From Wednesday 28 to Saturday 31 October, Lusail is the setting for the Qatar International Baja. The event, organised by the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation (QMMF), is the penultimate round of both the FIA World Baja Cup and the FIA Middle East Baja Cup, and the fifth round of the FIM Bajas World Cup. With only the Dubai International Baja (5 to 8 November) still remaining on the calendar of the FIA series, a large part of the decision in many standings will be made in the Qatari desert.
For the Netherlands, Mitchel van den Brink is especially in the spotlight. Together with navigator Bart van Heun, he travels there as leader of the Challenger category and as the highest-placed driver still able to score points in the overall World Cup standings. Saudi standings leader Dania Akeel has already used up her six permitted starts and will not take to the course again. The gap between her and Van den Brink is just eight points.
Longest selective section of the season
The QMMF has expanded the route compared to last year; according to the organisers, the number of timed kilometres is more than 18 percent higher. Thursday opens with a prologue of 9.51 kilometres, which determines the starting order for the first stage. Friday brings the toughest day: 336.34 kilometres against the clock through the north and west of the peninsula, past Al Ruwais and Dukhan. That is the longest selective section of the entire World Baja Cup calendar. The section is split into five parts with neutralisation and transfer zones; including liaison sections, the competitors cover 463.88 kilometres that day.
On Saturday the action moves south, with 202.10 competitive kilometres in the region south of Doha toward Mesaieed. Over three days, the total for the cars comes to 538.44 timed kilometres out of an overall 857.35 kilometres.
A number of rules stand out. On Friday, Challenger and SSV teams may only refuel at the central refuelling zone RZ2, after 234.97 competitive kilometres, and must bring a prescribed coupling for this. On the second stage, a flexible flagpole extending at least three metres above the ground, with a red-orange flag, is mandatory for all FIA cars. The motorcyclists are given their own timetable with earlier starts and an additional refuelling zone on Friday. New compared to 2025 is the location of the ceremonial start: last year it took place on the Corniche in Doha, by the “Way to the World Cup” monument, but this year it is scheduled at Lusail International Circuit, where the bivouac has also been set up.
Four candidates, one absent leader
The intermediate standings in the FIA World Baja Cup give a distorted picture. Akeel (Toyota) leads with 273 points, but has reached the maximum of six events and must watch from the sidelines. As a result, the fight for the title is between four drivers: Van den Brink (265 points, four starts), Francisco Barreto (258, four starts), Lionel Baud (240, five starts) and Saood Variawa (232, four starts).
The situation is particularly unusual for Baud. With five bajas completed, Qatar is his last start that counts, which means he has to score heavily here. Variawa is 33 points behind and still has both remaining events to complete. Barreto has form on his side: the Portuguese driver won the Italian Baja this season and, two weeks ago, the Baja Portalegre 500, his first victory in his home country’s classic.
In the Ultimate class it comes down to the same names, with the exception of Van den Brink. Barreto and navigator Paulo Fiúza drive a Toyota Hilux IMT Evo entered by SVR, while Variawa shares the cockpit of his Hilux IMT Evo under the Toyota Gazoo Racing banner with Charan Moore. The South African won the Jordan Baja in February. Father and daughter Lionel and Lucie Baud start with the only diesel car in the field, an X-raid Mini JCW Rally 3.0i. The leader is absent among the navigators as well: Sébastien Delaunay, Akeel’s regular partner, is missing, which leaves Van Heun, Fiúza and Lucie Baud to fight it out among themselves.
Others racing in the top class include Khalid Al-Jafla (Toyota Hilux Evo), the Buggyra duo Martin and Aliyyah Koloc (both in a Red-Lined Revo), Fahhad Al-Fahhad (Optimus MD Rallye) and Ahmed El Shami (Century CR6). Defending champion Juan Cruz Yacopini, last year’s winner in Qatar, is not on the entry list.
Al-Attiyah as a factor outside the World Cup
The biggest name in the field is not competing for World Cup points. Nasser Al-Attiyah, this year a six-time winner of the Dakar Rally, is entered as a private driver for the Middle East Baja Cup with Max Delfino alongside him in an Optimus MD Rallye from the T1.2 class. The Qatari has already won the car category of his home event in various forms twelve times since 2004 and, last weekend in Cyprus, secured his 21st Middle East Rally Championship title. Because World Cup points are only distributed among registered drivers, a possible victory for Al-Attiyah will cost the title contenders no points.
In the Middle East Baja Cup, matters appear straightforward. Al-Attiyah and Delfino won in Saudi Arabia and Jordan this season and each hold a seventeen-point lead over the absent Yasir Seaidan and Xavier Flick. Young Qatari Mohammed Al-Marri leads the Junior standings, sits third among the drivers and holds a 58-point lead in the SSV class; this time he races with Pierre Delorme. Dubai-based Briton David Mabbs still has a theoretical chance in the Challenger class (68 points behind Seaidan) and in the Masters (37 points behind the absent Miroslav Zapletal).
Challenger, SSV and Stock
In the Challenger category of the World Baja Cup, Van den Brink has a 60-point lead over Hamed Al-Wahaibi. The Omani returns with R-X Sport and navigator Maciej Giemza after a leg injury and can only still take the title if Van den Brink drops points in one of the two remaining bajas. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QMMF Team) follows a long way back in third. The QMMF Team is also fielding several Taurus T3 Max cars for local drivers. Among the teams, it is between R-X Sport and South Racing Can-Am, Van den Brink’s team.
In the SSV class, leader Hedda Hosås and runner-up Mansour Al-Helai have not come to Qatar. That leaves the door open for Argentina-based Fernando Alvarez (South Racing Can-Am), who sits 33 points behind Hosås with navigator Xavier Panseri but still has a score in hand.
In the Stock category, Al-Mashna Al-Shammeri (Nissan) has completed his six starts and collected 226 points. Compatriot Majed Al-Thunayyan is three points behind, is racing his sixth event here and needs only eight points to clinch the title. Among his rivals is Abdulla Al-Rabban, last year’s winner of the Stock class in Qatar.
Motorcycles and quads
Among the motorcycles, the FIM Bajas World Cup standings are barely separable. British junior Alex McInnes (KTM) leads by two points over Saudi rider Abdulhalim Al-Mogeera (KTM). Four-time champion Mohammed Al-Balooshi (MX Ride Dubai, KTM) is eight points behind the leader and also tops the Veterans standings. The Pole Konrad Dąbrowski (Duust Rally Team) starts with number 1 and has already won the Qatar International Baja in 2022, 2023 and 2025; last year he led from start to finish. His teammate Joanna Modrzewska holds a comfortable lead among the women.
Other names to watch are Martin Chalmers, Ethan Lane, Brett Hunt, Robert Wallace, Makis Rees-Stavros, Philip Horlemann and Rafic Eid. Notable is the presence of Kove: ten of the 45 motorcycles in the field are from the Chinese brand. Among the quads, Ahmed Al-Jaber has a seven-point lead over Hani Al-Noumesi, the champion of 2024 and 2025. Last year Abdulaziz Ahli won the quad class in Qatar.
Dutch involvement
Van den Brink and Van Heun (South Racing Can-Am Maverick R, start number 300) have had an impressive year behind them. In 2025 they won the SSV category of the FIA World Baja Cup, and in January, together with mechanic Jarno van de Pol, they finished third in the trucks at the Dakar Rally for Eurol Rally Sport. In the World Baja Cup season they skipped the opening rounds in Saudi Arabia and Jordan, but after that things took off: in June they won Baja Greece overall, and in Italy they finished fifth overall and first in the Challenger class. Afterward, Van den Brink spoke of “mixed feelings”, although the result did deliver maximum points for the World Cup. In four starts the pair collected 265 points, and unlike Akeel and Baud, they can still score in both Qatar and Dubai. Van Heun also leads the Challenger standings among the navigators and is in contention for the overall navigator title.
Among the motorcycles, Luc Dumore (start number 26) is the only Dutch competitor. He rides a Husqvarna FE450 in category 1 and appears on the entry list without a team name. Erik van Loon, active earlier this season in the SSV class of the World Baja Cup, is absent in Qatar.
Smaller field, distorted standings
Despite Qatar’s role as the decisive round, the field is smaller than last year. There are 37 cars, 45 motorcycles and eight quads on the lists, compared with 43 cars, 54 motorcycles and four quads in 2025. Only eleven of the 37 car teams are registered for the World Baja Cup. This comes even though the organisers offer generous allowances, including a contribution toward transport and flight costs, five hotel nights and start money. Not included are the installation kit for the navigation and tracking system and a deposit of 1,500 rial for that equipment.
In substance, the rule of a maximum of six starts means that several standings are decided by attendance rather than by direct duels. Akeel, Hosås, Al-Helai, Al-Shammeri, Seaidan, Zapletal and Flick are absent, while they lead or sit near the top of their categories. There is also something to note about the organisers’ programme. In the welcome note of the rally guide, the event is called the penultimate round of the FIM Bajas World Cup, but because the Baja of Castelo Branco has been moved to the end of the season due to the weather, Qatar is the fifth of seven rounds for the motorcycles. For the FIM riders, a final in Portugal therefore still follows after Dubai.
Programme
Since the switch to winter time, Qatar is two hours ahead of the Netherlands; all times below are Dutch time. On Wednesday, the private test and the administrative and technical scrutineering are on the programme. On Thursday, the first motorcyclist starts the prologue at 11:20, with the first car following at 12:50. At the end of the afternoon, the motorcycles (16:00) and the cars (16:45) cross the podium of the ceremonial start.
On Friday, the motorcycles begin the first selective section as early as 04:55, with the cars following at 07:00. On Saturday, the final section starts at 05:25 for the motorcycles and at 07:30 for the cars. The prize-giving takes place on Saturday at 17:00 for the motorcycles and at 17:30 for the cars. Qatari broadcaster Al Kass airs the ceremonial start, the finish and the prize-giving live; results appear on the QMMF website.
