An unparalleled success was witnessed by the Qatar Baha International Rally, which was organized by the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation for three days, with a large international participation of “36 cars, 59 motorcycles, and 5 quad bikes,” representing 33 countries.
Kazakh driver Denis Krotov and his navigator Konstantin Zheltsov, riding a Mini in the colors of the “X-Ride” team, won the Baja Qatar International title, while Saudi driver Dania Aqeel and her French navigator Stephane Doublet (Toyota Hilux), which achieved a historic achievement by occupying the top spot in the provisional general standings at the end of the second day. The competition came in fifth place after experiencing a mechanical problem before the finish line. Emirati cyclist Mohammed Al Balushi (KTM) performed exceptionally well, overturning a 15-minute deficit in front of his colleague Abdullah Al Shatti and occupying the top spot in the final standings, achieving his second victory at Baha Qatar in his career in the motorcycle category. Saudi Hani Al-Nomsi (Yamaha) won the title in the quad bike category.
Yesterday’s competitions included one stage, 251.10 kilometers long, which began east of Dukhan, where participants made their way through Qatar’s western desert before passing through the sand dunes near Sealine and the sea in the south. They then headed north to arrive south of Al Udeid Air Base, east of Mesaieed.
An engine problem prevented Qatari and international sportsman Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah from returning to competitions, and Kuwaiti Nasser Al-Ajmi also left due to mechanical problems.
The riders competing for the FEM Baja World Cup title, Mohammed Al Balushi, Pedro Bianchi Prata and David Meagher, occupied fifth, eleventh and nineteenth places, respectively. American cyclist Tyrell Thien withdrew before the resumption of competitions due to physical exhaustion, and Hanu Geiser, Mishal Al-Ghunaim, Norbert Swietochowski, Han Yihqiang and Carsten Huitz joined him in the list of withdrawals.
Al Balushi won first place in the stage, recording a time of 3:48.15.8 hours, achieving his second victory at the Baja Qatar International. The Emirati driver started the stage 15:33.8 minutes behind his friend and teammate and cruised south to beat Al Shatti by 23:47.4 minutes. Briton Alex McInnes rounded out the top three positions on the podium.
Amr Al-Hamad: We are happy with the guests’ praise of the organization
Amr Al-Hamad, Executive Director of the Automobile and Motorcycle Federation, expressed his happiness about the great success achieved by the Qatar International Baja with large international participation and said after the coronation ceremony: Thank God we finished the race without any injuries because the safety of the drivers is one of the priorities of the race organizing committee and a large part of the success.
He added: This year, Baha Qatar International attracted a large international participation from world-class car and motorcycle champions, and we are happy with this large participation, and pleased with the guests’ praise of the organization. The Executive Director of the Automobile and Motorcycle Federation spoke about the participation of Qatari drivers in the Baja Qatar International, noting that Abdulaziz Al Kuwari was close to achieving a positive result in light of the development of his level in the recent period. He added: Nasser Al-Attiyah and Khalifa Al-Attiyah had a mechanical breakdown in their car and were unable to complete the competitions, while Rashid Al-Muhannadi fought the competitions with a new strategy and preserved his car. Al-Hamad pointed out that after the completion of Baja Qatar, the results and negatives suffered by Qatari drivers will be monitored in order to avoid them before the Dakar Rally competitions.
Krotov: Thank you to the organizing committee
“I am very happy to return to Qatar and achieve victory,” Krotov said after his victory after taking first place. “This Baja is very competitive and difficult for the driver, navigator and car alike.”
He continued: “I am proud to have achieved the first victory for the X-Ride team with the new version of the car. I am sure that a bright future awaits this project. A big thank you to the organizers for this wonderful Baha. Last year we climbed to the podium, and this year we achieved victory.”