Qatar Baja brings 37 cars to the penultimate round of two cups
The Qatar International Baja has a 37-car entry for the penultimate round of the World and Middle East Baja cups. World Cup leader Dania Akeel will not start after completing her six nominated events. The competitive route is 18 percent longer this year, with the prologue followed by stages across northern, central and southern Qatar.
Sports··Night
The entry spans four car categories
The entry for the Qatar International Baja has been announced. The Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation, the country’s motorsport governing body, organises the event based in Lusail, Qatar.[1], [2]
The FIA entry list has 37 cars for the October 29–31 competitive programme. The event is the penultimate round of both the World Baja Cup and Middle East Baja Cup. 11 crews are registered for World Cup points and 15 for the regional series. The field includes nine Ultimate, 12 Challenger, 13 SSV and three Stock vehicles.[1]
The World Cup leader will not start
Dania Akeel leads the World Cup drivers’ standings by eight points but has already completed her six nominated events and will not compete in Qatar. Closest challenger Mitchel van den Brink is seven points ahead of Francisco Barreto and 18 ahead of Lionel Baud. Saood Variawa trails Van den Brink by 33 points after scoring in four events.[1]
Van den Brink leads Hamed Al-Wahaibi by 60 points in Challenger. In SSV, Fernando Alvarez is 33 points behind Hedda Hosås and is the only driver entered for World Cup points in Qatar. Nasser Al-Attiyah holds a 44-point Middle East Cup lead over Mohammed Al-Marri, who has secured the junior drivers’ title. Al-Attiyah took maximum points in Saudi Arabia and Jordan this season.[1]
Two long sections follow the prologue
Competitive distance has increased by 18 percent. The crews face 541.24 kilometres against the clock within a total route of 860.05 kilometres. An 11.12 kilometres of prologue on October 29 sets the following day’s starting order. The October 30 section covers 336.45 kilometres across northern and central Qatar and is divided into five parts.[1]
On October 31, a section covering 204.79 kilometres in two parts takes the field through southern Qatar and the Sealine dunes. In the Stock category, Majed Al-Thunayyan needs eight points from his final event to overtake Al-Mashna Al-Shammeri for the title. Sébastien Delaunay leads Bart van Heun in the navigators’ standings.[1]
