· Mohammed Al-Balooshi wins his fifth Jordan Baja to extend World Cup lead
· Challenger, SSV and Stock wins for Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, Bakhashab and Al-Rabban
AQABA (JORDAN): Overdrive Racing’s Juan Cruz Yacopini and Dani Oliveras earned a narrow debut victory at the 6th Jordan Baja and moved into the lead in the 2025 FIA World Baja Cup, but their success was marred by an accident that sidelined their team-mates Yazeed Al-Rajhi and German co-driver Timo Gottschalk on Saturday morning.
Al-Rajhi and Gottschalk led overnight, attacked from the front of the car field, caught all the motorcycle riders running ahead and looked set to win the second 189.92km stage through Wadi Rum. But, in a cruel twist of fate, they lost their way on the run into the finish and hit a sand hole with force, the impact forcing the crew to stop with back pain and be airlifted to hospital for examinations. The Saudi’s demise opened the door for Yacopini to take the win in the Hashemite Kingdom.
Yacopini said: “I am really happy to finish this race. It was a tough one and I enjoy a lot. It was my first time and, for sure, I will come again. We had a good pace on the last stage. The road book was good but quite hard, so Dani had to see a lot of tracks and we had to be really focused. We both made a good job. I am proud of my team and of myself to win my first World Cup event.”
MX Ride Dubai’s Mohammed Al-Balooshi (Husqvarna) led from the front of the motorcycle group to secure his fifth victory at the event by 2min 24sec to extend his early season advantage in the FIM Bajas World Cup. Lebanese team-mate Rafic Eid (GasGas), Germany’s Philip Horlemann (KTM) and Saudi Arabia’s Hani Al-Noumesi had stopped at the scene of Al-Rajhi’s incident to offer support but were later given the time back by event officials and finished second, third and leading quad in the overall classification.
Al-Balooshi said: “Amazing. This task was difficult. I am really happy to win this event for the fifth time. I worked hard for this and I am still blessed. I am still delivering. There is a lot more in me and there is more to come. I am still improving and learning. It was an amazing weekend, a job well done.”
Flat tyres cost Khalifa Saleh Al-Attiyah and Bruno Jacomy a potential second place and victory in the Challenger category in their QMMF Team Taurus T3 Max and the time loss enabled Al-Attiyah’s Qatari team-mate Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari to sneak through to win the Challenger section and take second overall with co-driver Oriol Mena. He finished just 11 seconds behind Yacopini and also claimed maximum points in the FIA Middle East Baja Cup.
Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari said: “I always seem to have good days in Jordan. This is my favourite country for rallying. We won the Challenger and we finished second. It was a very good event for us but the navigation was difficult We lost a lot of places. The co-drivers are amazing. If I got paid one million Euros, I would never be a good co-driver. I just try to drive.”
Czech driver Miroslav Zapletal and his Slovakian navigator Marek Sykora finished fourth and second in the Ultimate section behind Yacopini in a Ford F-150 Evo. Zapletal was also the leading Master driver.
Hamza Bakhashab (Can-Am) moved up three places to take fifth and earned victory in the SSV category with his Polish navigator Marcin Pasek. The triumphant Saudi was also the leading Junior. He said: “It was very tough in terms of driving and navigation. I thank Marcin for his amazing job. We had a lot of moments with navigation, sideways and flying but no punctures and we finished. Thanks to Jordan for this amazing event with beautiful landscapes and stages.”
Sergei Remennik added to his FIA World Baja Cup points’ tally with a strong sixth place in his Nasser Racing Team Taurus and Paul Severn reached the finish in seventh to take second behind Bakhashab in the SSV class.
Ahmed Al-Kuwari guided the third of the QMMF-supported Taurus T3 Max machines to eighth, winning the final stage in the process. His Qatari team-mates Nouef Al-Sowaidi and Mohammed Al-Harqan rounded off the leading crews to give the QMMF Team five Challenger finishers inside the top 10.
Toyota’s Martin Kaczmarski and Armand Monleón retired with broken suspension on the final stage after holding second place at the overnight halt.
Qatar’s Abdullah Al-Rabban survived the rigours of the Jordanian desert to seal victory in the Stock category for series-production vehicles and earned vital points in the FIA Middle East Baja Cup. Majed Al-Thunayyan was second but is registered for the FIA World Baja Cup this year.
Omani rally veteran Hamed Al-Wahaibi and Qatar’s Mohammed Al-Meer stopped early in the final stage but both managed to continue with Al-Wahaibi enjoying the new challenge on his way to 14th.
In the motorcycle race, Al-Balooshi needed to stay ahead of Eid on the final stage to win the Jordan Baja for the fifth time. He started strongly and pulled away from the Lebanese and third-placed Philip Horlemann. His rivals stopped at the scene of Al-Rajhi’s incident and the Emirati stormed to the win with Eid and Horlemann eventually handed back the time they had lost with the stoppage to take second and third places.
Horlemann said: “Rafic and I stopped (Al-Rajhi’s incident) and we waited until the helicopter came because they both had back injuries.”
Local rider and stage two winner Abdullah Abu Aisheh (GasGas) and Thomas Childs (KTM) finished fourth and fifth and Abu Aisheh’s fellow Jordanian Abdallah Al-Bataynah was classified in 10th and won the Junior category. Emirati Hamdan Al-Ali fell heavily on the last stage and was taken to hospital for treatment.
Frenchman Frederic Fontarosa incurred a 40-minute time penalty on day one for not respecting refuelling regulations to add to a two-minute one for a late check in. He finished 10th.
The Palestinian duo of Taha Masoud and Taha Emran secured a second successive victory in the Jordan National Baja in a Can-Am Maverick with the fastest time on stage two, while the second Wadi Al-Qamar Navigational Rally also ended successfully with another strong field enjoying the delights of southern Jordan’s stunning terrain.
The 2025 Jordan Baja was sponsored by Zain Jordan, Markazia Toyota, Bank of Jordan, Manaseer Oil and Gas, Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA), Guarantee Travel Group, Budget Jordan, Hala and Bliss FM.
2025 Jordan Baja – Positions after SS2 (unofficial @16.00hrs):
Cars
1. Juan Cruz Yacopini (ARG)/Daniel Oliveras (ESP) Toyota Hilux Overdrive 5hr 23min 13.3sec*
2. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Oriol Mena (ESP) Taurus T3 Max 5hr 23min 24.3sec+
3. Khalifa Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Bruno Jacomy (ARG) Taurus T3 Max 5hr 30min 38.7sec+
4. Miroslav Zapletal (CZE)/Marek Sýkora (SVK) Ford F-150 Evo 5hr 30min 56.0sec*
5. Hamza Bakhashab (KSA)/Marcin Pasek (POL) Can-Am Maverick R 5hr 44min 30.6sec+
6. Sergei Remennik (UAE)/Aleksei Ignatov (KGZ) Taurus T3 Max 5hr 52min 34.6sec*
7. Paul Severn (GBR)/Max Delfino (FRA) Polaris RZR Pro R Sport 5hr 57min 37.8sec*
8. Ahmed Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Augusto Sanz (ARG) Taurus T3 Max 5hr 58min 41.6sec+
9. Nouef Al-Sowaidi (QAT)/Aisvydas Paliukenas (LTU) Taurus T3 Max 5hr 59min 27.6sec+
10. Mohammed Al-Harqan (QAT)/Szymon Gospodarczyk (POL) Taurus T3 Max 6hr 02min 54.3sec
11. Khalid Al-Jafla (UAE)/Andrei Rudnitski (LTU) Taurus T3 Max 6hr 08min 57.1sec*
12. Francisco Barreto (POR)/Paulo Fiuza (POR) Taurus T3 Max 7hr 21min 53.2sec*
13. Mohammed Al-Atteya (QAT)/Dmytro Tsyro (UKR) Can-Am Maverick R 7hr 32min 09.9sec+
14. Hamed Al-Wahaibi (OMN)/Ilka Minor (AUT) Can-Am Maverick R 7hr 40min 23.1sec*
15. Abdullah Al-Rabban (QAT)/Ali Al-Ajmi (UAE) Nissan Patrol 7hr 57min 02.0sec+
16. Amerigo Ventura (ITA)/Erika Mingozzi (ITA) Yamaha YXZ 1000R 8hr 39min 40.0sec*
17. Maha Al-Hameli (KSA)/Michael Metge (FRA) Can-Am Maverick R 8hr 41min 22.9sec*
18. Majed Al-Thunayyan (KSA)/Fahad Al-Sufyani (KSA) Nissan Patrol 8hr 54min 01.9sec*
19. Mohammed Al-Meer (QAT)/Ali Hassan Obaid (UAE) Nissan Patrol 10hr 21min 23.9sec+
20. Dania Akeel (KSA)/Stéphane Duplé (FRA) Toyota Hilux Overdrive 18hr 12min 05.2sec+
21. Mansour Al-Helai (UAE)/Khaled Al-Kendi (UAE) Can-Am Maverick R 18hr 12min 28.1sec*
22. Alexsei Shmotev (UAE)/Yaroslav Fedorov (KGZ) Taurus T3 Max 18hr 17min 05.9sec*
23. Nasser Al-Ajmi (KWT)/Arunas Gelazninkas (LTU) Nissan Patrol 19hr 02min 47.3sec+
Martin Kaczmarski (POL)/Armand Monleón (ESP) Toyota Hilux Overdrive RETIRED - SS2
Yazeed Al-Rajhi (KSA)/Timo Gottschalk (DEU) Toyota Hilux Overdrive RETIRED - SS2*
*denotes registered for the FIA World Baja Cup
+ denotes registered for the FIA Middle East Baja Cup
Bikes
1. Mohammed Al-Balooshi (UAE) Husqvarna RR450 7hr 53min 52.4sec
2. Rafic Eid (LEB) GasGas RX Rally Bike 7hr 56min 16.4sec
3. Philip Horlemann (GER) KTM 450 Rally Replica 8hr 08min 54.7sec
4. Abdullah Abu Aisheh (JOR) GasGas 450 Rally 8hr 21min 52.8sec
5. Thomas Childs (UAE) KTM 450 Rally 8hr 24min 31.1sec
6. Barry Howe (GBR) Husqvarna Factory Bike 9hr 37min 27.1sec
7. Sultan Al-Shanqiti (UAE) KTM 450 Rally Replica 9hr 55min 28.6sec
8. Jason Joslin (GBR) Husqvarna RX 450F 10hr 08min 10.4sec
9. Abdullah Al-Bataynah (JOR) Honda CRF 450R 10hr 09min 55.1sec
10. Frederic Fontarosa (FRA) Kove 450 Rally 11hr 04min 11.2sec
11. Thomas Cross (UAE) Kove 450 EX 11hr 48min 53.6sec
Hamdan Al-Ali (UAE) KTM 450 RX RETIRED – SS2
Quads
1. Hani Al-Noumesi (KSA) Yamaha YFM 700R 8hr 25min 01.8sec