The 33rd Italian Baja, held from 25 to 28 June, forms the fourth round of the FIA World Baja Cup and the third round of the FIA European Baja Cup. The event around Pordenone, in Friuli north of Venice and against the foothills of the Dolomites, also counts towards the Italian championship. With 91 entries from 28 countries and four continents, organiser Fuoristrada Club 4×4 Pordenone has recorded a new participation record. The route runs, as tradition dictates, across the wide gravel riverbeds of the Meduna, the Tagliamento and the Cosa.
There is plenty for Dutch fans to follow. Three Dutch crews and Dutch team Daklapack Rallysport are on the start list. Most attention will focus on Mitchel van den Brink and Bart van Heun, entering their second World Baja Cup round of the season after their victory in Greece.
Programme and prologue
The competitors open on Thursday evening with the start ceremony on Piazza XX Settembre in Pordenone. Friday begins with a short shakedown in San Martino al Tagliamento, followed by a prologue of just over fourteen kilometres that sets the starting order. The FIA also awards the first championship points after that prologue. Saturday brings two special stages of nearly 160 kilometres each, totalling over 320 kilometres. Sunday’s closing stage of just over 98 kilometres wraps up the competition. The prize-giving is scheduled for Sunday at 14:00 at Pordenone Fiere.
Favourites for overall victory
Nine of the ten riders currently ranked in the World Baja Cup standings are present in Pordenone. On the fast Friulian terrain, with its wide riverbeds and relatively few sharp corners, the powerful T1+ cars in the Ultimate class are the main contenders for overall victory. At the top of the championship stand two Toyota Hilux drivers who have already gone head to head several times this season. Championship leader Dania Akeel, with navigator Sébastien Delaunay, already impressed in Friuli between 2021 and 2023 and again shares the start in a Toyota Hilux Overdrive Evo. Close behind her in the standings is Saood Variawa, who won the Jordan Baja in February with François Cazalet and races in Italy for Toyota Gazoo Racing. Lionel and Lucie Baud in their X-Raid Mini, the best T1+ crew in the World Baja Cup in Greece, and Portuguese driver Francisco Barreto with Paulo Fiúza in the SVR Toyota are also among the quickest names.
In the European Baja Cup, Benediktas Vanagas is a name to watch. The Lithuanian finished on the podium here last year and uses the event with co-driver Aisvydas Paliukenas in the Gurtam Toyota Gazoo Racing Baltics Hilux as preparation for his bigger goals. Friday’s prologue will provide the first indication of who can position themselves at the front.
Van den Brink chases Challenger points
Van den Brink and Van Heun again line up for Eurol Rally Sport in the Can-Am Maverick R prepared by South Racing. In Greece they recorded their first overall victory at a Baja, from within the Challenger class, with a margin of over 22 minutes. The reigning SSV champions of the World Baja Cup switched to the Challenger category (T3) this season, in which vehicles are limited to a maximum speed of 135 kilometres per hour. “In the Challenger category we are going for the win to score maximum points for the world championship in this class. But we also hope to be able to mix it with the much faster T1+ cars again,” says the 24-year-old from Harskamp. The Can-Am impressed the duo greatly in Greece.
In the Challenger battle for the World Baja Cup, Van den Brink and Van Heun face direct opposition from two Taurus drivers. Championship leader Hamed Al-Wahaibi, entered with navigator Maciej Giemza under the Dutch flag of Daklapack Rallysport, and Qatari driver Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, with Max Delfino in the QMMF Taurus, are among the main rivals.
Van Loon and Spierings complete the Dutch contingent
Erik van Loon and Wouter Rosegaar are targeting overall victory in the SSV class. For Van Loon, the Italian Baja holds a special place following his win here in 2022. “We are going all out for the win. We know the speed is there,” says Van Loon, who together with Rosegaar finished in the top five in both of the season’s first two events. Vehicles in the SSV class are limited to 125 kilometres per hour. The third Dutch crew is that of Paul Spierings and Mark Salomons, also starting in the Challenger class in a Taurus.
