Emirati Khalid Al-Jafla and his co-driver Andrei Rudnitski managed to pass the Portuguese pairing of João Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro to snatch a dramatic victory on the last 185.30km stage of the Jordan Baja in spectacular Wadi Rum.
The 38.5-second win for the Taurus T3 Max driver gave him maximum points in the Challenger category and set up the prospect of a thrilling showdown with Eduardo Pons at his home event in the UAE at the end of the month.
Al-Jafla said: “We pushed today as much as we could to try and win the stage. Yesterday, we only lost 3.5 seconds. It was a shorter distance but it was a very fast track and we lost some time in the dust for around 20km. But we won the rally and the Challenger. Now we go to Dubai. It is my home and my ground.”
Ferreira’s runner-up spot and third place for his Santag Racing team-mates João Dias and Gonçalo Reis mean that Ferreira takes a slender FIA World Baja Cup lead over the newly-crowned SSV champions, Fernando Alvarez and Xavier Panseri, into the final round.
Ferreira said: “It was a super-fast last stage with tricky navigation, like day one. It was a clean run for us. I am happy with the performance we put in over the last two days. In the future, if I have the opportunity, I would like to come here again.”
Dias added: “I feel very good. It was my first time in Jordan, a most beautiful country. The most beautiful stage of my life. The team was perfect. P1 (SSV) for Ferreira and P2 for me.”
Despite finishing third in the SSV section in their Santag Racing Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR behind the two Portuguese crews, Alvarez and Panseri have amassed enough points to seal the SSV titles with one round to spare. The South Racing Can-Am Team also confirmed the Teams’ Championship.
Seventh-placed Alvarez said: “We did well. We finished third (in SSV), so we win the World Cup in T4 (SSV). We are the new champions. We are happy. That was our objective. In the overall, I think we lost the first position but it’s okay. We go to Dubai just to see what happens and then we will stay two days testing the new car for Dakar.”
Illness forced Marek Sykora to miss the event and the Slovakian co-driver was replaced at the last minute by Marcin Pasek of Poland alongside Miroslav Zapletal. The Czech veteran set the fastest time on the final stage to finish fourth overall and seal maximum points in the Ultimate category in his Ford F-150.
Spaniard Eduardo Pons and navigator Jaume Betriu finished fifth overall and collected points for second place in the Challenger category in their Nasser Racing Taurus T3 Max. South Racing’s Diego Martinez and Sergio Lafuente were 11th overall and third in the class and still have everything to fight for at the last round. They were quickest on the Prologue stage but incurred a 20-minute penalty after stage one for overtaking infringements.
Italy’s Amerigo Ventura and Saudi Arabian driver Ibrahim Al-Muhanna also picked up points up towards their SSV and Challenger campaigns and finished 13th and 14th overall.
Nineteen crews passed scrutineering checks and tackled the penultimate rounds of the FIA World and Middle East Baja Cups, with nine chasing World Cup points and 10 targeting the Middle East Baja Cup.
Qatar’s Al-Muhannadi wins FIA Middle East Baja Cup section
Qatar’s Rashid Al-Muhannadi entered the event in a Taurus T3 Max supported by the QMMF and claimed maximum points in the FIA Middle East Baja Cup and the Challenger section with his Polish co-driver Szymon Gospodarczyk.
Points for second place in the Cup and eighth in the general classification went to Dania Akeel and her French navigator Sébastian Delaunay. That enabled the Saudi to close the gap on the series-leading Qatari Ahmed Al-Kuwari in his Quaddy Racing Yamaha. Al-Kuwari and stand-in co-driver Augusto Sanz finished ninth overall and third in the FIA Middle East Cup ahead of Hamad Al-Harbi. Al-Kuwari did enough to seal the Middle East SSV title.
Akeel said: “The last stage was stunning. The target was to try and lead the Middle East Bajas but I think we are two points behind after this. We are going to have to race for the win until the last kilometre.”
Ahmed Al-Kuwari said: “We got a stage win for Middle East today and we made up a point that we lost yesterday. But, overall, we’re still second in Jordan. Now on to the next one in Dubai.”
Maha Al-Hamali and her co-driver Oriol Mena picked up points for finishing fifth in the FIA Middle East Cup.
The three contenders running in the Stock section for series-production cross-country machines were closely matched in their Nissan Patrols.
The Saudi crew of Majed Al-Thunayyan and Fahad Al-Sufyani scored yet another victory to storm away from their rivals and the result means they also remain firmly in contention for the overall Drivers’ and Co-Drivers’ Championships in the class-orientated FIA Middle East Baja Cup.
They finished just 1min 16.3sec clear of Qatar’s Abdullah Al-Rabban and his Emirati navigator Ali Hassan Obaid with Mohammed Al-Meer and Alexsey Mun coming home in third.
Khalifa Saleh Al-Attiyah suffered transmission and clutch-related issues on his Taurus T3 Max and was not able to finish the opening stage. He was classified at the rear of the field in 19th.
His QMMF-entered team-mate Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari had been the second fastest of all the drivers after the opening 200km stage through Wadi Rum but a fan problem burst a water pipe, he lost engine coolant on the second part and was forced to switch off the T3’s power plant. The current FIA Middle East rally champion’s consolation was the second quickest time on the final stage on his way to 18th.
The FIA World and Middle East Baja Cups conclude with the Dubai International Baja on November 28th-December 1st.
2024 Jordan Baja – final result:
1. Khalid Al-Jafla (ARE)/Andrei Rudnitski (LTU) Taurus T3 Max 6hr 17min 04.3sec*
2. João Ferreira (PRT)/Filipe Palmeiro (PRT) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR 6hr 17min 42.8sec*
3. João Dias (PRT)/Gonçalo Reis (PRT) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR 6hr 21min 08.4sec*
4. Miroslav Zapletal (CZE)/Marcin Pasek (POL) Ford F-150 Evo 6hr 23min 29.9sec*
5. Eduardo Pons (ESP)/Jaume Betriu (ESP) Taurus T3 Max 6hr 26min 03.4sec*
6. Rashid Al-Muhannadi (QAT)/Szymon Gospodarczyk (POL) Taurus T3 Max 6hr 33min 03.8sec+
7. Fernando Alvarez (ARG)/Xavier Panseri (FRA) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR 6hr 33min 11.0sec*
8. Dania Akeel (SAU)/Sébastien Delaunay (FRA) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR 6hr 34min 00.3sec+
9. Ahmed Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Augusto Sanz (ARG) Yamaha YXZ 1000R Short Shift 6hr 47min 38.5sec+
10. Hamad Al-Harbi (SAU)/Aleksei Kuzmich (ARE) Can-Am Maverick X3 6hr 57min 01.5sec+
11. Diego Martinez (ARG)/Sergio Lafuente (URY) Can-Am Maverick X3 6hr 58min 58.8sec*
12. Maha Al-Hameli (SAU)/Oriol Mena (ESP) Can-Am Maverick X3 7hr 00min 51.2sec+
13. Amerigo Ventura (ITA)/Erika Mingozzi (ITA) Yamaha YXZ 1000R 7hr 18min 54.9sec*
14. Ibrahim Al-Muhanna (SAU)/Faisal Al-Suwayh (SAU) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR 9hr 10min 35.1sec*
15. Majed Al-Thunayyan (SAU)/Fahad Al-Sufyani (SAU) Nissan Patrol 10hr 23min 27.4sec+
16. Abdullah Al-Rabban (QAT)/Ali Hassan Obaid (ARE) Nissan Patrol 10hr 24min 43.7sec+
17. Mohammed Al-Meer (QAT)/Alexsey Mun (KAZ) Nissan Patrol 10hr 29min 25.7sec+
18. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Nasser Al-Kuwari (QAT) Taurus T3 Max 15hr 20min 50.0sec +
19. Khalifa Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Enio Bozzano (BRA) Taurus T3 Max 19hr 33min 37.0sec+
*denotes registered for the FIA World Baja Cup
+ denotes registered for the FIA Middle East Baja Cup
