The opening round of the FIA World and Middle East Baja Cups takes place less than two weeks after the conclusion of the 48th Dakar Rally and many teams left equipment on site before the three-day Baja in Ha’il.

Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah faces a hectic six weeks of racing before the Holy Month of Ramadan. After winning the Dakar for a sixth time, the Qatari was triumphant in the Oman International Rally on Saturday and will compete in the Saudi Baja at the wheel of a two-wheel drive Optimus MD Buggy before taking part in the Qatar International Rally and Jordan Baja over the following two weekends. He is registered for the FIA Middle East Baja Cup with navigator Max Delfino.

“I tested the MD Buggy in Saudi Arabia and thought it was fast and had potential,” said Al-Attityah. “Simon Vitse finished 15th in one on the Dakar and I am looking forward to using it in the four Middle Eastern Bajas.”

With defending FIA World Baja Cup champion Juan Cruz Yacopini facing an unknown spell on the sidelines after a freak pre-Dakar diving accident in his native Argentina, the 2025 Dakar Rally winners and multiple Ha’il event winners, Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk, are the top seeds in a Toyota Hilux GR run by Overdrive Racing.

The event organised by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF) has attracted a quality 40-car field with 11 machines running in the Ultimate category, eight in Challenger, 15 in SSV and six in Stock.

Of those, 17 will compete for FIA World Baja Cup points and a similar number will be looking for a positive start to the FIA Middle East Baja Cup.

Overdrive Racing will also run a pair of Toyotas in the Ultimate class for the defending FIA Middle East Baja Cup champion Dania Akeel and her co-driver Sébastien Delaunay and the Japanese driver Akira Miura, who is entered under the Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC banner with Armand Monleón. Both crews are registered for the FIA World Baja Cup.

Toyotas dominate the head of the FIA entry with SVR Racing also set to run three Toyota Hilux IMT Evos for South Africa’s Saood Variawa, Portugal’s Francisco Barreto and Emirati Khalid Al-Jafla. Variawa and Barreto are registered for the FIA World Baja Cup with their navigators François Cazalet and Paulo Fiuza.

Offroadsport’s Miroslav Zapletal and Polish navigator Michal Goleniewski wheel out the Czech driver’s self-built Ford F-150 Evo to chase FIA Middle East Baja Cup points, alongside the Emirati duo of Ahmed Al-Shamy and Ali Hassan Obaid in a Century CR6.

Dakar category runner-up Seaidan heads Challenger field

Five of the eight Challenger crews will be chasing FIA Middle East Baja Cup points with just two teams opting for the FIA World Baja Cup.

Recent Dakar runner-up Yasir Seaidan leads the way in a Nasser Racing Team Taurus Evo Max with navigator Xavier Flick. He faces regional Baja Cup competition from Dubai-based British privateer David Mabbs (Can-Am), the QMMF Team’s Nouef Al-Sowaidi (Taurus), a returning Boris Gadasin running a G-Force T3-GF under the Kyrgyz Rally Team banner and Saudi driver Abdullah Al-Fahad (Taurus).  

The Qatar-based QMMF Team has entered a second Taurus T3 Max for Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari and Stéphane Duplé to chase FIA World Baja Cup points. They line up against Omani veteran Hamed Al-Wahaibi and his navigator Maciej Giemza in an R-X Sport-run Can-Am Maverick R.

Sergei Remennik and Khalifa Saleh Al-Attiyah won the Challenger categories in last year’s FIA World and Middle East Baja Cups, but neither have entered the opening round to defend their titles.

Dutchman Erik Van Loon tops the SSV section

Eight SSV crews are chasing regional Baja Cup points with six opting for the FIA World Baja Cup.

Dutchman Erik van Loon is the top seed in a South Racing Can-Am Maverick R with fellow countryman Wouter Rosegaar but has strong competition for FIA World Baja Cup honours from former champion and team-mate Fernando Alvarez, the Dubai-based R-X Sport’s trio of Mansour Al-Helai, Hedda Hosås and Moaz Hariri (Can-Ams) and Polish privateer Tomasz Bialkowski (Polaris).

They will be navigated by Xavier Panseri, Khalid Al-Kendi, Pol Tibau, Kirill Shubin and Dariusz Baskiewicz, respectively.

Qatar’s Ahmed Al-Kuwari is the leading driver in the FIA Middle East Baja Cup with Argentinian navigator Augusto Sanz in one of two Yamaha YXZ 1000Rs on the entry list. San Marino-based Camelia Liparoti teams up with Fahad Al-Muaikil in the second machine running under the Al-Kuwari Racing by Apex banner.

Maha Al-Hamali, Abdullah Al-Haydan and Hamad Al-Harbi represent the host nation in three Can-Ams, while the regional Baja Cup field is boosted with additional Can-Am entries from Qatar’s Mohammed Al-Atteya, Kuwait’s Dhari Al-Dhafeeri and Emirati Nora Al-Jassasi.

Al-Thunayyan returns to defend his Stock title

Defending Stock champion Majed Al-Thunayyan returns to defend his FIA World Baja Cup title with Omar Al-Lahim reading his road book on this occasion in a Torq Racing Nissan Patrol.

He will lock horns with last year’s FIA Middle East Baja Cup Stock winner Abdullah Al-Rabban, as they are both registered for World Cup points on this occasion. Competition in Saudi Arabia comes from the local driver Abdullah Al-Shegawi with his Emirati navigator Ali Mirza in a Toyota Prado and Al-Mashna and Abdullah Al-Shammeri in a Nissan Patrol.

Abdulaziz Al-Saud and Meshal Al-Shammeri are the sole entrants in the Stock class chasing regional Baja Cup points.

The Ha’il-based Baja runs to a compact format with administration and scrutineering checks taking place on Wednesday (January 28th).

Thursday afternoon’s ceremonial start at Al-Maghwat is followed by a 6.25km Prologue to determine the starting order for the two desert selective sections of 245km and 151km over the following two days. The two specials start at Al-Jafur, pass through Baqaa en route to finishes in Alhano.

2026 Saudi Baja - entry list:

Ultimate

200. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (KSA)/Timo Gottschalk (DEU)                                   Toyota Hilux GR*

201. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Max Delfino (FRA)                            Optimus MD Rallye+

202. Saood Variawa (RSA)/François Cazalet (FRA)                                     Toyota Hilux IMT Evo*

203. Francisco Barreto (POR)/Paulo Fiuza (POR)                                        Toyota Hilux IMT Evo*

204. Dania Akeel (KSA)/Sébastian Delaunay (FRA)                                    Toyota Hilux Evo*

205. Khalid Al-Jafla (UAE)/Andrei Rudnitski (LTU)                                      Toyota Hilux IMT Evo

206. Akira Miura (JPN)/Armand Monleón (ESP)                                         Toyota Hilux GR*    

207. Miroslav Zapletal (CZE)/Michal Goleniewski (POL)                           Ford F-150+

208. Ahmed Al-Shamy (KSA)/Ali Hassan Obaid (UAE)                               Century CR6+

209. Mohammed Al-Tuwaijri (KSA)/Yasser Al-Hajjaj (KSA)                       Nissan Navara

210. Yazeed Al-Thunay (KSA)/Fahad Al-Dhahri (KSA)                                Nissan Patrol

Challenger

300. Yasir Seaidan (KSA)/Xavier Flick (FRA)                                                 Taurus Evo Max+

301. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Stéphane Duplé (FRA)                            Taurus T3 Max*

302. Hamed Al-Wahaibi (OMA)/Maciej Giemza (POL)                              Can-Am Maverick R*

303. Saleh Al-Saif (KSA)/Fahad Al-Amr (KSA)                                              Taurus T3 Max

304. David Mabbs (UAE)/David McBride (UAE)                                          Can-Am Maverick X3+

305. Nouef Al-Sowaidi (QAT)/Aisvydas Paliukenas (LTU)                         Taurus T3 Max+

306. Abdullah Al-Fahad (KSA)/Leander Pienaar (RSA)                               Taurus T3 Max+

307. Boris Gadasin (KGZ)/Dmitrii Kozhukhov (KGZ)                                   G-Force T3-GF+       

SSV

400. Erik van Loon (NED)/Wouter Rosegaar (NED)                                    Can-Am Maverick R*

401. Ahmed Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Augusto Sanz (ARG)                                    Yamaha YXZ 100R Sport Shift+

402. Fernando Alvarez (ARG)/Xavier Panseri (FRA)                                   Can-Am Maverick R*

403. Anja van Loon (NED)/Christiaan van der Rusen (NED)                     Can-Am Maverick R

404. Maha Al-Hamali (KSA)/Nuno Morais (POR)                                        Can-Am Maverick R+

405. Mansour Al-Helai (UAE)/Khalid Al-Kendi (UAE)                                 Can-Am Maverick R*

406. Hamad Al-Harbi (KSA)/Faisal Al-Suwayh (KSA)                                  Can-Am Maverick R+

407. Camelia Liparoti (SMR)/Fahad Al-Muaikil (KSA)                                Yamaha YXZ 100R Sport Shift+

408. Mohammed Al-Atteya (QAT)/Aleksei Kuzmich (UAE)                      Can-Am Maverick R+

409. Tomasz Bialkowski (POL)/Dariusz Baskiewicz (POL)                          Polaris RZR Pro R Sport*

410. Abdullah Al-Haydan (KSA)/Bader Al-Ajmi (KSA)                                 Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR+

411. Hedda Hosås (NOR)/Pol Tibau (ESP)                                                    Can-Am Maverick R*

412. Dhari Al-Dhafeeri (KUW)/Khaled Al-Dhafeeri (KUW)                       Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR+

414. Moaz Hariri (KSA)/Kirill Shubin (KGZ)                                                   Can-Am Maverick R*

415. Nora Al-Jassasi (UAE)/Balakrishna Udayakumar (UAE)                    Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR+

Stock

500. Majed Al-Thunayyan (KSA)/Omar Al-Lahim (KSA)                             Nissan Patrol*

501. Abdullah Al-Rabban (QAT)/Ali Al-Ajmi (UAE)                                     Nissan Patrol*

502. Abdullah Al-Shegawi (KSA)/Ali Mirza (UAE)                                        Toyota Prado*

503. Yahya Halawi (KSA)/Nawaf Halawi (KSA)                                            Nissan Patrol

504. Al-Mashna Al-Shammeri (KSA)/Abdullah Al-Shammeri (KSA)         Nissan Patrol*

505. Abdulaziz Al-Saud (KSA)/Meshal Al-Shammeri (KSA)                       Nissan Patrol+

*denotes registered for FIA World Cup

+ denotes registered for FIA Middle East Cup

Timetable of events

Wednesday, January 28

Administration checks, Baja HQ, Ha’il                                 08.00-18.00hrs

Scrutineering checks, Baja HQ, Ha’il                                                      09.00-20.00hrs

Thursday, January 29

Pre-event press conference, Baja HQ, Ha’il                      11.00hrs

Ceremonial start, Al-Maghwat                                               13.30hrs

Prologue (6.25km), Meshar                                                     14.55hrs

Friday, January 30

Leg 1 (245km)                                                                                07.35hrs onwards

Saturday, January 31

Leg 2 (151km)                                                                                07.35hrs onwards

Post-event press conference, Baja HQ, Ha’il                    17.30hrs

Prize giving ceremony, Al-Maghwat                                     19.30hrs