The Baja season will end with the medal ceremony for the winners of the FIM Bajas World Cup in the Moto, Quad, Women, Junior, Veteran and Trail categories next Sunday. Twenty-nine bikes and six quads will line up on the start on the final weekend in the Dubai desert.
On Thursday, November 28th, riders will pass the administrative and technical checks at Dubai Festival City Mall and then take part in the start ceremony from 19.00hrs. The following day, Friday, a short 4.32km Prologue will determine the starting order for the first 195km special stage on Saturday.
On Sunday (December 1st), at the finish of the second stage, which will also run for 195km, the winners of the various categories will be crowned after a long season in Europe and the Middle East. Only the best six results will be counted towards the final standings from the eight Bajas.
In the motorcycle category, Mohammed Al-Balooshi (KTM) is well on his way to winning the laurels again and that would be some achievement on his home event in Dubai. He is well-placed but will have to be very attentive because he is closely followed by Portuguese rider David Megre (Kawasaki), who will be aiming to pounce on the slightest mistake.
Pedro Bianchi Prata (Honda) is third in the current motorcycle standings and also leads the Veteran category, where he competes with Rafic Eid (GasGas).
In the women’s section, the Polish rider Joanna Modrzewska (Husqvarna) leads and her direct competitor Sara Garcia has not continued her challenge for the title. It is, therefore, a strong bet that she will be crowned as the queen in Dubai because her only opponent will be Aishwarysa Pissay (Sherco), who has just 40 points against Joanna’s 70.
In the Juniors, Pole Filip Grot (GasGas) has 81 points and has the laurels in his hands because Alex McInnes (Husqvarna) has only 25 points and 2022 winner Konrad Dabrowski (KTM) will only be participating in his first Baja of the year.
In the quads, the title race is still open with Hani Al-Noumesi at the top of the standings but his fellow Saudi rider Abdulaziz Al-Shayban is not far behind and is within touching distance for a late challenge for the title.
Results will be available on SPORTITY code 24DIBFIM.