Lusail [Qatar], October 28: As many as forty-five motorcycle riders and eight quad entrants make up the impressive FIM side of the stunning entry list for this weekend's Qatar International Baja.
They will tackle the demanding two-day route through the northern, central and southern Qatar deserts ahead of the registered crews in the FIA World and Middle East Baja Cups.
The main focus may be on Junior rider Alex McInnes and Saudi rival Abdulhalim Al Mogheera at the head of the FIM Bajas World Cup standings, but the entry has strength in depth and there are more than a handful of riders capable of overcoming Qatar's formidable navigational challenges with the pace to succeed on one of the most difficult events in the world calendar.
Emirati Mohammed Al Balooshi is a case in point: the MX Ride Dubai man holds third in the rankings and is a two-time winner in Qatar. Likewise, Pole Konrad Dąbrowski has the pace and the guile to prevail and won this event in 2022, 2023 and 2025.
There is strength in depth throughout the field of riders from 17 countries. The vastly-experienced Romain Dumontier has entered on a KTM 450 and has already raced against the likes of Dakar front-runners, Kevin Benavides, Xavier de Soultrait and Toby Price, in the Enduro World Championship.
The Frenchman was 120cc World and European champion in 2009, Brazilian champion 10 years later and inside the world's top 10 between 2014 and 2018. He entered the world of rally-raids in Morocco in 2021 and has become a formidable competitor on rounds of the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC).
Talented young English rider Ethan Lane is making his way through the ranks and Qatar-based Makis Rees-Stavros is a regular competitor on the local desert scene and has the experience needed to prevail at the highest level.
The likes of Brett Hunt, Martin Chalmers, Andrew Houlihan, Philip Horlemann and Abdullah Abu Aisheh have tackled a lot of desert rallies and Slovenian Toni Mulec is a member of the Bas World KTM Team and first tackled the Dakar in 2023. A regular on ISDE events in the past, the 41-year-old finished ninth overall on the last Dakar in Saudi Arabia and won the Rally 2 category.
Bringing up the rear of the motorcycle field on bike number 46 is Norway's Ola Floene. The KTM rider is better known for his role as a formidable co-driver in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC).
The 57-year-old's career began in the 1980s. He became an official team member for M-Sport and Volkswagen Motorsport, partnering the likes of Andreas Mikkelsen, Henning Solberg, Mads Ostberg and Pontus Tidemand. Ola won the 2015 Rally Catalunya with Mikkelsen and earned 15 career podium finishes in the WRC.
The host nation will be represented by Mohammed Al Kubaisi on his Fanatic XEF 450 Rally and Abdulattif Mojadam, riding a Husqvarna FE 450.
Saudi's Ahmed Al Jaber leads impressive quad field
FIM Bajas World Cup leader Ahmed Al Jaber leads an eight-strong quad entry into the Qatar deserts. The Yamaha rider has a seven-point cushion over fellow Saudi and 2024 event winner Hani Al Noumesi in the points' standings but the duo face, perhaps, one of the strongest quad line-ups of the season.
Emirati Abdulaziz Ahli topped the quad section in Qatar last year and has won the Dubai International Baja for the last four years. He rides a Yamaha Raptor along with Saudi's Abdulaziz Al Atawi. Khalifa Al Bastaki also represents the UAE on a Yamaha.
Matteo Lardori (Polaris) and the Saudi CF Moto CForce duo of Abdulrahman Alabdullatif and Badr Al Hamdan round off the entry.
Minor pre-event changes on the FIA entry list see Xavier Flick partnering Maha Al Hamali in place of Michael Metge, Stefano Tironi sitting alongside Stefano Marrini in his Yamaha YXZ 1000 R and former Emirati quad rider Atif Al Zarouni joining forces with Christiano Gabbarrini as a navigator.
Three Qatari riders have topped the quad standings in the recent history of the event: Abdullah Al Shamein was triumphant on a Yamaha in 2004, Adel Abdulla won the 2011 Baja and, three years later, Mohammed Abu Issa secured victory on the longer five-day cross-country edition with a Honda TRX 700.
Administration and scrutineering checks take place at the Lusail International Circuit on Wednesday, before the pre-event press conference at 18.00hrs.
Source: Qatar Tribune