Local hero Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah is the top seed in the cars.
Doha: The Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF) has received a record number of entries and strength in depth across all the various categories for the three-day Qatar International Baja, which takes place from March 16 to 18th.
Competitors from a staggering 31 nations is further broken down into 47 cars in the FIA category and 51 motorcycles and four quads, which will compete in the second round of the FIM Bajas World Cup.
Seven T1+ and three T1 cars, three in the T2 section for series production cross-country machines, 21 in the lightweight prototype T3 category and 13 T4 vehicles will tackle the Baja, which counts as the second round of both the FIA World and Middle East Cups for Cross-Country Bajas.
Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah, Toyota Hilux team-mate Juan Cruz Yacopini and Polish driver Krzysztof Holowczyc (Mini JCW Rally Plus) closed out the podium on the opening round of the FIA World Cup in Saudi Arabia last month and they head the car field.
Saleh Al Saif tops a formidable T3 entry and will be hoping to build upon his Saudi win. Defending FIA champion Fernando Alvarez and last year’s series runner-up Dania Akeel are the Saudi’s closest challengers after round one in their South Racing Can-Ams, although all T3 points scorers from round one are present in Saudi Arabia and include Kees Koolen, Santiago Navarro and Otavio Sousa.
The QMMF has also entered a seven-strong team of SRT-prepared Can-Am Maverick X3s for local drivers Adel Abdullah, Abdulaziz Al Kuwari, Nasser Al Kuwari, Rashid Al Mohannadi, Ahmed Al Mohannadi, Mohammed Al Meer and Nouef Hassan Al Suwaidi.
Young Spaniard Pau Navarro triumphed in T4 in Saudi Arabia and he tops a T4 entry that features Jeremie Warnia, Pietro Cinotto, Cristiano Batista and the local quartet of Ahmed Al Kuwari, Khalid Al Mohanandi, Abdullah Al Khelaifi and Mohammed Al Attiyah.
In the absence of FIA Middle East Cup leader Yasir Seaidan, fellow Saudi drivers, Hamad Al-Harbi and Abdullah and Ahmed Al-Shegawi and Kuwait’s Salem Al Dhafeeri have the opportunity to snatch the series lead before the spring and summer break.
Emirati Mohammed Al Balooshi, Qatar-based Australian Martin Chalmers and Briton Alex McInnes finished first, second and third at the Saudi Baja and lead a stunning motorcycle field, where they will face competition from top riders from Poland, Canada, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Australia, Kuwait, Italy, Lebanon, South Africa and Slovenia.
The State of Qatar will be represented by Sheikh Mohammed Al Thani, Yaghoob Azadi, Mohammed Al Kaabi, Abdulrahman Al Sheeb and Rashid Al Naimi.
The Duust Diverse Racing Team has entered four bikes for last year’s Qatar Baja-winning Pole Konrad Dabrowski, the leading female duo of Poland’s Joanna Modrzewska and Kuwait’s Sarah Khuraibet and Norway’s Ola Floene, the latter better known as an international co-driver with the likes of Andreas Mikkelsen in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) and Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC).
Haitham Al Tuwaijri topped the quad standings at the Saudi Baja on his Yamaha Raptor 700 and lines-up against fellow Saudi Hani Al-Noumesi, the UAE’s category-leading Abdulaziz Al-Ahli and Belgian rider Arnoud Dom.
“We have been delighted with the response to this year’s Qatar International Baja,” said Amro Al Hamad, Executive Director of the QMMF.
Mohammed Al Balooshi tops the motorcycle entry.
“Cross-country rallying is the fastest growing of all the sports under the FIA umbrella and it is great to see so many international entrants joining a very strong line-up of motorcycles competing in the FIM Bajas World Cup.
“Our event has a reputation for being a major challenge for all levels of ability. Not only does our event offer varied desert terrain but we also devise a route with tricky navigation that offers a great challenge to our competitors.”
Timed action gets underway with a Prologue stage on Thursday, March 16th from 15.00hrs.
