Riders taking part in the FIM Bajas World Cup had little time to pack their bags and leave Qatar before heading to Portugal for the sixth round of the championship this weekend.
The cream of the crop are present, nevertheless, and determine not to cede any ground to their opponents. Mohammed Al-Balooshi (KTM) is not really a fan of the winding tracks of Portugal but he arrives as the leader of the championship with 72 points.
There is a strong chance that he will have a lot to do to fend off the counter attack from Portuguese rider David Megre (Kawasaki), who only has 56 points but could well reduce the gap over terrain that he knows very well.
Fellow Portuguese rider Pedro Bianchi Prata (Honda) is third in the provisional standings in the FIM Bajas World Cup with 53 points and is a long way ahead of his rivals in the quest for the Veteran Trophy (111 points).
Kuwaiti Abdullah Al-Shatti (50pts) has also come to Portugal to claim vital points at the Baja do Oeste, along with Abdulhalim Al-Mogheera, Rafic Eid, Rui Ferreira and Tiago Santos. Maria Taranto is the only woman registered on this occasion on her Husqvarna.
In the quad category, Hani Al-Noumesi has taken the lead in the World Cup standings with 78 points after his victory in Qatar. The fight will therefore be tight with fellow Saudi rivals Abdulaziz Al-Shayban (73pts) and Haitham Al-Tuwaijri (61pts).
The nerve centre of the Baja will be located at the Pavilhao Municipal do Cadaval, in Cadaval – a small town north of Lisbon.
Programme:
Thursday, November 7
Administrative and technical checks.
Friday, November 8
15.00hrs Prologue: 5.56km – liaison 46.26 km – Total 52.11km
Saturday, November 9
07.55hrs (first rider) – Stage 1
SS 170.18km – liaison 35.83 km – Total 206.01km
Sunday, November 10
Stage 2
SS2 112.03km – liaison 74.69 km – Total 186.72km
Baja total – specials 287.77km – liaison 156.78km – Total 444.84km
