The three-day Saudi Baja 2022-Hail begins with a ceremonial start and an 18km desert Qualifying Stage on Thursday afternoon.
The seventh round of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas and the FIM Bajas World Cup, round three of the FIA Middle East Cup for Cross-Country Bajas and the third event of the Saudi Toyota Rally Championship is organised by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF) with the Ministry of Sport and in partnership with Abdul Latif Jameel (ALJ) Motors.
Title showdown
Riyadh driver Yazeed Al-Rajhi heads the FIA car field and faces a desert duel with Czech rival Miroslav Zapletal for the FIA World Cup Drivers’ Championship. The Toyota Hilux and Ford F-150 Evo drivers are separated by a single point heading into Hail, and Al-Rajhi also leads the Saudi Toyota Rally Championship at halfway.
Zapletal’s Slovak co-driver Marek Sykora is firm favourite for the FIA Co-drivers’ title in the absence of Michael Orr. The Ulsterman is still recovering from an injury suffered in Poland and has been replaced alongside Al-Rajhi in recent weeks by Germany’s Dirk von Zitzewitz.
Brazil’s Cristiano de Sousa Batista, Dutchman Kees Koolen and Spain’s Fernando Alvarez are tied for third overall while fighting for the FIA T4 and T3 titles in their South Racing Can-Ams.
Alvarez leads Saudi team-mate Dania Akeel by 45 points in the T3 standings, while De Sousa Batista trails Kuwait’s Meshari Al-Thefiri by 18 points in T4. Saudi driver Saeed Al-Mouri and Spain’s Eduard Pons are also registered for T4 World Cup points in their Can-Ams.
Alvarez and Akeel face T3 opposition from Qatar’s Mohammed Al-Attiyah, Saudi driver Mashael Al-Obaidan and the experienced Saleh Al-Saif in their Can-Ams.
The FIA Middle East Cup for Cross-Country Bajas is wide open. With two of his main rivals absent, Saudi driver Hamad Al-Harbi can take the overall lead and move ahead of sisters Aliyyah and Yasmeen Koloc in T3.
Italy’s Camelia Liparoti, third in the standings, faces Lithuania’s Egidijus Valeiša and Saudi driver Maha Al-Hameli for Middle East Cup points in T4.
Motorcycles and quads
The Saudi Baja is the last chance for motorcycle and quad riders to score FIM Bajas World Cup points and qualify for the final in Dubai in early December.
Emirati Mohammed Al-Balooshi tops the rankings with Portugal’s Fabio Magalhães on 45 points and knows a win in Hail would give him the maximum 50-point score to take to the final.
Riders hoping to improve their position before Dubai include young Jordanian Abdullah Abu Aishah, Kuwait’s Abdullah Al-Shatti, Qatar-based Australian Martin Chalmers, Spain’s Margot Llobera, Britain’s Makis Rees-Stavros and Saudi riders Mishal Al-Ghuneim and Abdulhalim Al-Mogheera.
Abdulmajeed Al-Khulaifi already has the maximum 50 points from two quad wins but will be chasing another victory on his Yamaha Raptor 700. His FIM rivals include third-placed Hani Al-Noumesi and Faisal Al-Suwayh.
Leading riders in the over-450cc category, who do not score FIM points, include Austria’s Simon Francis, the UAE’s Hamdan Al-Ali, Britain’s Steven Holt and the Qatari trio of Sheikh Mohammed Al-Thani, Mohammed Al-Kaabi and Yaghoob Azadi.
A Saudi National Baja runs behind the FIA and FIM events and has a provisional 33-car entry before final checks.
On Thursday, riders and drivers cross the ceremonial start podium in Hail before tackling a challenging 18km Qualifying Stage that sets the starting order for Friday morning.