The 23rd edition of the HunGarian Baja, scheduled for 13 to 15 August in the Hungarian town of Várpalota, will not take place this weekend. On Wednesday evening the organisation announced that the event is being postponed to a later date due to a sharply increased fire risk in the region.
The decision was prompted by two serious fires that broke out on the edge of Várpalota and in the immediate surroundings, at very short distance from the competition area. According to the organisation, several hundred hectares of grassland and woodland have been affected, and the fires also spread to buildings.
The situation was aggravated by the extreme temperatures of recent weeks and the prolonged absence of rain, which has led to an exceptionally high fire risk across the entire region. After consulting the relevant authorities and emergency services, the organisation decided not to run the rally as planned. In a statement, the organisation says that no event can take precedence over human lives, public safety and the protection of nature. Under the current circumstances, the organisation did not want to run the risk that the rally would, even unintentionally, contribute to further fires or environmental damage.
It is striking that fire risk is playing a role more often in the discipline this season. The HunGarian Baja was originally listed as the fifth round on the FIA calendar, but moved up to fourth place after the Baja Aragón was rescheduled from July to mid-September because of forest fire risk in northern Spain.
Strong international entry with Dutch competitors ready to go
This year the HunGarian Baja counted as the fourth round of the FIA European Baja Cup 2026. The field consisted of 35 cars, of which around a dozen crews were entered for points in the European Baja Cup. Among the title favourites, Belgian Guillaume de Mévius and his Andorra-based navigator Mathieu Baumel topped the list. Because the championship leader, Portugal’s Paulo Rodrigues, was absent in Hungary, the chances were there for the taking for Lithuanian Benediktas Vanagas, winner of the HunGarian Baja in 2022, who stood second in the standings with his Toyota Hilux. Also present were, among others, Romanian Costel Căşuneanu, Portuguese driver Maria Gameiro and Emirates-based Aliyyah Koloc with her Buggyra ZM Racing team. Koloc completed a shakedown in the area around Várpalota the day before the planned start.
The Netherlands was also well represented. In the Ultimate class of the FIA field, Rients Hofstra and Wouter de Graaff were entered with a Red-Lined Revo GTR. In the same class, Tom de Leeuw formed the navigator pairing with Belgian Vincent Thijs in a Toyota Hilux. In the national championship, the SSV class likewise featured Dutch names. Sander Derikx and Michael Schuttel entered with a Can-Am Maverick R, as did André Thewessen and Jeffrey Spoor with a second Maverick R. Dirk Garvelink and Christiaan van der Rijssen competed in the same category with a Can-Am Maverick X3.
Teams such as Buggyra ZM Racing and ATS Rally were already on site at the time of the announcement. Many participants had travelled from far away and had months of preparation behind them, which makes the impact of the postponement significant for those involved.
Update: new date early November
The organisers of the HunGarian Baja have since provided more clarity on how the event will proceed. In an official statement, the organising committee announced that the 23rd edition has provisionally been rescheduled to early November 2026, with the organisers reserving the right to make further changes. In determining the new date, the calendars of the European Cup, the World Cup and the W2RC were taken into account, in order to avoid clashing with other major cross-country rally events and to allow as many Hungarian and international competitors as possible to take part. Expected weather and track conditions were also factored in, so that the event can be held safely and at the standard usually associated with the HunGarian Baja. The organisers have informed the FIA of their plans and are in discussions with the federation on the further details. According to the committee, the event is expected to return on an even larger scale.
