LUSAIL, QATAR – X-Raid Mini’s Denis Krotov and Konstantin Zhiltsov overtook overnight leaders Dania Akeel and Stéphane Duplé to win an enthralling three-day Qatar International Baja on Saturday.
MX Ride Dubai’s Mohammed Al-Balooshi (KTM) produced one of the rides of his career to overturn a 15-minute deficit, beat team-mate Abdullah Al-Shatti and win the bike category for the second time. Saudi Arabia’s Hani Al-Noumesi (Yamaha) won the quads.
The final 251.10km stage started east of Dukhan, crossed the western deserts and cut across to the dunes near Sealine and the Inland Sea, before finishing south of Al-Udeid Airbase, east of Mesaieed.
Krotov reels in Akeel
First on the road and bidding to become the first woman to win a Baja-type event in the Middle East, Akeel defended a 1min 32.9sec lead. Krotov took more than 45 minutes to catch her but grabbed the virtual lead on the run southeast, and gave the new petrol-engined Mini JCW Rally 3.0i a maiden win by a flattering 30min 06.7sec.
I am very happy to come back to Qatar and take the win with the new petrol Mini. This race is very challenging and tough for the driver, co-driver and the car. I am proud that we have the first victory with X-Raid in the new car. I am sure this project has a great future. Thanks to the organisers for an amazing race. Our crew was on the podium last year and now we have won.
Denis Krotov
Cruelly, Akeel stopped shortly before the finish with a broken steering arm, losing a second runner-up spot in as many weekends. After desperate repairs she reached the finish fifth in her Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux.
That handed second to Portugal’s João Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro, earning vital FIA World Baja Cup points in their Can-Am, with Santag Racing team-mates João Dias and Gonçalo Reis third.
It’s been a season with many races and many achievements. This result is very important for our goals in the World Cup. We really want to try and win the competition and are now just five points behind the lead. We’re going to do our best to fight for good results in Jordan and Dubai. We know anything can happen in racing and we have to be careful.
João Ferreira
Miroslav Zapletal was fourth in his Ford F-150 Evo, Akira Miura sixth after a late tyre penalty, and Fernando Alvarez seventh. Saudi Mooaz Hariri was eighth, and Anja van Loon won Challenger after Khalid Al-Jafla took a late seven-minute penalty and fell to 11th. Qataris Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari and Ahmed Al-Kuwari were fastest on the last stage in Challenger and SSV. Engine problems stopped Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah from restarting, and Kuwait’s Nasser Al-Ajmi also retired.
Salem Al-Dhafeeri and Abdulaziz Al-Yaeesh received two-hour penalties for running tyres without FIA bar codes, with Al-Yaeesh also losing his Middle East Cup points. Italy’s Luigi Ricci was disqualified for refuelling with team help in an unauthorised area.
Al-Balooshi’s stunning comeback
Several bikers received route penalties before the final stage. Al-Shatti opened the road defending 7min 29.1sec over Badr Al-Hamdan, whose penalties were withdrawn after a GPS error. Title contenders Al-Balooshi, Pedro Bianchi Prata and David Megre started fifth, 11th and 19th. Al-Shatti let Gregor Mikl and Filip Grot lead and rode with Al-Balooshi in a ‘safety in numbers’ group.
After refuelling, Al-Balooshi and Al-Shatti pulled away towards the dunes, before the Emirati broke clear to win the stage in 3hr 48min 15.8sec – beating Al-Shatti by 23min 47.4sec on the day and taking a sensational second win in the event. Britain’s Alex McInnes was third, Grot and Richard Dors fourth and fifth, and Lebanon’s Rafic Eid sixth. Prata and Megre were seventh and eighth, keeping the FIM title fight alive ahead of Portugal, Jordan and Dubai. Mikl crashed out with heat exhaustion. Al-Noumesi beat Abdulaziz Al-Atawi in the quads.
Final results – cars (top 10)
- Denis Krotov / Konstantin Zhiltsov (Mini JCW Rally 3.0i) – 5hr 27min 13.7sec
- João Ferreira / Filipe Palmeiro (Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR) – 5hr 57min 20.4sec
- João Dias / Gonçalo Reis (Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR) – 6hr 01min 09.7sec
- Miroslav Zapletal / Marek Sykora (Ford F-150 Evo) – 6hr 01min 29.9sec
- Dania Akeel / Stéphane Duplé (Toyota Hilux Overdrive) – 6hr 09min 02.6sec
- Akira Miura / Jean-Michel Polato (Toyota Hilux Overdrive) – 6hr 12min 08.4sec
- Fernando Alvarez / Xavier Panseri (Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR) – 6hr 16min 59.4sec
- Moaz Hariri / Kirill Shubin (Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR) – 6hr 17min 59.7sec
- Anja Van Loon / Floor Maten (Can-Am Maverick X3) – 6hr 29min 57.6sec
- Rashid Al-Muhannadi / Szymon Gospodarczyk (Taurus T3 Max) – 6hr 30min 52.1sec
Bikes (top 6)
- Mohammed Al-Balooshi (KTM 450 Rally) – 8hr 14min 25.3sec
- Abdullah Al-Shatti (Kawasaki KX) – 8hr 22min 38.9sec
- Alex McInnes (Husqvarna FE450) – 8hr 30min 03.7sec
- Filip Grot (GasGas 450 Rally) – 8hr 37min 46.8sec
- Richard Dors (KTM 450 Rally Factory) – 8hr 40min 29.0sec
- Rafic Eid (GasGas 450F Replica) – 8hr 42min 56.9sec