LUSAIL, QATAR – The Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) has announced a world-class entry for the Qatar International Baja, which runs on October 28th-31st.
The Lusail-based event hosts the penultimate rounds of the FIA World Baja Cup and FIA Middle East Baja Cup, plus round five of the FIM Bajas World Cup.
Thirty-seven cars, 45 motorcycles and eight quads will compete over the three-day route, with 11 FIA crews registered for the FIA World Baja Cup and 15 focusing on the regional series.
Six of the top 10 drivers in the FIA World Baja Cup are in Qatar, along with three of the leading five in the FIA Middle East Baja Cup. Drivers and navigators from 20 nations include nine crews in the Ultimate category, 12 in Challenger, 13 in SSV and three in the Stock class for series-production cross-country vehicles.
Ultimate: SVR Toyotas lead the way
Two Toyota Hilux IMT Evos run by SVR head the FIA World Baja Cup entry, driven by Portugal’s Francisco Barreto and Paulo Fiúza and South Africa’s Saood Variawa and Charan Moore. France’s Lionel and Lucie Baud drive the only diesel-powered X-Raid Mini JCW Rally.
Victory at last weekend’s Baja Portalegre 500 has lifted Barreto to third in the Drivers’ Championship, behind the absent Dania Akeel and Challenger front-runner Mitchel van den Brink.
Challenger: van den Brink v the QMMF Team
Dutchman Mitchel van den Brink heads a Challenger field that also features Oman’s Hamed Al-Wahaibi and the QMMF Team quartet of Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, Nouef Al-Sowaidi, Khalifa Saleh Al-Attiyah and Rashid Al-Muhannadi, plus Taurus entries for local drivers Ahmed Al-Kuwari and Mohammed Al-Attiyah.
Al-Attiyah chases a Middle East hattrick
Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah has entered this year’s FIA Middle East Baja Cup as a privateer with Frenchman Max Delfino in an Optimus MD Rallye. The Qatari legend has already taken maximum points in Saudi Arabia and Jordan this season and is aiming for a hattrick of wins as he looks to add the FIA Middle East Baja title to his long list of achievements.
SSV and Stock
Fernando Alvarez leads the SSV category but faces the QMMF Team’s Mohammed Al-Marri, local privateers Mohammed Al-Atteya, Abdulla Al-Khelaifi and Ghanim Al-Attiyah, Saudi pair Hamad Al-Harbi and Maha Al-Hamali, and several other international crews.
Abdulla Al-Rabban represents Qatar in the Stock category against Saudi drivers Majed Al-Thunayyan and Abdullah Al-Shegawi. Al-Thunayyan is second in the FIA World Baja Cup Stock rankings behind the absent Al-Mashna Al-Shammeri and needs just eight points from his sixth start of the season to win the title. Al-Shegawi is registered for the regional Baja Cup.
Motorcycles: McInnes v Al-Mogheera
Leading Junior rider Alex McInnes heads the FIM Bajas World Cup by two points from Abdulhalim Al-Mogheera. The KTM pair will fight it out in a strong motorcycle field that also includes multiple defending FIM champion and third-placed Mohammed Al-Balooshi, and three-time event winner Konrad Dabrowski.
Other riders experienced in desert racing and the unique navigation needed to succeed in Qatar include Australia’s Martin Chalmers, Britain’s Ethan Lane, Brett Hunt, Robert Wallace and Makis Rees-Stavros, Germany’s Philip Horlemann, and Dabrowski’s team-mate Joanna Modrzewska, the leading female rider.
Mohammed Al-Kubaisi and Abdulattif Mojadam represent Qatar, while the field also includes talented Jordanian Abdullah Abu Aisheh and Lebanon’s Rafic Eid.
Quads
Ahmed Al-Jaber leads Hani Al-Noumesi by seven points in the quad category, but both face strong opposition in Qatar from Abdulaziz Al-Atawi, last year’s event winner Abdulaziz Ahli and Badr Al-Hamdan in the eight-strong field.
Qatar International Baja 2026 entry at a glance
- Cars: 37 (9 Ultimate, 12 Challenger, 13 SSV, 3 Stock)
- Motorcycles: 45
- Quads: 8
- Nations: 20
- FIA World Baja Cup crews: 11
- FIA Middle East Baja Cup crews: 15