The 41st edition of the Baja España Aragón 2025 concluded on Sunday with a day full of drama and excitement, as the winners were finally crowned after three grueling days of racing. In the bike category, Lorenzo Santolino powered his Sherco 450 to a convincing first-ever Baja victory. In the car category, the Portuguese duo João Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro made history by taking the win in their Toyota Hilux, just two seconds ahead of Nasser Al-Attiyah. Meanwhile, Czech driver Martin Macík continued his dominance in the truck category, securing his sixth career victory at the event.
For the Netherlands, success came through Richard de Groot alongside teammates Jan Hulsebosch and Martijn van Rooij, who secured a strong third place in the trucks with their Iveco Powerstar, the best Dutch performance of this year’s edition.
João Ferreira wins by just two seconds
Baja Aragón 2025 was decided in one of the tightest finishes ever. After three days of dust and speed, Portugal’s João Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro clinched victory in their Toyota Hilux by a razor-thin margin of just two seconds over Dakar legend Nasser Al-Attiyah and co-driver Fabian Lurquin in the Dacia Sandrider.
Nani Roma, returning to the top after years away, completed the podium with co-driver Alex Haro for the Ford factory team. Remarkably, this year marks exactly 30 years since Roma won his first Baja, back then on a motorcycle.
In the Challenger class (T3), the Belgian pairing of Charles Munster and Loris Pascaud delivered a commanding win in their Taurus T3. Veteran André Lotterer, better known from Le Mans, impressed alongside Alexandre Giroud to take second, while Pau Navarro and Jan Rosa claimed third after a strong comeback drive.
The SSV class (T4) saw a dominant performance from Gonçalo Ferreiro and Joel Lutas in their Polaris, who overcame late technical issues to finish a commendable 13th overall.
Dutch competitors battle in Challenger and SSV
Among the Dutch, consistent performances were delivered in the Challenger category. Pim Klaassen, driving with Wade Harris in their Taurus T3 Max for Daklapack Rallysport, completed the event without major issues. Their total time of 6:18:28.2 earned them 6th in T3.1 and a spot inside the overall top 25.
Paul Spierings and Dick van Culenborg, also in a Taurus, finished 12th in T3.1 with a time of 6:25:17.5. Henk Klaassen, partnered with Mark Laan, rounded out the Dutch trio in this category in 19th place.
In the SSV class, Mitchel van den Brink, together with Bart van Heun in a Can-Am Maverick R, put in a superb drive to finish 4th in SSV with a total time of 6:19:34.0. The result propelled the 23-year-old Dutchman into the lead of the FIA World Baja Cup.
“We had a great Baja. Nothing crazy happened, and we’re of course happy with the result. Both days went smoothly, and Bart once again delivered top-notch navigation. Thanks to that, we were able to secure this result. We’re now leading the FIA Baja World Cup, which was our goal at the start of the season. We did exactly what we set out to do. We couldn’t be happier,” Van den Brink said.
Spanish victory and history in the bikes
On two wheels, Lorenzo Santolino captured his first Baja Aragón win. The Spaniard was untouchable, setting the fastest time on all three stages aboard his Sherco 450. Belgian rider Neels Theric took second, securing Kove’s first-ever Baja podium — a milestone for the brand. Alonso Trigo, making his rally debut after a career in enduro, claimed third. Alfredo Pellicer looked set for a podium before a crash cost him precious minutes, while Dakar regular Javi Vega completed the top five.
A standout performance came from Joan Pedrero, riding his Harley-Davidson Pan America. Not only did he win the Maxitrail category, but he also finished 15th overall in the combined bike and quad standings. In the FIM Baja Trail class, Italian Alessandro Ruoso triumphed on his Yamaha.
Macík dominates, Dutch claim podium in trucks category
The truck category, celebrating its 20th anniversary within the Baja, was once again dominated by Czech crew Martin Macík, František Tomášek, and David Švanda in their LIAZ 111154, taking victory with a lead of more than 26 minutes.
The battle for second, however, was much closer. The Belgian team of Steven Rotsaert, Bram Lapere, and Emile Dewitte narrowly held on, finishing just two minutes ahead of the Dutch trio Richard de Groot, Jan Hulsebosch, and Martijn van Rooij, who took third in their Iveco Powerstar and made a strong impression.
Other Dutch truck crews also performed admirably. Tjeerd van Ballegooij and Anthony Dekker came home fourth, while Gerrit and Dick Zuurmond secured fifth with their MAN TGA.
Ronald Schoolderman secures class victory
The T1.1 class, a subcategory for standard vehicles under FIA regulations, saw a Dutch victory. Ronald Schoolderman and navigator Mark Salomons drove a flawless rally in their Mitsubishi ASX, winning their class with a total time of 6:48:54.3.
