World Rally-Raid Championship

FIM Bajas World Cup finalised, aligns with FIA after Dubai International Baja tweak

1 Mins read
Credit: DUUST Rally Team

After a lot of midseason shuffling, the 2023 FIM Bajas World Cup is now set (probably).

On Wednesday, the FIM confirmed it will align with the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas and move the Dubai International Baja back a day, making it run from 10–12 November instead of the original 9–11 November. The Dubai Baja has had its date changed multiple times, first set at 1–3 December as the season finale before the FIM swapped that slot in March with the Jordan Baja, a move that the FIA emulated.

Since 2022, both Bajas World Cups have followed a pattern of two races in the Middle East, a slate in Europe, and ending with two more in the former region. This was intended to follow the World Rally-Raid Championship‘s own schedule model that begins with the Dakar Rally, heads to non-desert events, then returns to sand and dunes at the Rallye du Maroc in October. Dubai is often used as one last dry run for Dakar.

The FIA and FIM World Cups have four races together: the Saudi Baja, the Qatar International Baja, the Baja España Aragón, and the Jordan Baja. The Baja Aragón also received a scheduling tweak that condensed a three-day weekend into two due to Spanish elections on Sunday.

With the calendar set at eight races, riders can drop their two worst performances from their final championship total. If the season had six or fewer rounds, every finish would have counted.

Revised 2023 FIM World Cup dates

#RaceCountryDate
1Saudi Baja*Saudi Arabia2–4 February
2Qatar International Baja*Qatar16–18 March
3Baja TT Dehesa Extremadura*Spain14–16 April
4Baja España AragónSpain21/22 July
5Hungarian BajaHungary10–12 August
6Baja do OestePortugal6–8 October
7Dubai International BajaUnited Arab Emirates10–12 November
8Jordan BajaJordan23–25 November
* – Already run
Avatar photo
3929 posts

About author
Justin is not an off-road racer, but he writes about it for The Checkered Flag.
Articles
Related posts
World Rally-Raid Championship

2024 Rallye du Maroc: Cooling system failure forces Loprais, de Rooy withdrawal

1 Mins read
Due to a critical issue in the driveline’s secondary cooling system, an issue that cannot be rectified on site in Morocco, Aleš Loprais and Team de Rooy will not race the Rallye du Maroc.
World Rally-Raid Championship

2024 Rallye du Maroc: Nunzio Coffaro returns to rally raid

1 Mins read
Eight years after racing the Dakar Rally for the last time, 2013 FIA T1.1 champion Nunzio Coffaro is back as the navigator for Andrea Schiumarini in Morocco with plans of doing the 2025 Dakar afterwards.
World Rally-Raid Championship

2024 Rallye du Maroc: Carla Scaglioni to make rally raid debut in Morocco

1 Mins read
Argentine enduro rider Carla Scaglioni will race a Fantic at the Rallye du Maroc next week in her first career cross-country rally.