UAE’s Balooshi secures third FIM Bajas World Cup crown in Dubai

There was glory for the UAE on the eve of the country’s National Day as home rider Mohammed Al Balooshi sealed his third FIM Bajas World Cup crown after another exhilarating day’s competition at the Dubai International Baja.

This weekend’s action around the sands of Dubai marked the season finale for the world’s international off-road series on both two wheels and four. On the motorbikes Poland’s Konrad Dabrowski won the event itself but Balooshi’s second place was enough for him to take the championship.

As for the cars, Portugal’s Joao Ferreira took the FIA World Baja Cup title with a fine second place behind Qatar’s Nasser Al Attiyah, who took his 13th win in Dubai after a blistering battle in the desert.

Heading into this weekend’s final Baja of 2024, championships were still up for grabs in numerous categories as the FIA and FIM World Cup seasons came to a conclusion.

Sunday’s Zayed and Rashid stage three was a repeat of Saturday’s Al Futtaim Toyota stage two featuring 195km of timed stages plus 164km of road section in the intense heat of Al Qudra Desert.

Over the course of the event’s three days the competitors have each thus completed a mammoth total of 867km of driving and riding.

The motorcycles were the first to head out onto the sands and it was Dabrowski who prevailed at the Dubai International Baja on his Duust Rally Team KTM 450.

The 23-year-old edged out local hero Mohammed Al Balooshi on his MX Ride Dubai Yamaha 450YZF to take the victory by 3m34s following his stage wins on Friday and Saturday. Second place was still more than enough for UAE rider Balooshi to seal the 2024 FIM Bajas World Cup title for the third time.

Afterwards a delighted Balooshi said: “I’m very happy to take second because the bigger picture was to win word title for the second time in a row – and my third time overall. And it’s a great way to celebrate my World Cup title on our National Day. “

Dubai-based Briton Alex McInnes completed a storming ride through the dunes for the fastest time of the day but had to settle for fourth place in the overall order due to earlier time penalties. Instead another home rider, Sultan Al Balooshi – Mohammed’s brother – took the third spot on the podium while their fellow countryman Hamdan Alali rounded out the top five.

Adding to the day’s triumphs for the UAE was Abdulaziz Ahli, who finished on top in the Quads, well clear of all his challengers, while Saudi Arabia’s Hani Al Noumesi took the overall title.

Ahli said: “This was a happy event and I’m only sorry it’s come to an end! The race was difficult but we managed to get over all the challenges that were in our face. In the end I did well and now I can’t wait for next year...”

In the women’s section Poland’s Joanna Modrzewska (Husqvarna) came into the Baja with a big championship lead and her crown was confirmed with today’s retirement of Aishwarysa Pissay (Sherco).

As for the cars, Portugal’s Joao Ferreira headed to Dubai with a slender nine-point lead over Fernando Alvarez (Argentina) in the race to be crowned the FIA Baja World Cup Champion. Ferreira came into the final day in third – alongside co-driver Filipe Palmeiro in their X-Raid Mini JCW Team Mini – and his eventual second place was enough to give the Portuguese driver the points he needed both for the Ultimate class honours and the overall title.

Ferreira thus succeeds last year’s FIA Baja World Cup Champion Nasser Al Attiyah, who was also in action this weekend, taking an incredible 13th victory in Dubai at the wheel of his Nasser Racing Taurus T3 buggy with co-driver Pablo Moreno.

The fastest car on the first two days had been Brazilian Lucas Moraes’ experimental Toyota Hilux co-driven by Armand Monleon. Despite not being eligible for victory, the Toyota Gazoo Racing pair came into Sunday with a 6m05s advantage but an early retirement put paid to their hopes. That left the way free for Attiyah to romp to yet another dominant Dubai victory. Completing the podium was Ferreira’s X-Raid Mini team-mate Denis Krotov of Kyrgyzstan alongside co-driver Konstantin Zhiltsov. Next came two French pairings: the father/daughter combination of Lionel and Lucie Baud (Mini John Cooper Works Rally 3.0i) were fourth while Ronan Chabot and Gilles Pillot took fifth.