Less than two weeks since the finish of the 47th Dakar Rally, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will host the Saudi Baja on January 30th-February 1st. 

The Ha’il-based three-day Baja is the opening round of both the FIA World and Middle East Baja Cups and will also mark the 20th anniversary since motorsport was permitted for the first time in the Kingdom in 2006. The Ha’il International Rally ran through the An-Nafud desert and the north-central region of the country 20 years ago as a club status event and marked the foundations for future inclusion in the FIA International Cup for Cross-Country Bajas. 

Many teams left cars and equipment in the country after the Dakar Rally and transported everything from the finish in Shubaytah to Ha’il in the north. For that reason, the event organised by the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF) has attracted a quality 38-car entry with 10 machines running in the Ultimate category, 10 in Challenger, 13 in SSV and five in Stock. 

Of those, 15 will compete for FIA World Baja Cup points and 22 will be looking for a strong start in the FIA Middle East Baja Cup.

Yazeed Al-Rajhi and co-driver Timo Gottschalk head the field in the first of three Overdrive Racing machines entered in the Ultimate category. Fresh from winning the Dakar Rally for the first time, Al-Rajhi will be out to score points towards the FIA World Baja Cup and his local National Championship.

The Belgian team will also run Hiluxes for Argentina’s Juan Cruz Yacopini and last year’s FIA Middle East Baja Cup winner Dania Akeel. Akeel will be registered for FIA Middle East Baja Cup points again and teams up with her regular co-driver Stéphane Duplé.

H.R.H. Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal, the Chairman of the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation (SAMF), will also take part in an Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux with navigator Pablo Moreno. He will run in the Saudi National Championship section, alongside a number of well-known veterans from the region, but will not score FIA points.

Main competition to the two Toyotas in the FIA World Cup comes from a solitary X-Raid Mini JCW Rally entry for Denis Krotov and Konstantin Zhiltsov. The crew will use the petrol-engined derivative of the Mini. 

Czech veteran Miroslav Zapletal lines up with Polish co-driver Michal Goleniewski in his self-built F-150 Evo and will be chasing both FIA World Baja Cup and Saudi National Championship points. 

A pair of Nissan Patrols in the hands of Kuwait’s Salem Al-Dhafeeri and Nasser Al-Ajmi and similar vehicles for Saudi drivers, Abdulaziz Al-Yaeesh and Motab Saud Al-Qnon, will challenge for FIA Middle East Baja Cup points. Likewise, local driver Ahmed Al-Shami wheels out a Fast & Speed Buggy in the regional series.

Khalid Al-Jafla heads Challenger field

Four crews will battle it out for Challenger points in the FIA World Baja Cup and a further six are registered for the FIA Middle East Baja Cup. 

Emirati Khalid Al-Jafla tops the field in his Taurus T3 Max, last year’s Jordan Baja winner again teaming up with Andrei Rudnitski. He faces competition from the South Racing Can-Am Team’s flying Dutchman Gergen Heisterkamp in a new Maverick R and a pair of Nasser Racing Taurus T3 Max machines in the hands of Aleksei Shmotev and Sergei Remennik.

The QMMF Team Taurus trio of Ahmed Al-Kuwari, Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari and Khalifa Al-Attiyah face a showdown with local driver Saleh Al-Saif (G Rally Team OT3), Portugal’s Francisco Barreto (Nasser Racing Taurus) and Bahraini privateer Hassan Al-Sadadi (R-X Sport Can-Am) for Middle East Baja Cup points. 

South Racing Can-Am Team’s Alvarez tops SSV section 

The 13-strong SSV category is the most popular on this occasion: six drivers will compete for FIA World Baja Cup points with a further six opting for the regional four-round Baja series. 

Argentina-based Fernando Alvarez again teams up with Frenchman Xavier Panseri to lead the FIA World Cup Baja field in a new South Racing Can-Am Team Maverick R. The Germany-based team is also running Maverick Rs for Dutch veteran Erik van Loon and Alvarez’s fellow countryman Diego Martinez.

Competition for FIA World Baja Cup points comes from Abdullah Al-Haydan (R-X Sport Maverick R), Saudi female driver Maha Al-Hamali (Can-Am) and British entrant Paul Severn in the sole Polaris RZR Pro R Sport. 

Saudi all-rounder Ibrahim Al-Muhanna leads the challenge for FIA Middle East Baja Cup points in a section dominated by Can-Ams. He faces competition from Kuwait’s Meshari Al-Thefiri, Qatar’s Mohammed Al-Atteya and the Saudi trio of Moaz Hariri, Abdullah Al-Shegawi and Hamza Bakhashab. Saudi rookie Orjwan Al-Raoush completes the SSV line-up but is not registered for either championship. 

Defending regional champion Al-Thunayyan leads Stock category

Majed Al-Thunayyan and Fahad Al-Sufyani comfortably won last year’s Stock category for series production cross-country vehicles in the FIA Middle East Baja Cup and the Nissan Patrol crew return to action in 2025. They top a five-strong field of Nissans although, like Qatari Abdullah Al-Rabban and his Emirati navigator Ali Al-Ajmi, they are registered for the FIA World Baja Cup on this occasion. 

Qatari Mohammed Al-Meer will battle it out with the Saudi duo of Ibrahim Al-Bensahm and Fahad Al-Muaywid for FIA Middle East Baja points in the Stock class. 

This year’s Baja runs to a compact format with administration and scrutineering checks taking place on Wednesday (January 29). 

Thursday afternoon’s ceremonial start (16.00hrs) is then followed by a 3.4km Prologue to determine the starting order for the desert selective sections of 260km and 160km over the following two days. 

2025 Saudi Baja (entry list):

Ultimate 

200. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (SAU)/Timo Gottschalk (DEU)                                    Toyota Hilux Overdrive*

201. Juan Cruz Yacopini (ARG)/Daniel Oliveras (ESP)                                  Toyota Hilux Overdrive*

202. Miroslav Zapletal (CZE)/Michal Goleniewski (POL)                             Ford F-150*

203. Denis Krotov (ANA)/Konstantin Zhiltsov (ANA)                                   Mini John Cooper Works Rally 3.0i*

204. Dania Akeel (SAU)/Stéphane Duplé (FRA)                                             Toyota Hilux Overdrive+

205. Salem Al-Dhafeeri (KWT)/Fares Al-Thefiri (KWT)                                Nissan Patrol+

206. Abdulaziz Al-Yaeesh (SAU)/Omar Al-Lahim (SAU)                               Nissan Patrol+

207. Motab Saud Al-Qnon (SAU)/Waleed Al-Shegawi (SAU)                    Nissan Patrol+

208. Nasser Al-Ajmi (KWT)/Arunas Gelazninkas (LTU)                                Nissan Patrol+

209. Ahmed Al-Shamy (SAU)/Ali Hassan Obaid (ARE)                                 Fast & Speed+

Challenger

300. Khalid Al-Jafla (ARE)/Andrei Rudnitski (LTU)                                        Taurus T3 Max*

301. Ahmed Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Augusto Sanz (ARG)                                      Taurus T3 Max+

302. Saleh Al-Saif (SAU)/Alexander Toril (ESP)                                              G Rally Team OT3+

303. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Nasser Al-Kuwari (QAT)                          Taurus T3 Max+

304. Khalifa Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Dmytro Tsyro (UKR)                                      Taurus T3 Max+

305. Francisco Barreto (POR)/Paulo Fiuza (POR)                                          Taurus T3 Max+

306. Hassan Al-Sadadi (BRN)/Ali Mirza (ARE)                                                Can-Am Maverick X3+

307. Gerben Heisterkamp (NLD)/Wesley Aaaldering (NLD)                      Can-Am Maverick R*

308. Alexsei Shmotov (ARE)/Yaroslav Fedorov (KGZ)                                  Taurus T3 Max*

309. Sergei Remennik (ARE)/Aleksei Ignatov (KGZ)                                     Taurus T3 Max*

SSV

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

401. Ibrahim Al-Muhanna (SAU)/Faisal Al-Suwayh (SAU)                          Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR+            

402. Meshari Al-Thefiri (KWT)/Oriol Vidal (ESP)                                           Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR+

403. Erik van Loon (NLD)/Wouter Rosegaar (NLD)                                      Can-Am Maverick R*

404. Diego Martinez (ARG)/Sergio Lafuente (URY)                                      Can-Am Maverick R*

405. Mohammed Al-Atteya (QAT)/Enio Bozzano Junior (BRA)                   Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR+

406. Moaz Hariri (SAU)/Kirill Shubin (KGZ)                                                     Can-Am Maverick R+

407. Abdullah Al-Haydan (SAU)/Bader Al-Ajmi (SAU)                                 Can-Am Maverick R*

408. Abdullah Al-Shegawi (SAU)/Raed Al-Assaf (SAU)                                Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR+

409. Hamza Bakhashab (SAU)/Marcin Pasek (POL)                                      Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR+

410. Maha Al-Hamali (SAU)/Sébastian Delaunay (FRA)                              Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR*

411. Paul Severn (GBR)/Max Delfino (FRA)                                                    Polaris RZR Pro R Sport*

412. Orjwan Al-Raoush (SAU)/Khalid Al-Kendi (ARE)                                  Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR

Stock

500. Majed Al-Thunayyan (SAU)/Fahad Al-Sufyani (SAU)                          Nissan Patrol*

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

502. Mohammed Al-Meer (QAT)/Alexey Mun (KAZ)                                   Nissan Patrol+

503. Ibrahim Al-Bensahm (SAU)/Mohammed Al-Dawish (SAU)                   Nissan Patrol+

504. Fahad Al-Muaywid (SAU)/Abdulmajeed Al-Hurra (SAU)                   Nissan Patrol+

*denotes registered for FIA World Cup

+ denotes registered for FIA Middle East Cup

Timetable of events

Wednesday, January 29

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

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

Thursday, January 30 

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

Ceremonial start, Baja HQ, Ha’il                                       16.00hrs 

Prologue (3.4km), TBA                                                        16.30hrs

Friday, January 31 

Leg 1 (260km)                                                                      07.30hrs onwards

Saturday, February 1

Leg 2 (160km)                                                                      07.30hrs onwards

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

Prize giving ceremony, TBA                                               19.30hrs