· Demanding desert stage of 294.03km scheduled in Wadi Rum on Friday
AQABA (JORDAN): Yazeed Al-Rajhi, Rafic Eid and Hani Al-Noumesi set the fastest times in the car, motorcycle and quad categories on the opening 5.15km Prologue stage of the 6th Jordan Baja at South Beach, near Aqaba, on Thursday afternoon.
The success for Al-Rajhi and his co-driver Timo Gottschalk enabled the Toyota Hilux crew to choose a favourable starting position for the opening special stage of Jordan Motorsport’s latest sporting offering through Wadi Rum on Friday morning.
Al-Rajhi said: “This rally is special to me. Racing in Jordan always feels unique and the landscapes are truly spectacular. We’ve put in serious work with the team — the pace notes are tight, the set-up is optimised and our strategy is clear. The objective is simple: fight for the win and extend our championship lead.”
The stage preceded the ceremonial start ceremony at the Arab Revolt Plaza in Aqaba and the pre-event press conference, which was attended by nine of the leading drivers and riders. Twenty-five FIA cars eventually made the start.
Czech veteran Miroslav Zapletal (Ford) finished the Prologue in second position, albeit 21.5 seconds behind the leading Saudi, and Al-Rajhi’s team-mates, Martin Kaczmarski, Dania Akeel and Juan Cruz Yacopini, rounded off the top five.
The QMMF Team’s Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari was the fastest of the Challenger category entrants in his sixth-placed Taurus T3 Max. The Qatari’s team-mates Ahmed Al-Kuwari and Mohammed Al-Harqan were second and third in the Challenger section.
Italian Yamaha driver Amerigo Ventura finished ahead of Hamza Bakhashab (Can-Am) and Paul Severn (Polaris) in the SSV category.
Rafic Eid topped the motorcycle times on his GasGas RX Rally Bike after 12 riders and one quad entrant made the start following the omission of Sultan Al-Balooshi and Saudi quad riders Haitham Al-Tuwaijri and Abdulaziz Al-Shayban from the official start list. FIM Bajas World Cup leader Hani Al-Noumesi was the sole quad entrant and posted a time of 5min 28sec, a time that was quicker than any of his two-wheel rivals.
Behind Rafic Eid, Thomas Childs (KTM), Thomas Cross (Kove) and local riders Abdullah Abu Aisheh (GasGas) and Abdullah Al-Bataynah (Honda) filled the top five positions on the Prologue in the motorcycle section.
Defending champion Mohammed Al-Balooshi finished the Prologue in seventh position. He said: “I am very excited to be participating for the fifth time and I hope to defend my title here and extend my lead in the World Cup. I finished second in Hail and fifth in Portugal and I lead the championship. This is one of my favourite stops and I love the terrain here. The organisers do am amazing job and keep us on our toes. I did the first one (2018) that was not even an FIM international and I fell in love with the Jordan Baja and, when I am in one piece, I cannot miss it.”
Tomorrow (Friday), competitors tackle the opening special stage through spectacular Wadi Rum. The day’s action has been split into two competitive sections of 215.02km and 78.55km for the cars and a single stage of 294.03km for the motorcycles and quad. The first bike will be live in the stage at 06.55hrs.
This year’s event also features a Jordan National Baja with 10 teams and the second running of the Wadi Al-Qamar Navigational Rally with 29 entries.
The 2025 Jordan Baja is sponsored by Zain Jordan, Markazia Toyota, Bank of Jordan, Manaseer Oil and Gas, Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA), Guarantee Travel Group, Budget Jordan, Hala and Bliss FM.
2025 Jordan Baja – Prologue result (unofficial @15.45hrs):
Cars
1. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (KSA)/Timo Gottschalk (DEU) Toyota Hilux Overdrive 4min 23.7sec*
2. Miroslav Zapletal (CZE)/Marek Sýkora (SVK) Ford F-150 Evo 4min 45.2sec*
3. Martin Kaczmarski (POL)/Armand Monleón (ESP) Toyota Hilux Overdrive 4min 51.3sec
4. Dania Akeel (KSA)/Stéphane Duplé (FRA) Toyota Hilux Overdrive 4min 51.9sec+
5. Juan Cruz Yacopini (ARG)/Daniel Oliveras (ESP) Toyota Hilux Overdrive 4min 52.0sec*
6. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Oriol Mena (ESP) Taurus T3 Max 4min 52.7sec+
7. Ahmed Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Augusto Sanz (ARG) Taurus T3 Max 5min 04.6sec+
8. Mohammed Al-Harqan (QAT)/Szymon Gospodarczyk (POL) Taurus T3 Max 5min 30.2sec
9. Sergei Remennik (UAE)/Aleksei Ignatov (KGZ) Taurus T3 Max 5min 31.8sec*
10. Khalifa Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Bruno Jacomy (ARG) Taurus T3 Max 5min 44.6sec+
11. Nouef Al-Sowaidi (QAT)/Aisvydas Paliukenas (LTU) Taurus T3 Max 5min 51.9sec+
12. Amerigo Ventura (ITA)/Erika Mingozzi (ITA) Yamaha YXZ 1000R 5min 53.2sec*
13. Francisco Barreto (POR)/Paulo Fiuza (POR) Taurus T3 Max 5min 54.3sec*
14. Alexsei Shmotev (UAE)/Yaroslav Fedorov (KGZ) Taurus T3 Max 7min 05.6sec*
15. Hamza Bakhashab (KSA)/Marcin Pasek (POL) Can-Am Maverick R 7min 17.2sec+
16. Paul Severn (GBR)/Max Delfino (FRA) Polaris RZR Pro R Sport 7min 39.1sec*
17. Abdullah Al-Rabban (QAT)/Ali Al-Ajmi (UAE) Nissan Patrol 8min 09.8sec+
18. Khalid Al-Jafla (UAE)/Andrei Rudnitski (LTU) Taurus T3 Max 8min 14.1sec*
19. Mansour Al-Helai (UAE)/Khaled Al-Kendi (UAE) Can-Am Maverick R 9min 07.5sec*
20. Hamed Al-Wahaibi (OMN)/Ilka Minor (AUT) Can-Am Maverick R 9min 55.2sec*
21. Maha Al-Hameli (KSA)/Michael Metge (FRA) Can-Am Maverick R 10min 29.2sec*
22. Mohammed Al-Atteya (QAT)/Dmytro Tsyro (UKR) Can-Am Maverick R 32min 03.0sec+
Mohammed Al-Meer (QAT)/Ali Hassan Obaid (UAE) Nissan Patrol DNS+
Majed Al-Thunayyan (KSA)/Fahad Al-Sufyani (KSA) Nissan Patrol DNF*
Nasser Al-Ajmi (KWT)/Arunas Gelazninkas (LTU) Nissan Patrol DNF+
*denotes registered for the FIA World Baja Cup
+ denotes registered for the FIA Middle East Baja Cup
Bikes
1. Rafic Eid (LEB) GasGas RX Rally Bike 5min 32.8sec
2. Thomas Childs (UAE) KTM 450 Rally 5min 46.8sec
3. Thomas Cross (UAE) Kove 450 EX 5min 48.9sec
4. Abdullah Abu Aisheh (JOR) GasGas 450 Rally 6min 13.4sec
5. Abdullah Al-Bataynah (JOR) Honda CRF 450R 6min 15.6sec
6. Sultan Al-Shanqiti (UAE) KTM 450 Rally Replica 6min 24.6sec
7. Mohammed Al-Balooshi (UAE) Husqvarna RR450 6min 38.1sec
8. Philip Horlemann (GER) KTM 450 Rally Replica 6min 46.3sec
9. Jason Joslin (GBR) Husqvarna RX 450F 7min 33.1sec
10. Barry Howe (GBR) Husqvarna Factory Bike 8min 00.1sec
11. Frederic Fontarosa (FRA) Kove 450 Rally 8min 49.1sec
12. Hamdan Al-Ali (UAE) KTM 450 RX 8min 49.9sec
Quads
1. Hani Al-Noumesi (KSA) Yamaha YFM 700R 5min 28.0sec