Nasser and Dabrowski confirm car and motorcycle wins at the Qatar International Baja

 

Nasser and Dabrowski confirm car and motorcycle wins at the Qatar International Baja

Kuwait’s Meshari Al-Thefiri and Frenchman Jeremie Warnia win T3 and T4 sections

 

 LUSAIL (Qatar): Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and co-driver Mathieu Baumel clinched victory in the car category in their Toyota GR DKR Hilux, while Polish KTM rider Konrad Dabrowski stayed clear of late trouble to defend his motorcycle title at the end of a punishing Qatar International Baja on Saturday.

Al-Attiyah controlled proceedings through the demanding last stage to take the day’s win by 10min 18sec from Chinese rival Guoyu Zhang and that was sufficient for the Qatari to finish 16min 21.6sec ahead of Overdrive Racing team-mates, Denis Krotov and Konstantin Zhiltsov, in their Toyota Hilux. Zhang and his Spanish co-driver Oriol Mena rounded off the podium places in their Baic ORC BJ40,

Al-Attiyah said: “It was a good Baja. The first day I had a small margin and the second day I pushed a lot. I thank Jean-Marc (Fortin) from Overdrive Racing for bringing me a new car and thanks to Qatar Airways for flying this car over very swiftly so that I was able to compete here. I am very glad to win here again on my home race. I always want to compete in every international event in Qatar and it’s great to bounce back with a win after my big crash in Abu Dhabi.”

Runner-up Krotov added: “After 35km, I had to stop and change the tyres. After that we lost a little power and didn’t have a big speed. One turbo was not working. But the race was good and I enjoyed the stages.”

Competitors tackled 224.96km on the final day and the route was split into four sections of 33.73km, 28.51km, 43.23km and 113.20km by three non-competitive transfer zones.

Overdrive Racing’s Juan Cruz Yacopini and Daniel Oliveras moved up to fourth overall on the final stage in the third of four Toyotas.

The experienced Meshari Al-Thefiri began the day second in T3 behind his usual co-driver Nasser Al-Kuwari and the Kuwaiti delivered a solid stage performance to set the fastest time and sneak through to win the FIA T3 category for lightweight prototype machines on his first race with a new MCE-5 T3M and Oriol Vidal looking after the navigation. Al-Thefiri also finished fifth overall.

He said: “We managed to finish. It’s so difficult with the road book to know if you are out of the route. It is not easy. The car was very good. We caught Nasser (Al-Kuwari) about 20km from the start, so I managed my pace then and I knew what my advantage was. I am very happy that this is the first win for the MCE-5. Hard luck to Nasser.”

With Nasser Al-Kuwari and French co-driver François Cazalet dropping precious minutes on the stage with the lack of brakes and puncturs, that opened the door for the Qatari’s brother Abdulaziz to snatch second place in the category in his QMMF Rally Team Can-Am. On his debut in this type of motor sport, the former winner of the Qatar International Rally also finished in an excellent sixth in the general classification. Nasser came home in seventh and third in T3.

“From the first 20km, we had one flat tyre and we changed it,” said Nasser Al-Kuwari. “Then we catch Meshari and we had another flat tyre. We changed it. We catch him again and try to pass him and then we had a third one. Then we had no chance to win and we just tried to get the car to the finish. We also had brake issues. But I am happy with my performance.”

Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari said: “Very happy to finish second. I would love to have won T3 but it is not easy after the delay with the puncture on the first day. Unlucky for Nasser to come with the third puncture. I took it safely. I wanted to do all the mileage. I want to transfer to this kind of rallies. I prefer this type of rallies. You don’t have to drive every week.”

The French crew of Jeremie Warnia and Loic Minaudier managed to overhaul Brazil’s Cristiano de Sousa Batista and Portuguese co-driver Fausto Moto to secure a narrow victory in the FIA T4 category in their Polaris RXR 1000 R. They finished eighth overall and beat their Can-Am rivals by 2min 10sec on the final day to secure a winning margin of just 30.3 seconds.

Seventeen minutes of time penalties for missing route waypoints had pushed Pau Navarro down the T4 rankings after the third stage in his FN Speed Team Can-Am. He climbed back to third on the final day.

Saudi Arabia’s Khalid Al-Feraihi and French co-driver Sébastien Delaunay boosted their FIA Middle East Baja Cup title aspirations with valuable points for finishing 11th overall in their Nissan Patrol behind the 10th-placed Ronan Chabot in his Overdrive Toyota.

Krzysztof Holowczyc (Mini JCR Rally Plus) and Ahmed Al-Shegawi (Can-Am) retired on Friday after their mechanical issues.

Dabrowski retains motorcycle title

 

 Konrad Dabrowski retained his motorcycle title in Qatar with a polished performance that saw his win every stage on his KTM. The Pole won Saturday’s last stage by 6min 49sec to record a winning margin over Great Britain’s Robert Wallace of 31min 04.8sec. He also claimed the honours of finishing as the first FIM Junior.

Dabrowski said: “Qatar is very lucky for us. A second win here in a row. I like to come here because it is great experience and I can improve my navigation and my riding. I was sick today on the stage after spending a night in the air conditioning. It was so difficult just to ride the bike on the second part of the stage. I am very tired but happy to win this race. I was super tired when I finished but it’s a great feeling to win.”

With Martin Chalmers dropped out of contention on the final morning, the battle for the final place on the podium swung in favour of the Dutch female racer Mirjam Pol. The KTM rider climbed from eighth to third to finish as the top Women. She edged out Andrew Houlihan for the last podium place by just 66.4 seconds, although the Australian had the consolation of winning the Veterans’ class and finishing a fine fourth.

A delighted Pol said: “When you start eighth overall and you finish third it is a big surprise. I had all the route waypoints and when I arrived I only saw two lines and that’s when I realised I had achieved a very good result.”

Emirati Mohammed Al-Ramani climbed to fifth at the expense of sixth-place Canadian Jonathan Finn. Mohammed Al-Balooshi was the championship leader after the opening round in Saudi Arabia and the Emirati reached the finish in eighth.

Several riders were handed time back overnight by FIM officials for delays on Friday helping at the scene of other competitors’ accidents. Oran O’Kelly received a credit of 53 minutes and Alex McInnes and Simon Marcic were also handed time back. McInnes went on to finish 10th overall after setting the second quickest time behind Dabrowski on the final stage. Marcic came home in third place on the day and finished 14th.

 Emirati Sultan Al-Balooshi did not restart after his problems on Friday. Arnoud Dom was the unofficial winner of the quad category after Haitham Al-Tuwaijri  and Abdulaziz Al-Ahli failed to finish. Mansoor Al-Suwaidi finished second.

2023 Qatar International Baja – Positions after stage 4 (unofficial @ 15.45hrs):

FIA - Cars (Top 16 only)

1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Mathieu Baumel (AND) Toyota GR DKR Hilux                                       4hr 51min 49.7sec*

2. Denis Krotov (KGZ)/Konstantin Zhiltsov (ISR) Toyota Hilux Overdrive                                                         5hr 08min 11.3sec*

3. Guoyu Zhang (CHN)/Oriol Mena (ESP) Baic ORC BJ40                                                                                     5hr 11min 00.6sec*

4. Juan Cruz Yacopini (ARG)/Daniel Oliveras (ESP) Toyota Hilux Overdrive                                                         5hr 23min 50.9sec*

5. Meshari Al-Thefiri (KWT)/Oriol Vidal (ESP) MCE-5 T3M (T3)                                                                            5hr 30min 32.4sec*

6. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Alexei Kuzmich (ARE) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                                            5hr 38min 05.3sec+

7. Nasser Al-Kuwari (QAT)/François Cazalet (FRA) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                                            5hr 42min 23.3sec+

8. Jeremie Warnia (FRA)/Loic Minaudier (FRA) Polaris RZR 1000 R (T4)                                                  5hr 45min 51.5sec*

9. Cristiano de Sousa Batista (BRA)/Fausto Mota (PRT) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo (T4)                             5hr 46min 21.8sec*

 

10. Ronan Chabot (FRA)/Gilles Pillot (FRA) Toyota Hilux Overdrive                                                                             5hr 47min 36.5sec*

11. Khalid Al-Feraihi (SAU)/Sébastien Delaunay (FRA) Nissan Pick-Up                                                                       5hr 56min 24.7sec+

12. Otavio Sousa (BRA)/João Ferreira (PRT) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                                                                     5hr 59min 07.7sec*

13. Fernando Alvarez (ESP)/Xavier Panseri (FRA)   Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                                            5hr 59min 39.7sec*

14. Pau Navarro (ESP)/Gonçalo Reis (PRT) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo (T4)                                                        6hr 02min 01.5sec*

15. Ahmed Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Manuel Luchesse (QAT) Yamaha YXZ 1000 R (T4)                                                       6hr 07min 26.6sec+

16. Adel Abdulla (QAT)/Marc Serra (QAT) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                                                                             6hr 11min 45.9sec+

T1 unless stated

*denotes registered for FIA World Cup

 denotes registered for FIA Middle East Cup

 

2023 Qatar International Baja - positions after stage 3 (unofficial):

FIM – Bikes (top 16 only)

1. Konrad Dabrowski (POL) KTM 450 Rally                                                     7hr 22min 09.3sec

2. Robert Wallace (GBR) KTM 450 RFR                                                            7hr 53min 14.1sec

3. Mirjam Pol (NLD) KTM                                                                                   8hr 43min 18.1sec

4. Andrew Houlihan (AUS) Husqvarna FR                                                       8hr 44min 24.5sec

5. Marwan Al-Rahmani (ARE) KTM 450 Rally                                                 8hr 46min 07.6sec

6. Jonathan Finn (CAN) Honda CRF 450 RL                                                     8hr 47min 47.5sec

7. Cesare Zacchetti (ITA) KTM EXC 350F                                                         8hr 49min 09.5sec

8. Mohammed Al-Balooshi (ARE) KTM 450 Rally Replica                                9hr 04min 24.8sec

9. Abdullah Al-Shatti (KWT) Husqvarna 450 Rally                                         9hr 10min 08.2sec

10. Alex McInnes (GBR) Husqvarna FE450                                                     9hr 10min 56.0sec

11. Ola Floene (NOR) KTM 450 Rally                                                                9hr 12min 54.5sec

12. Abdullah Lanjawi (ARE) Husqvarna FE450                                               9hr 13min 09.9sec

13. Mishal Al-Ghuneim (SAU) KTM 450 Rally                                                 9hr 15min 00.1sec

14. Simon Marcic (SVN) Husqvarna 450 Rally Replica                                  9hr 15min 42.8sec

15. Oran O’Kelly (IRL) KTM 450 Rally                                                               9hr 30min 09.2sec

16. Ehab Al-Hakeem (LBN) Yamaha WR 450F                                                10hr 12min 08.3sec

 

 

 

FIM – Quads

1. Arnoud Dom (BEL) Suzuki LTR 450                                                              10hr 36min 34.8sec

2. Mansoor Al-Suwaidi (ARE) Yamaha YFZ 450R                                           10hr 50min 29.7sec

3. Hani Al-Noumesi (SAU) Yamaha Raptor 700                                             13hr 07min 17.6sec

Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah fights back to lead the Qatar International Baja

 

Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah fights back to lead the Qatar International Baja

 ·       Young Pole Konrad Dabrowski increased his motorcycle lead with canny ride

·       Qatar’s Nasser Al-Kuwari and Brazil’s Cristiano De Sousa top T3 and T4 standings

 

 

LUSAIL (Qatar): Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and co-driver Mathieu Baumel lost the lead to Polish rivals Krzysztof Holowczyc and Lukasz Kurzeja on the longer first stage of the Qatar International Baja on Friday morning and then battled back to set the fastest time on the next one to lead by 2min 33.8sec at the end of the day.

Ar the wheel of their borrowed Toyota Hilux, the defending champions now head into the final day with a slim cushion over their team-mates, Denis Krotov and Konstantin Zhiltsov, who hold second place in their Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux, despite two flat tyres.

Al-Attiyah said: “The first stage was not easy because the road book was not really clear but we make two mistakes that cost 10 minutes. On the next two sections we pushed and are quite happy.”

Krotov added: “Today was good. No problems with navigation. My co-driver did a good job. Two punctures cost us time.”

With Holowczyc reportedly stopped in the second stage of the day with cooling issues on his Mini JCW Rally Plus, that opened the door for the Chinese driver Guoyu Zhang and his Spanish co-driver Oriol Mena to climb into third place with their Baic ORC BJ40, despite one flat tyre.

The day’s action featured three competitive sections of 117.29km, 46.05km and 70.53km for the cars and a similar distance for the motorcycles and quads with the FIM entrants tackling the shorter two sections first.

Nasser Al-Kuwari is better known as an esteemed international co-driver but the Qatari has excelled so far this weekend in the driving seat and has carved out a 4min 02.1sec lead over his usual driving partner Meshari Al-Thefiri in the FIA T3 category for lightweight prototype machines after the Kuwaiti suffered navigational issues. Along with French co-driver François Cazalet, the QMMF Rally Team’s Can-Am driver now holds a lofty fourth in the overall standings.

 Nasser Al-Kuwari said: “I am very happy with the result today. You have two options. Is the route okay or not and we followed the right route. We both did a great job. I was careful with the rocks and I kept my speed. My co-driver is one of the best and I trust him and we are happy to lead the T3.”

 Al-Thefiri and Oriol Vidal are sixth overall and second in the T3 section with their new MCE-5 T3M and seventh-placed Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari and his co-driver Alexei Kuzmich hold third in T3 in the second of the QMMF Rally Team Can-Ams. 

 Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari said: “I am very happy with my first day ever in this kind of rally. It was good experience. The first time in my life in cross-country. A lot of things to see in the stage, cars passing you, different terrain, sometimes sandy, sometimes gravel. My co-driver did a fantastic job.”

 Al-Thefiri added: “We were lost and we saw three ways and we tested them all and then we catch the right way after six minutes. I push more. My first time here and a new car for me. I see this car last year in Dubai and we decided to drive the T3M this time.”

Brazil’s Cristiano de Sousa Batista and Portuguese co-driver Fausto Moto continue to lead the FIA T4 section in their South Racing Can-Am and hold 10th overall. French rival Jeremie Warnia is second in the class and 11th, while young Pau Navarro is classified in third with his FN Speed Team Can-Am. Italian racer Pietro Cinotto incurred time penalties for breaking the power steering on the Prologue and is out of contention for the podium.

 Overdrive Racing’s Juan Cruz Yacopini holds fifth place in his Toyota Hilux and Saudi Arabia’s Khalid Al-Feraihi is on course for useful FIA Middle East Baja Cup points. Despite stopping to assist at the scene of an accident involving Khalid Al-Muhannadi and Pedro Santos, the Saudi holds eighth overall. The time lost at the scene of the incident was handed back to the Nissan driver after the stage.

 

 

 

Dabrowski in control in the motorcycles

Konrad Dabrowski extended his lead in the motorcycle category to 18min 57.6sec after another dominant stage win on his KTM. The talented young Polish Junior rider, who is following in his father Marek’s footsteps, won the day’s stage by 14min 43.2sec from Great Britain’s Robert Wallace, who retained second overall.

 Dabrowski said: “I started ninth after winning the Prologue and that was a good starting position for today. My plan was to catch the leaders and to gain as much time as possible and I was actually able to do it before the refuel. By then I knew that the result would be very good. After the second half I opened all the way and it was a really nice day.”

 Martin Chalmers claimed third on the day and the Aussie holds a similar position in the overall rankings, with Canadian rival Jonathan Finn in fourth and fellow Australian Andrew Houlihan riding strongly to come home in fifth and first in the Veterans category.

Emirati Abdullah Al-Lanjawi and Saudi Arabia’s Mishal Al-Ghunei were classified in sixth and seventh and eighth-placed Mirjam Pol continued to lead the Women’s category. Ireland’s Oran O’Kelly stopped to assist South Africa’s Michael Anderson, who crashed his KTM on the stage.

The experienced Saudi rider Haitham Al-Tuwaijri topped the quads in the unofficial results from the overnight-leader Emirati Abdulaziz Al-Ahli.

 

Saturday

Cars tackle one stage of 224.96km that has been split into four sections of 33.73km, 28.51km, 43.23km and 113.20km by three non-competitive transfer zones. The first vehicle is due in stage at 10.40hrs.

Motorcycles tackle the same route with the first rider going live at the earlier time of 08.45hrs.

 

 2023 Qatar International Baja – Positions after stage 3 (unofficial @ 15.40hrs):

FIA - Cars (Top 16 only)

 

1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Mathieu Baumel (AND) Toyota GR DKR Hilux                                       2he 23min 33.4sec*

2. Denis Krotov (KGZ)/Konstantin Zhiltsov (ISR) Toyota Hilux Overdrive                                                         2hr 26min 07.2sec*

3. Guoyu Zhang (CHN)/Oriol Mena (ESP) Baic ORC BJ40                                                                                     2hr 30min 26.3sec*

4. Nasser Al-Kuwari (QAT)/François Cazalet (FRA) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                                            2hr 39min 11.3sec+

5. Juan Cruz Yacopini (ARG)/Daniel Oliveras (ESP) Toyota Hilux Overdrive                                                         2hr 40min 10.0sec*

6. Meshari Al-Thefiri (KWT)/Oriol Vidal (ESP) MCE-5 T3M (T3)                                                                            2hr 43min 13.4sec*

7. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Alexei Kuzmich (ARE) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                                            2hr 49min 22.8sec+

8. Khalid Al-Feraihi (SAU)/Sébastien Delaunay (FRA) Nissan Pick-Up                                                                             2hr 54min 57.3sec+

9. Otavio Sousa (BRA)/João Ferreira (PRT) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                                                                             2hr 55min 40.2sec*

10. Cristiano de Sousa Batista (BRA)/Fausto Mota (PRT) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo (T4)                             2hr 56min 05.6sec*

11. Jeremie Warnia (FRA)/Loic Minaudier (FRA) Polaris RZR 1000 R (T4)                                                  2hr 57min 45.8sec*

12. Nouef Hassan Al-Suwaidi (QAT)/Aisvydas Paliukenas (LTU) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                                    2hr 57min 55.3sec+

13. Dania Akeel (SAU)/Laurent Lichtleuchter (FRA) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                                            2hr 58min 02.1sec*

14. Hector Diego Martinez (ESP)/Sergio Lafuente (URY) South Racing Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)              3hr 00min 05.5sec*

15. Pau Navarro (ESP)/Gonçalo Reis (PRT) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo (T4)                                                        3hr 00min 37.3sec*

16. Ronan Chabot (FRA)/Gilles Pillot (FRA) Toyota Hilux Overdrive                                                                             3hr 00min 49.7sec*

 

T1 unless stated

*denotes registered for FIA World Cup

+ denotes registered for FIA Middle East Cup

 

 2023 Qatar International Baja - positions after stage 2 (unofficial):

FIM – Bikes (top 15 only)

1. Konrad Dabrowski (POL) KTM 450 Rally                                                     4hr 05min 14.3sec

2. Robert Wallace (GBR) KTM 450 RFR                                                            4hr 24min 11.9sec

3. Martin Chalmers (AUS) Beta 430 RR                                                           4hr 45min 48.3sec

4. Jonathan Finn (CAN) Honda CRF 450 RL                                                     4hr 56min 55.9sec

5. Andrew Houlihan (AUS) Husqvarna FR                                                       4hr 58min 04.4sec

6. Abdullah Lanjawi (ARE) Husqvarna FE450                                                 4hr 59min 40.7sec

7. Mishal Al-Ghuneim (SAU) KTM 450 Rally                                                   5hr 00min 53.1sec

8. Mirjam Pol (NLD) KTM                                                                                   5hr 01min 11.3sec

9. Cesare Zacchetti (ITA) KTM EXC 350F                                                         5hr 02min 20.0sec

10. Marwan Al-Rahmani (ARE) KTM 450 Rally                                               5hr 05min 10.0sec

11. Ola Floene (NOR) KTM 450 Rally                                                                5hr 05min 37.2sec

12. Abdullah Al-Shatti (KWT) Husqvarna 450 Rally                                       5hr 28min 16.3sec

13. Mohammed Al-Balooshi (ARE) KTM 450 Rally Replica                                5hr 35min 51.6sec

14. Ehab Al-Hakeem (LBN)  Yamaha WR 450F                                               5hr 48min 48.9sec

15. Jaco Anderson (ZAF) KTM 450 EXC                                                            5hr 51min 21.0sec

 

 

 

FIM – Quads

1. Haitham Al-Tuwaijri (SAU) Yamaha Raptor 700                                        4hr 46min 26.8sec

2. Abdulaziz Al-Ahli (ARE) Yamaha Raptor 700                                              5hr 01min 56.8sec

3. Mansoor Al-Suwaidi (ARE) Yamaha YFZ 450R                                           6hr 02min 32.8sec

4. Arnoud Dom (BEL) Suzuki LTR 450                                                              6hr 09min 03.4sec

Al-Attiyah and Dabrowski fastest on prologue stage of Qatar International Baja

 

Al-Attiyah and Dabrowski fastest on prologue stage of Qatar International Baja

 First blood in the FIA T3 and T4 sections for Kuwait’s Al-Thefiri and Brazil’s De Sousa

 

LUSAIL (Qatar): Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and Konrad Dabrowski recorded the fastest times in the car and motorcycle classes on the opening 9.08km Prologue stage of the Qatar International Baja on Thursday afternoon.

 

The customary short opening timed section has been introduced to determine the starting order for the longer second part of the stage through the Qatari deserts on Friday morning and preceded the ceremonial start on Lusail Boulevard on Thursday evening.

 

Forty-four cars (seven T1+, three T1, three T2, 18 T3 and 13 T4), 47 motorcycles and five quads passed scrutineering checks and were permitted to start the Prologue stage. Santiago Navarro and Henry Kahy were non-starters in the T3 category for lightweight prototype machines. There were also nine cars running in a National event behind the main Baja.

 

Al-Attiyah and his regular co-driver Mathieu Baumel carded a time of 5min 49.5sec in their Toyota Hilux and lead the car section by 4.8 seconds from the Polish duo of Krzysztof Holowczyc and Lukasz Kurzeja in their Mini JCW Rally Plus. Denis Krotov and Konstantin Zhiltsov are third in an Overdrive Racing Toyota.

 

Kuwait’s Meshari Al-Thefiri edged out the South Racing Can-Am Team’s Otavio Sousa for the early lead in T3 in his new MCE-5 T3M. Brazil’s Cristiano de Sousa Batista continued his excellent run of form to top the T4 standings from young Pau Navarro in his FN Speed Team Can-Am.

 

A time of 6min 20.9sec enabled the defending champion Konrad Dabrowski to claim the early advantage in the motorcycles on a stage where the times are multiplied by a coefficient of eight to ensure tactics and positional musical chairs are discouraged. The Pole has recovered well from a recent appendicitis operation and is targeting a repeat win this season. The KTM rider also topped the Junior category.

 

Great Britain’s Robert Wallace and Italy’s Paulo Lucci came home in second and third, with Italian rider Cesare Zacchetti (KTM) leading the Veterans in 12^th and Mirjam Pol topping the Women’s section in 13th.

 

Emirati Abdulaziz Al-Ahli drew first blood in the quad category to lead from Saudi Arabia’s Haitham Al-Tuwaijri and Mansoor Al-Suwaidi.

 

Saudi Arabia’s Mishal Al-Ghuneim is one of the more experienced of the motorcycle riders. He finished 14^th on the Prologue and said: “I feel good after my ankle injury and have got a couple of riders with me, Andrew (Houlihan) from Australia and Luca from Italy. Luca is a rookie but Andrew is fighting for the Veterans’ Championship. Hopefully we all have a good race.”

 

Friday

 

The second part of leg one runs through the Qatar deserts for 233.87km and is split into three sections of 46.05km, 70.53km and 117.29km on Friday morning by non-competitive transfer zones. The first motorcycle will be live on stage at 07.35hrs.

 

Cars will tackle the longer section of 117.29km first and then the two shorter stages with the first vehicle on stage from 08.45hrs.

 

2023 Qatar International Baja – Prologue result (unofficial):

FIA - Cars (Top 15 only)

1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Mathieu Baumel (AND) Toyota GR DKR Hilux                                       5min 49.5sec*

2. Krzysztof Holowczyc (POL)/Lukasz Kurzeja (POL) Mini JCW Rally Plus                                                  5min 54.3sec*

3. Denis Krotov (KGZ)/Konstantin Zhiltsov (ISR) Toyota Hilux Overdrive                                                         6min 02.4sec*

4. Guoyu Zhang (CHN)/Oriol Mena (ESP) Baic ORC BJ40                                                                                     6min 09.8sec*

5. Meshari Al-Thefiri (KWT)/Oriol Vidal (ESP) MCE-5 T3M (T3)                                                                            6min 11.0sec*

6. Otavio Sousa (BRA)/João Ferreira (PRT) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                                                                            6min 12.3sec*         

7. Nasser Al-Kuwari (QAT)/François Cazalet (FRA) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                                            6min 17.1sec+

8. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Alexei Kuzmich (ARE) Can-Am Maverick X3 T3)                                             6min 19.4sec+

9. Ahmed Al-Mohannadi (QAT)/Mubarak Al-Khelaifi (QAT) Can-Am Maverick X3 (T3)                         6min 20.8sec+

10. Juan Cruz Yacopini (ARG)/Daniel Oliveras (ESP) Toyota Hilux Overdrive                                                         6min 23.5sec*

11. Cristiano de Sousa Batista (BRA)/Fausto Mota (PRT) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo (T4)                             6min 23.5sec*

12. Lionel Baud (FRA)/Lucie Baud (FRA) G Rally Team OT3 (T3)                                                                             6min 24.7sec*

13. Pau Navarro (ESP)/Michael Metge (FRA) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo (T4)                                                        6min 25.5sec*

14. Jeremie Warnia (FRA)/Loic Minaudier (FRA) Polaris RZR 1000 R (T4)                                                  6min 25.6sec*

15. Ronan Chabot (FRA)/Gilles Pillot (FRA) Toyota Hilux Overdrive                                                                             6min 26.6sec*

T1 unless stated

*denotes registered for FIA World Cup

+ denotes registered for FIA Middle East Cup

 

FIM – Bikes (top 15 only)

1. Konrad Dabrowski (POL) KTM 450 Rally                                                     6min 20.9sec

2. Robert Wallace (GBR) KTM 450 RFR                                                            6min 52.7sec

3. Paulo Lucci (ITA) KTM 450 EXC-F                                                                  6min 54.0sec

4. Jonathan Finn (CAN) Honda CRF 450 RL                                                     7min 05.5sec

5. Michael Anderson (ZAF) KTM 450 EXC                                                        7min 05.6sec

6. Alex McInnes (GBR) Husqvarna FE450                                                        7min 09.0sec

7. Mohammed Al-Balooshi (ARE) KTM 450 Rally Replica                                7min 09.2sec

8. Abdullah Lanjawi (ARE) Husqvarna FE450                                                 7min 09.8sec

9. Simon Marcic (SVN) Husqvarna 450 Rally Replica                                    7min 12.6sec

10. Martin Chalmers (AUS) Beta 430 RR                                                         7min 23.7sec

11. Oran O’Kelly (IRL) KTM 450 Rally                                                               7min 26.3sec

12. Cesare Zacchetti (ITA) KTM EXC 350F                                                       7min 27.6sec

13. Mirjam Pol (NLD) KTM                                                                                 7min 30.1sec

14. Mishal Al-Ghuneim (SAU) KTM 450 Rally                                                 7min 37.1sec

15. Ola Floene (NOR) KTM 450 Rally                                                                7min 37.8sec

 

FIM – Quads

1. Abdulaziz Al-Ahli (ARE) Yamaha Raptor 700                                              6min 54.8sec

2. Haitham Al-Tuwaijri (SAU) Yamaha Raptor 700                                        7min 05.5sec

3. Mansoor Al-Suwaidi (ARE) Yamaha YFZ 450R                                           7min 21.1sec