FIM Bajas World Cup, round 7
November 10th-12th, 2023
After the cancellation of the Jordan Baja, the Dubai International Baja will host the last race of the 2023 season.Twenty-eight motorcycle riders and seven quads are registered for this decisive round that will determine the winners of the Moto, Quad, Women, Junior and Veteran categories in the FIM Bajas World Cup. The best six scores during the season will count.
On paper, David Megre (Kawasaki) has 77 points from four races and has every chance of winning the title, but he still has to fend off the challenge from local rider Mohammed Al-Balooshi (Yamaha), who already has six results and 71 points and can hardly improve his score.
Third, with 62 points and four results, is Pedro Bianchi Prata (Honda), who is also in contention for the Veteran Trophy with 95 points against 101 for Andrew Houlihan (KTM), the latter returning to action after being unable to compete in Portugal’s Baja Oeste after sustaining a knee injury in training.
The outcome of the Junior category will be exciting. Quad rider Kevin Giroud (Yamaha) (100 points, four results) will be looking to beat Jonathan Finn (Honda) on the final round. The Canadian has 120 points, but already has six scores of 20 points, so he can only improve by five points if he wins…!
As for the Women’s category, this will be played out between the only two ladies present: Sarah Khuraibet (Husqvarna) has 80 points and Esther Merino Garcia (Husqvarna) has 76 points. Both can add a result to their record in Dubai.
In Quad, Kevin Giroud, with four results and two wins, is tied with Haitham Al Tuwayjri on 90 points each... while Hani Al Noumesi has 82.
The itinerary gets underway with administration and technical checks on Friday, November 10th at Festival City, close to Dubai International Airport.
Riders will then embark upon a two-kilometre Prologue from 18.30hrs and this will determine the starting order for Saturday’s opening 170km stage (SS1). A similar stage (SS2) will be repeated on Sunday. In total, the route will run for 673km, including 340km of selective sections.
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