(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Toyota's Juan Cruz Yacopini and Dani Oliveras emerged victorious from a gruelling Qatar International Baja for the first time yesterday. The win was also sufficient for the Argentine and his Spanish navigator to confirm overall victory in the Ultimate category in the FIA World Baja Cup.
The X-raid Mini JCW Team duo of Denis Krotov and Konstantin Zhiltsov began the final day with a lead of 2min 42.4sec but came under pressure from both the FIA World Baja Cup leader Yacopini and Czech veteran Martin Prokop over the last stage.
Yacopini and his Spanish navigator Dani Oliveras went on a charge as the stage progressed. The Toyota Hilux crew grabbed the virtual rally lead before the final run through the dunes and sealed victory over Martin Prokop and Viktor Chytka after Krotov suffered a broken front differential and then stopped completely and retired on the final push through the southern desert.
Yacopini said:“I'm super happy to finish this race. Today's stage was super tough for us. Yesterday, there was a gap between us and the first car and we knew we had to push really hard. Since the first kilometre we did our best and then we had to manage the race in the dunes at the end. Now we have won the category in the World Cup. We have worked hard for this all year.”
Runner-up Prokop added:“It was a very good test. It was very difficult for navigation and driving this new car for me. It was a great two days and two enjoyable stages. We didn't win but it was close. We slowed down towards the end behind Krotov and thought that was enough. But Yacopini was full gas and he passed us and he won. He did a very good job. Second position, but it was great fun to drive this car in these conditions. Denis was going very slow and we left him there. He had been fast the whole day.”
Polish rider Konrad Dabrowski led the motorcycle standings from start-to-finish on his KTM 450 Rally to seal a third victory at the event in four years (2022, 2023 and 2025). He showed an impeccable ability to manage his pace and navigate from the front on the way to a deserved win by 31min 17.0sec.
Saudi driver Dania Akeel teamed up with Frenchman Sebastien Delaunay and gave her FIA Middle East Baja Cup title ambitions a major boost by finishing third overall and first in the regional Baja. She also confirmed the Ultimate title with a round to spare.
Akeel said:“Really happy for the podium. This is a good place to train for your driving skills. Today was nice but I lost quite a bit of time in the last 70km. I definitely need to work on that. Sébastien was great. It was tough with the navigation. We have a good chance of a shot at the Middle East Cup now in Dubai.”
Nasser Saleh al-Attiyah enjoyed a solid stage with Fabian Lurquin in a Taurus T3 Max to finish fourth overall and win the Challenger category. A vital fifth place and points for second in the FIA World Baja Cup for Miroslav Zapletal guarantees that the final places on the Drivers' Championship podium will be decided at the final round in Dubai in two weeks' time.
The Qatari duo of Nouef al-Sowaidi and Khalifa Saleh al-Attiyah were both registered for the regional Baja Cup in their QMMF Taurus T3s and finished sixth and 11th overall and second and third in the points for the FIA Middle East Baja Cup.
Seventh overall for Nasser Racing Team's Sergei Remennik enabled him to increase his lead over Emirati rival Khalid al-Jafla in the duel for Challenger honours in the FIA World Baja Cup. Lionel and Lucie Baud were eighth in the second of the X-Raid Minis and Frenchman Ronan Chabot was 10th in his Overdrive Racing Toyota.
Young Qatari rookie Mohammed al-Marri delivered a stunning performance with navigator Szymon Gospodarczyk to finish ninth and top the SSV class standings in a Can-Am Maverick R. He finished well clear of Saudi's Maha al-Hameli and Van den Brink, although Oman's Hamed al-Wahaibi won the day's stage. Italian Amerigo Ventura suffered rear differential issues after hitting a rock in his Yamaha YXZ 1000.
A change of engine block and the resultant 20-hour penalty dropped Francesco Barreto out of the top 10 and he retired midway through the stage. There were also serious problems on the final day for the QMMF Team's Abdulaziz al-Kuwari and Sweden's Mattias Ekstrom. Both Paul Severn and Eugenio Amos stopped in the dunes and lost chunks of time.
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Qatar's Abdullah al-Rabban held off Saudi rival Majed al-Thunayyan to win the Stock category for series production cross-country machines in his Nissan Patrol.
Dabrowski was the class of the motorcycle field for the entire weekend. He won the Prologue, crushed his rivals on the first stage and rode in a masterly way from the front through the final stage, despite one navigational indiscretion in the dunes.
The Pole said:“Really happy. Stella made me work for it today in the dunes. The GPS device we use here caught the waypoint from 20km before and, because of that, it wasn't calibrated to open the arrow for the next one that I was heading to. So, I had no idea where I was. I still won the stage because Alex missed some waypoints. That means I have won all nine stages that I have ever done here. Qatar seems to suit me. It has been good for my navigational skills and opening the track on both days. This is a good confidence boost ahead of Dakar.”
British rider Alex McInnes shadowed and caught the Pole and then got lost near the end of the final stage. Missing vital waypoints cost the Husqvarna stage success and second place. He dropped back to seventh. McInnes said:“I missed some waypoints at the end. I threw it away. The GPS picked up a waypoint in advance and I couldn't go back. That's where I lost the time.”
MX Ride Dubai's Mohammed al-Balooshi took another giant step towards a fourth FIM Bajas World Cup title with the runner-up spot on the motorcycle podium.
A strong run by Frenchman Jean Loup Lepan netted the KTM rider third place. Briton Makis Rees-Stavros and Germany's Philip Horlemann rounded off the top five. Al-Balooshi's main FIM World Bajas Cup title rival Rafic Eid finished 12th.
Emirati Abdulaziz al-Ahli held off Saudi racer Hani al-Noumesi to win the quad category. Abdulaziz al-Atawi wasn't classified and Qatar's Yaghoob Azadi retired with mechanical issues on the last stage. Al-Noumesi won the FIM quad title for the second successive season.
The FIA and FIM series both reach a conclusion in Dubai on November 20th-23rd.
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Qatar International Baja results
Cars (top 10 only)
1. Juan Cruz Yacopini (ARG)/Dani Oliveras (ESP) Toyota Hilux IMT Evo; 4hr 50min 30.6sec*
2. Martin Prokop (CZE)/Viktor Chytka (CZE) Ford Raptor; 4hr 53min 02.6sec
3. Dania Akeel (KSA)/Sébastien Delaunay (FRA) Toyota Hilux; 5hr 07min 14.0sec+
4. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Fabian Lurquin (BEL) Taurus T3 Max; 5hr 12min 59.3sec
5. Miroslav Zapletal (CZE)/Marek Sykora (SVK) Ford F-150 Evo; 5hr 31min 30.4sec*
6. Nouef Al-Suwaidi (QAT)/Aisvydas Paliukenas (LTU) Taurus T3 Max; 5hr 33min 36.7sec+
7. Sergei Remennik (UAE)/Aleksei Ignatov (KGZ) Taurus T3 Max; 5hr 42min 02.7sec*
8. Lionel Baud (FRA)/Lucie Baud (FRA) Mini John Cooper Works Rally 3.0D; 5hr 42min 18.1sec
9. Mohammed Al-Marri (QAT)/Szymon Gospodarczyk (POL) Can-Am Maverick R; 5hr 43min 49.0sec
10. Ronan Chabot (FRA)/Xavier Panseri (FRA) Toyota Hilux; 5hr 44min 29.8sec
*denotes registered for the FIA World Baja Cup
+ denotes registered for the FIA Middle East Baja Cup
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