LUSAIL, QATAR – Saudi Arabia’s Dania Akeel and French navigator Stéphane Duplé delivered a stunning performance to lead the car category after a dramatic first day at the Qatar International Baja on Friday.
The Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux crew won the opening stage and lost some time on the second, but took a 92.9-second lead into the night halt – also heading the FIA Middle East Baja Cup field. Akeel’s stage win meant a female driver led the Baja for the first time in history.
That’s it! This is our first stage win overall. I had a great time. Stéphane was amazing. The cap was changing. The stage was fast, twisty, rocky and a really nice sector by the sea. That was really steep for the first time. That was really good training. We are in a perfect position for tomorrow. It’s going to be a really fun ride.
Dania Akeel
Denis Krotov and Konstantin Zhiltsov are second, leading the World Cup crews in their new petrol X-Raid Mini JCW Rally 3.0i, while Portugal’s João Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro are third and lead SSV in a Can-Am.
It was a nice day for us for testing. Our engine is still in development but we are on a pretty good level. It’s a nice fight and a nice race. Denis had one puncture on the first stage but he did a good job and we are super happy to have him back in the team.
Tobias Quandt, X-Raid team manager
The stages were very fast. It was very difficult navigation. I have never seen anything like this. It is very difficult to see the tracks and the junctions. We finish without any problems and Filipe did an amazing job from the navigation side. We are third and leading SSV. We are very happy.
João Ferreira
João Dias was fourth, Saudi Mooaz Hariri passed Miroslav Zapletal for fifth, and Khalid Al-Jafla leads Challenger in eighth. In the FIM event, Kuwait’s Abdullah Al-Shatti (Kawasaki) and Saudi Hani Al-Noumesi lead bikes and quads after several riders missed key waypoints.
Heartbreak for the Al-Attiyah brothers
FIA crews tackled stages of 123.91km and 122.50km in northwestern Qatar, while bikes and quads raced a single 256.42km stage. Mohammed Al-Atteya and Middle East Cup leader Ahmed Al-Kuwari lost minutes early on, with Al-Atteya later retiring; Ibrahim Al-Muhanna (engine), Camelia Liparoti and Stefano Marrini (three punctures) also dropped out.
Krotov’s first-stage puncture north of Tamim Airbase cost him dearly, and Akeel beat him by 5min 36.6sec. On stage two, run on the bikes’ route in a stronger wind, Krotov won in 1hr 09min 24.7sec to cut the gap to 1min 32.9sec. The coast run proved costly for the hosts: Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (oil loss) and brother Khalifa (broken engine) both retired, Ahmad Al-Mohannadi damaged his Taurus, and Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari finished more than 90 minutes down with electrical and fuel-pressure problems. Khalifa will not restart. Dutchman Erik van Loon, testing the 2025-spec Can-Am Maverick R in an Experimental class, stopped before the end of stage two.
Bikes and quads
Britain’s Makis Rees-Stavros led early until caught by Pedro Bianchi Prata, before Alex McInnes and James Hillier joined the chase. Hillier led from Prata, Megre and Rees-Stavros until all four backtracked for a waypoint, leaving McInnes to lead to the finish. Qatar’s Mohamed Al-Thani crashed heavily and was taken to hospital for checks. Following the tracks, Al-Shatti won the stage; Badr Al-Hamdan and Martin Chalmers were penalised for route deviations, lifting Poland’s Filip Grot and Slovenia’s Gregor Mikl to second and third. FIM contender Mohammed Al-Balooshi was fifth, ahead of Prata and Megre.
In quads, Abdulaziz Al-Shayban stopped, Abdulaziz Ahli retired with mechanical problems and Haitham Al-Tuwaijri crashed out and needed treatment, handing Al-Noumesi the lead from Abdulaziz Al-Atawi. Saturday’s 251.10km stage runs through southern Qatar, including dunes near Sealine and the Inland Sea.
Positions after SS2 – cars (top 5)
- Dania Akeel / Stéphane Duplé (Toyota Hilux Overdrive) – 2hr 29min 57.9sec
- Denis Krotov / Konstantin Zhiltsov (Mini JCW Rally 3.0i) – 2hr 31min 30.8sec
- João Ferreira / Filipe Palmeiro (Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR) – 2hr 41min 42.7sec
- João Dias / Gonçalo Reis (Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR) – 2hr 43min 12.2sec
- Moaz Hariri / Kirill Shubin (Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR) – 2hr 49min 28.1sec