It's a great way to celebrate my World Cup title on our National Day, said Al Balooshi
Mohammed Al Balooshi in action at the Dubai International Baja. — Supplied photo
There was glory for the UAE on the eve of the country’s National Day as home rider Mohammed Al Balooshi sealed his third FIM Bajas World Cup crown after another exhilarating day’s competition at the Dubai International Baja.
This weekend’s action around the sands of Dubai marked the season finale for the world’s international off-road series on both two wheels and four. On the motorbikes Poland’s Konrad Dabrowski won the event itself but Al Balooshi’s second place was enough for him to take the championship.
As for the cars, Portugal’s Joao Ferreira took the FIA World Baja Cup title with a fine second place behind Qatar’s Nasser Al Attiyah, who took his 13th win in Dubai after a blistering battle in the desert.
Heading into this weekend’s final Baja of 2024, championships were still up for grabs in numerous categories as the FIA and FIM World Cup seasons came to a conclusion.
ALSO READ:
Zayed and Rashid Stage 3 was a repeat of Saturday’s Al Futtaim Toyota Stage 2 featuring 195km of timed stages plus 164km of road section in the intense heat of Al Qudra Desert. Over the course of the event’s three days the competitors have each thus completed a mammoth total of 867km of driving and riding.
The motorcycles were the first to head out onto the sands and it was Poland’s Konrad Dabrowski who prevailed at the Dubai International Baja on his Duust Rally Team KTM 450. The 23-year-old edged out local hero Al Balooshi on his MX Ride Dubai Yamaha 450YZF to take the victory by 3m34s following his stage wins on Friday and Saturday. Second place was still more than enough for the UAE rider Al Balooshi to seal the 2024 FIM Bajas World Cup title for the third time.
“I’m very happy to take second because the bigger picture was to win word title for the second time in a row – and my third time overall. And it’s a great way to celebrate my World Cup title on our National Day," said a delighted Al Balooshi.
“It was a really strong race and I enjoyed racing against Konrad. I lost a lot of time yesterday on the fast sections because I made some miscalculations with the gearing. That was bad luck because I thought the track would be more technical like last year but I was stuck at 140kmh so I knew I’d already lost the race.
“Today was a much better day. I couldn’t quite make up the gap to win this event but the championship was what mattered. I’m very thankful to the organisers EMSO for including the Dubai International Baja in the championship for the last eight years. Everything was awesome.”
Dubai-based Briton Alex McInnes completed a storming ride through the dunes for the fastest time of the day but had to settle for fourth place in the overall order due to earlier time penalties. Instead another home rider, Sultan Al Balooshi – Mohammed’s brother – took the third spot on the podium while their fellow countryman Hamdan Alali rounded out the top five.
Adding to the day’s triumphs for the UAE was Abdulaziz Ahli, who finished on top in the Quads, well clear of all his challengers, while Saudi Arabia’s Hani Al Noumesi took the overall title.
In the women’s section Poland’s Joanna Modrzewska (Husqvarna) came into the Baja with a big championship lead and her crown was confirmed with today’s retirement of Aishwarysa Pissay (Sherco).
As for the cars, Portugal’s Joao Ferreira headed to Dubai with a slender nine-point lead over Fernando Alvarez (Argentina) in the race to be crowned the FIA Baja World Cup Champion. Ferreira came into the final day in third – alongside co-driver Filipe Palmeiro in their X-Raid Mini JCW Team Mini – and his eventual second place was enough to give the Portuguese driver the points he needed both for the Ultimate class honours and the overall title.
At least Alvarez and his co-driver Xavier Panseri (France) had the consolation that they had already secured the SSV title.
Ferreira thus succeeds last year’s FIA Baja World Cup Champion Al Attiyah, who was also in action this weekend, taking an incredible 13th victory in Dubai at the wheel of his Nasser Racing Taurus T3 buggy with co-driver Pablo Moreno.
The fastest car on the first two days had been Brazilian Lucas Moraes’ experimental Toyota Hilux co-driven by Armand Monleon. Despite not being eligible for victory, the Toyota Gazoo Racing pair came into Sunday with a 6m05s advantage but an early retirement put paid to their hopes. That left the way free for Al Attiyah to romp to yet another dominant Dubai victory.
Completing the podium was Ferreira’s X-Raid Mini teammate Denis Krotov of Kyrgyzstan alongside co-driver Konstantin Zhiltsov. Next came two French pairings: the father/daughter combination of Lionel and Lucie Baud (Mini John Cooper Works Rally 3.0i) were fourth while Ronan Chabot and Gilles Pillot took fifth in their Toyota Hilux Overdrive.
In the Challenger class Emirati driver Khalid Al Jalfa headed into the weekend level on points with Spain’s Edoardo Pons following his win at the previous round in Jordan. But it was Pons who prevailed, putting in an impressive drive to sixth place overall, enough to take the championship crown.
Overall honours in the FIA Middle East Baja Cup went to Dania Akeel of Saudi Arabia, who had already guaranteed the Ultimate class honours. Hamad Nasser Al Harbi won the Challenger division while Ahmed Al Kuwari had already sealed the SSV title.
Got an interesting story to tell in the UAE? We want to hear all about it. Write to the nation's best reporting team, as we cover the emirates like no one else.