Of those, 14 are entered in the Ultimate category, four in Challenger, nine in SSV and three in Stock. With no former winners present in the field, the Italian Baja will have a new crew on the top step of the podium.
Dania Akeel and Sebastien Delaunay had a disappointing outing at the last round in Greece but the top seeds arrive in Italy with a seven-point cushion in the FIA World Baja Cup standings in their Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux. The Challenger category-leading duo of Hamed Al-Wahaibi and Maciej Giemza are their nearest rivals in a Taurus Evo Max. Oman-based Al-Wahaibi also leads the Master driver section.
Akeel tops the Ultimate category from Jordan Baja winner Saood Variawa and Frenchman Lionel Baud. Both Variawa (Toyota GR Hilux) and Baud (X-raid Mini JCW Rally) are present in Italy and will be chasing points in the overall classification and the Ultimate section. They are currently sixth and seventh in the overall FIA World Baja Cup.
The Portuguese duo of Francisco Barreto and Paulo Fiuza and Emirati Khalid Al-Jafla and his navigator Andrei Rudnitskiy are also chasing FIA World Baja Cup points in a pair of Toyota Hilux Evos run by SVR and SRG Motorsports, respectively. UAE-based Aliyyah Koloc (Buggyra ZM Racing Red-Lined Revo) and her Polish team-mate Marcin Pasek round off the FIA World Baja Cup entrants in the Ultimate category.
Al-Wahaibi’s closest rival for Challenger honours is currently the QMMF Team’s Abdullah Al-Kuwari. The former FIA Middle East rally champion is visiting the Italian Baja for the first time and teams up with Max Delfino for the second successive event in his Taurus Evo Max.
The Qatari is 30 points adrift of Al-Wahaibi in the Challenger class and fifth in the battle for the overall FIA World Baja Cup. Dutchman Mitchel van den Brink and navigator Bart Van Heun won Baja Greece outright in their South Racing Can-Am Maverick R and are third in the Challenger points after missing the opening two rounds in Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
Argentina-based Fernando Alvarez leads the SSV category by six points from Norwegian youngster Hedda Hosås but has given the Italian event a miss. That has opened the door for Hosas and her navigator Pol Tibau to take full advantage. She holds fourth in the overall championship and is also the leading Junior in an R-X Sport Can-Am.
The Emirati Team Liwa duo of Mansour Al-Helai and Khaled Al-Kendi are third in the rankings – 16 points behind Alvarez and his navigator Xavier Panseri – and will be keen to repeat the maximum points’ haul they picked up in Greece earlier this month with R-X Sport. Pole Tomasz Bialkowski and Dutch veteran Erik van Loon will also be chasing FIA World Cup points in the SSV class.
The Stock category for series-production cross-country vehicles is developing into a three-horse race between the Nissans of Saudi drivers Al-Mashna Al-Shammeri and Majed Al-Thunayyan and Fernando Barreiros in his Isuzu D-Max.
Al-Shammeri currently has a 16-point cushion over Al-Thunayyan with Barreiros in fourth behind the absent Abdullah Al-Shegawi.
Gameiro’s absence opens the door for rivals in FIA European Baja Cup
Portugal’s Maria Gameiro and her Spanish navigator Rosa Romero have opted to miss the Italian Baja in their X-Raid Mini JCW Rally and that means the current FIA European Baja Cup leaders will cede ground to their rivals.
Gameiro currently holds a one-point lead over Poland’s Magdalena Zajac in the overall championship and a similar cushion over the Proxcars TME Rally Team Toyota Hilux driver in the Ultimate category.
Zajac is also chasing Master driver honours with navigator Błazej Czekan and will be trying to defend a nine-point cushion over Czech driver Karel Trneny, the winner of the last round of the FIA European Baja Cup in Greece. Trneny and his navigator Václav Pritzl are third in the overall championship and the Ultimate class in their X-Force ACCR Ford F150 Evo.
A disappointing start to the season sees the Lithuanian pairing of Benediktas Vanagas and Aisvydas Paliukenas down in fourth in the Ultimate standings after two rounds and in eighth overall. Vanagas was the pace-setter in Greece before losing a wheel on the third stage and the Gurtam Toyota Gazoo Racing Baltics Hilux driver knows that he needs to pick up points quickly to kickstart his fading European title challenge.
The Ultimate category is well-supported by teams chasing FIA European Baja Cup points. Portugal’s José Rogeira is fifth in the standings and teams up with Paulo Marques in a Ford Ranger run by the 767/PRK Sport Rally Team.
Fellow countrymen Joao Ramos and Jorge Carvalho wheel out a Toyota Hilux and the Romanian pairing of Costel Casuneanu and Sergiu Itu will be hoping to build upon a strong showing in Greece when they return to action in a Mini Countryman R60 CC.
Poland’s Mariusz Wiatr and Lukasz Laskawiec (Ford F-150 Evo) and the Hungarian duo of Lorinc Meszaros and Albert Horn (M1 Motorsport Century CR7) complete the line-up.
Portugal’s Dinis Rogeira and Nelson Ramos were the outright FIA European Baja Cup winners of the opening round in Spain in a 767/PRK Sport Rally Team Can-Am and the leading Junior driver is the only man currently registered for points in the Challenger category. He holds fifth in the FIA European Baja Cup’s standings behind fourth-placed Paulo Rodrigues, the current leader of the SSV class in a Rio Seco Racing Can-Am.
The Portuguese and his navigator Fausto Mota hold nine-point leads over Murat Kapanoglu and Aleksandr Trendafilov in the Can-Am-dominated SSV section. Ruben Rodrigues is two points further behind and teams up with Paulo Riu on this occasion.
Rio Seco Racing’s Filipe Lopes/Goncalo Reis and Poland’s Ernest Kus/Grzegorz Szymanski are also chasing SSV points in the FIA European Baja Cup in northern Italy.
There are no Stock entrants chasing FIA European Baja Cup glory. Barreiros has scored 43 points but has now switched to the FIA World Baja Cup.
Although not registered for either of the Baja Cups, German driver Paul Schmidt teams up with Dane Jeanette Kvick in an X-raid-entered Yamaha Fenic. Renowned French racing driver Stéphane Sarrazin will take part in the Baja’s Challenger category with Laurent Magat in a new high-voltage hybrid Minotor M1, but is also not registered for either Baja.
The event is being organised by the ASD Fuoristrada Club 4×4 Pordenone.
In a traditionally compact route of 674.88km, competitors will tackle 432.20km against the clock (subject to final route checks). Friday’s action features a Shakedown stage at San Martino al Tagliamento for competitors to make final preparations before the 14.05km Prologue in the afternoon.
This will determine the starting order for two stages and four timed sections on Saturday, starting with a run of 84.10km between Cordenons and San Paolo. A second timed section of 75.79km between Madrisio and Basiliano brings the morning’s action to a close before the two sections are repeated on Saturday afternoon.
A shorter Sunday will see teams tackle a section of 38.39km between Bonzicco and Dignano, starting at 09.00hrs, before the competitive action concludes with a run of 59.98km between Madrisio and Vacile. The podium finish takes place in Pordenone on Sunday afternoon.
2026 Italian Baja – entry list:
Ultimate
200. Dania Akeel (KSA)/Sebastian Delaunay (FRA) Toyota Hilux Evo*
201. Saood Variawa (RSA)/Francois Cazalet (FRA) Toyota Hilux Evo*
202. Lionel Baud (FRA)/Lucie Baud (FRA) X-Raid Mini JCW 3.0d*
203. Francisco Barreto (POR)/Paulo Fiuza (POR) Toyota Hilux Evo*
222. Khalid Al-Jafla (UAE)/Andrei Rudnitskiy (LTU) Toyota Hilux Evo*
205. Magdalena Zajac (POL)/Blazej Czekan (POL) Toyota Hilux+
206. Karel Trneny (CZE)/Vaclav Pritzl (CZE) Ford F-150 Evo+
207. Benediktas Vanagas (LTU)/Aisvydas Paliukenas (LTU) Toyota Hilux+
208. Jose Rogeira (POR)/Paulo Marques (POR) Ford Ranger+
209. Costel Casuneanu (ROU)/Sergiu Itu (ROU) Mini Countryman R60 CC+
210. Joao Ramos (POR)/Jorge Carvalho (POR) Toyota Hilux+
211. Aliyyah Koloc (UAE)/Marcin Pasek (POL) Red-Lined Revo GTR*
212. Mariusz Wiatr (POL)/Lukasz Laskawiec (POL) Ford F-150 Evo+
213. Pal Lonyai (HUN)/Alexandra Miklos (HUN) LPR Porsche Macan
214. Adam Lacko (CZE)/Mirko Brun (ITA) Red-Lined Revo T1
215. Andre Schiumarini (ITA)/Daniele Saccheti (ITA) Century CR6
216. Lorinc Meszaros (HUN)/Albert Horn (HUN) Century CR7+
217. Włodzimierz Grajek (POL)/Szymon Marciniak (POL) Toyota Hilux
218. Fabio Samsa (ITA)/Roberto Marzocco (ITA) Toyota Hilux
Challenger
300. Mitchel van den Brink (NED)/Bart van Heun (NED) Can-Am Maverick R*
301. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Max Delfino (FRA) Taurus Evo Max*
302. Dinis Rogeira (POR)/Nelson Ramos (POR) Can-Am Maverick X3+
303. Alexandre Pesci (SUI)/Stephan Kuhni (SUI) Taurus Evo Max
304. Paul Spierings (NED)/Mark Salomons (NED) Taurus Evo Max
305. Hamed Al-Wahaibi (OMA)/Maciej Giemza (POL) Taurus Evo Max*
306. Paul Schmidt (GER)/Jeanette Kvick (DEN) X-raid Yamaha YXZ 1000R Turbo
307. Marek Kubiczek (POL)/Dominik Ragiel (POL) Taurus Evo Max
308. Marcin Nasioowski (POL)/Michal Goleniewski (POL) Taurus T3 Max
309. Bartosz Kazirod (POL)/Rafal Jedrys (POL) Taurus T3 Max
310. Martin Benko (SVK)/Marek Sykora (SVK) Taurus T3 Max
311. Rebecca Busi (ITA)/Jose Cornejo (CHI) Taurus Evo Max
312. Gianpaolo Bedin (ITA)/Sara Torrielli (ITA) Buggy Raitec RT3B Maverick X3
313. Riccardo Benettolo (ITA)/Irene Saderini (ITA) Taurus T3 Max
314. Stephane Sarrazin (FRA)/Laurent Magat (FRA) Minotor M1
SSV
400. Hedda Hosas (NOR)/Pol Tibau (ESP) Can-Am Maverick R*
401. Mansour Al-Helai (UAE)/Khalid Al-Kendi (UAE) Can-Am Maverick R*
402. Tomasz Bialkowski (POL)/Dariusz Baśkiewicz (POL) Polaris RXR Pro R*
403. Erik van Loon (NED)/Wouter Rosegaar (NED) Can-Am Maverick R*
404. Paulo Rodrigues (POR)/Fausto Mota (POR) Can-Am Maverick R +
405. Murat Kapanoglu (BUL)/Aleksandr Trendafilov (BUL) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR+
406. Ruben Rodrigues (POL)/Paulo Rui (POR) Can-Am Maverick R +
407. Filipe Lopes (POR)/Goncalo Reis (POR) Can-Am Maverick R +
408. Ernest Kus (POL)/Grzegorz Szymanski (POL) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR+
409. Sean Haran (GBR)/Martin Hales (GBR) Polaris RZR Pro R
410. Kevin Haran (GBR)/Jorge Jordao (POR) Polaris RZR Pro R
411. Alexsandr Celiadin (LTU)/Nuno Morais (POR) Can-Am Maverick R
412. Martin Cisella (ITA)/Erika Mingozzi (ITA) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR
413. Tomas Kubiena (CZE)/Miroslav Losos (CZE) Can-Am Maverick R
414. Rodrigo Luppi (BRA)/Maykel Justo (BRA) Polaris RZR Pro R Rally
415. Bruno Conti (BRA)/Jhonatan Ardigo (BRA) Polaris RZR Pro R
416. Massimo Salvatore (ITA)/Roberto Briani (ITA) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR
Stock
500. Al-Mashna Al-Shammeri (KSA)/Abdullah Al-Shammeri (KSA) Nissan Patrol*
501. Majed Al-Thunayyan (KSA)/Omar Al-Lahim (KSA) Nissan Patrol*
502. Fernando Barreiros (POR)/Jose Sa Pires (POR) Isuzu D-Max*
*denotes registered for FIA World Baja Cup
+denotes registered for FIA European Baja Cup
Timetable of events
Thursday, June 25
Administration checks 08.00-19.00hrs, Fiera – Pordenone
Scrutineering checks 09.00-20.00hrs, Fiera, Pavilion 5 – Pordenone
Ceremonial start 21.30hrs, Piazza XX Settembre, Pordenone
Friday, June 26
Shakedown 09.00-12.30hrs – San Martino al Tagliamento
Pre-event press conference 14.30hrs – Media Centre
Prologue – Guilia Maroni, 14.05km 17.30hrs – first car
Saturday, June 27
Stage 1A – FCG1, Cordenons-San Paolo, 84.10km 08.30hrs – first car
Stage 1B – Madrisio-Basiliano, 75.79km 09.45hrs – first car
Stage 2A – FVG 2, Cordenons-San Paolo, 84.10km 14.30hrs – first car
Stage 2B – Madrisio-Basiliano, 75.79km 15.45hrs – first car
Sunday, June 28
Stage 3A – Tagliamento, Bonzicco-Dignano, 38.39km 09.00hrs – first car approx.
Stage 3B – Madrisio-Vacile, 59.98km 09.40hrs – first car
Podium ceremony 14.00hrs – Fiera, Pavilion 5
Post-event press conference 15.00hrs – Fiera, Pavilion 5