Qatar’s Khalid Al-Maadeed and Emirati Mohamed Abdulla Meerza among the favourites.
On Wednesday, competitors complete administrative checks at the Losail International Circuit before several leading riders and drivers attend the official pre-event press conference from 18.00hrs.