The Jordan Baja welcomes riders competing to the second round of the 2026 FIM Bajas World Cup in Aqaba this week.
The event will be based at the Hyatt Regency Aqaba Ayla Resort for the second time in three years and will traverse some of the most spectacular terrain on the planet. Competitors face 472.19 kilometres of special stages in the stunning desert region of Wadi Rum in southern Jordan.
On Thursday, February 12th, a 15.50km Prologue will kick off the weekend in Aseza, 58 km from Aqaba, to determine the starting order for the first special stage.
On Friday, that stage will cover 245.02km across the Wadi Rum desert. On day three (Saturday, February 14th), competitors will tackle a second shorter 211.67km special stage, but just as spectacular, before the awards ceremony, podium presentation, and post-race press conference, which will be held at the Ayla Resort in the late afternoon.
Over a total distance of 821.69km, the navigation and terrain challenges will be demanding in this southern part of Wadi Rum.
Since 2019, Emirati rider Mohammed Al-Balooshi has dominated the motorcycle category with five victories, but he will have a tough time keeping pace with Junior rider Alex McInnes, winner of the first round of the FIM Baja Cup in Saudi Arabia two weeks ago. Al-Balooshi has often described the lunar landscapes and red sands of Wadi Rum as his second home.
Although the Emirati is still recovering from an elbow injury that forced him to prematurely retire from the Dakar Rally, he won’t want to relinquish his recent dominance in the Jordan Baja to his younger rival. The race promises to be thrilling.
This year’s FIM field is very strong: several riders have the talent to compete with McInnes (KTM) and Al-Balooshi (KTM), including the latter’s brother, Sultan (Kove), the Lebanese Rafic Eid (KTM), Kuwaiti Abdullah Al-Shatti (Kawasaki) and Sultan Al-Shanqiti (KTM).
Local hopes for a podium finish rest on the shoulders of Abdullah Abu Aisheh on his Yamaha WR 450F. Saudi Arabia will be represented by Abdulhalim Al-Mogheera (KTM), who finished fourth overall in the first round.
Three Polish riders will also be competing: Marcin Talaga, who piloted his Gas Maghera to fifth place in the Saudi Baja, veteran Tomasz Niedzwiedzki (Gas Gas) and top female rider Joanna Modrzewska, who leads the women’s standings. Joanna will be riding a new Triumph TF 450 E.
Philip Horlemann and Tony Schattat represent Germany on two KTMs, while Brett Hunt and Thomas Childs fly the British flag.
In the Quad category, Hani Al-Noumesi, the reigning FIM World Cup champion, leads the standings. His Saudi rivals Abdulaziz Al-Atawi, Ahmad Al-Jaber and Haitham Al-Tuwaijri finished second, third, and fourth at the first round in Saudi Arabia and will battle for the three podium positions this weekend on their Yamahas.
All results and information on SPORTITY code 26JBFIM