European Baja Cup kicks off with attrition-heavy Baja TT Dehesa Extremadura

After narrowly missing out on the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid win in April, João Ferreira began the 2024 FIA European Baja Cup strong as he survived a brutal Baja TT Dehesa Extremadura that eliminated much of the field.

Only twenty-seven of the forty-one FIA cars finished the race, including just half of the fourteen in Ultimate alongside Ferreira, as the rest were eliminated by mechanical failures brought upon by the punishing Spanish terrain. This was particularly evident during the Prologue, where the final thirty kilometres ran through a training range on Base General Menacho de Bótoa that is used by the Spanish Army for tanks. Increased rainfall in recent days added to the conditions, creating a bumpy course riddled with holes that caked everyone in mud and basically doubled as a suspension test. Benediktas Vanagas, a member of the Lithuanian National Defence Volunteer Forces, quipped it was the “most interesting speed section” he had ever raced and that while “Abrams and Leopards feel good (driving this), off-road vehicles have a hard time though this is not the case for the Toyota GR DKR Hilux.”

Vanagas may have had high praise for the tank polygon, but his Hilux did not make it through unscathed either as his right-front wheel rim broke after hitting a rock three kilometres from the finish; he ended up as one of the seven Ultimate retirements when his engine expired in the final stage. João Ramos, another favourite in the class, bowed out after going off course and losing too much time in the overall, while Edgar Canet was the top bike in the Prologue but a mechanical failure knocked him out. The first race for GPR Sport‘s new GPR 24 buggy, an upgrade from their GPR 22, retired as well with Félix Macías behind the wheel. Eduard Pons did not start the race due to health reasons.

Ramos’ retirement propelled Ferreira into the overall lead ahead of Francisco Barreto, and the 2022 European Baja champion kept Barreto at bay for the victory. Maria Luís Gameiro finished third to secure two podium spots for Mini.

“The first stage was really demanding for ourselves and for the car. The terrain was very hard,” said Ferreira. “This last stage was fast and very enjoyable to drive, some tricky in some parts, very narrow and twisty.”

With their overall win, Ferreira and co-driver Filipe Palmeiro are the first ever European Cup Ultimate points leaders. The FIA added trophies for Ultimate across the three Baja Cups, as well as category-specific co-driver trophies for all four divisions, ahead of Extremadura. Prior to this, Ultimate drivers could only go for the all-class Baja title.

Rui Carneiro edged out Alexandre Pinto for the Challenger win by just nine seconds, while Armindo Araújo rounded out the podium in Santag Racing‘s début race in an OT3 from GRallyTeam. Araújo beat Pau Navarro for third in the European Cup as well as the T3 win in the Spanish Cross-Country Rally Championship (CERTT). Navarro, racing a Demon Car DT3, notched the maiden rally podium for GRS Team, a junior single-seater team and newcomer to off-road racing; team boss Josep Trinidad finished eighth in CERTT T4 (equivalent to the FIA’s SSV class) after receiving an early penalty.

After having to call off their 2024 Dakar Rally plans due to a non-compliant Polaris RZR Pro R, Kamena Rally Team got the car certified in time for Extremadura to take the SSV victory with Tomasz Białkowski. It was their second win in an international Baja after claiming the class in the 2022 Extremadura event.

Carlos Vento was disqualified after exiting the second Selective Section to repair his car at a nearby house before rejoining. Vento had been looking for a flat location to work on the vehicle, but doing so was in blatant violation of Article 49.1.7 of FIA regulations (“Servicing in a closed and/or private place is not authorised. If a vehicle is serviced inside a closed tent, the Clerk of the Course must be informed and any official of the event must be allowed to enter the tent at any time.”).

Bruno Santos, fresh off dominating the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid in the Rally2 class, continued his winning ways by topping the FIM Bajas World Cup side. He beat David Megre by seven minutes and Pedro Bianchi Prata, the latter third in Rally3 in Portugal, by half an hour.

FIM points leader Mohammed Al-Balooshi, who won the season-opening Saudi Baja in February, struggled with navigation troubles that included a roadbook error. His bike eventually gave up in the final run, prompting fellow rider Pedro Pinheiro to tow him to the finish in twelfth.

Like the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid, Extremadura takes place on the Iberian Peninsula and crosses between Spain and Ferreira’s native Portugal; both races also crossed through the Spanish city of Badajoz. Otherwise, the former is organised by the Automóvel Club de Portugal while Spain’s Real Federación Española de Automovilismo oversees the Baja.

Overall results

FIA

Ultimate

Finish	Number	Driver	Co-Driver	Team	Vehicle	Class	Time	Margin
1	200	João Ferreira	Filipe Palmeiro	X-raid Mini JCW Team	Mini John Cooper Works Rally Plus	T1+	5:13:35.3	Leader
2	205	Francisco Barreto	Carlos Duarte	Francisco Barreto	Toyota Hilux	T1+	5:18:01.4	+ 4:26.1
3	208	Maria Luís Gameiro	José Marques	Maria Luís Gameiro	Mini John Cooper Works Rally Plus	T1+	5:49:10.4	+ 35:35.1
4	211	Dave Klaassen	Tessa Rooth	DaklaPack Rallysport	Red-Lined VK56	T1.1	5:53:57.7	+ 40:22.4
5	215	Pim Klaassen	Jeffrey Spoor	DaklaPack Rallysport	Red-Lined VK50	T1.1	6:04:07.7	+ 50:32.4
6	201	Benediktas Vanagas	Kuldar Sikk	Toyota Gazoo Racing Baltics	Toyota Hilux	T1+	9:13:35.5	+ 4:00:00.2
7	206	Włodzimierz Grajek	Michał Goleniewski	Włodzimierz Grajek	Toyota GR DKR Hilux	T1+	13:43:51.1	+ 8:30:15.8
DNF	202	Michał Małuszyński	Łukasz Kurzeja	Michał Małuszyński	Mini John Cooper Works Rally Plus	T1+	DNF	N/A
DNF	204	João Ramos	Jorge Carvalho	João Ramos	Toyota Hilux	T1+	DNF	N/A
DNF	209	José Luis García	Manuel Navarro	Escudería Villa de Llanes	Mini John Cooper Works Rally Plus	T1.1	DNF	N/A
DNF	210	Henrique Silva	Henrique Damásio	Henrique Silva	Mercedes CaTTiva Proto X	T1.1	DNF	N/A
DNF	212	Ronald Schoolderman	Mark Salomons	4×4 Centrum Ermelo	Mitsubishi ASX	T1.1	DNF	N/A
DNF	204	Rik van den Brink	Gydo Heimans	Rik van den Brink	Mitsubishi ASX	T1.1	DNF	N/A
DNS	203	Eduard Pons	Jaume Betriu	Past-Racing	Ford Ranger T1+	T1+	DNS	N/A

Challenger

Finish	Number	Driver	Co-Driver	Team	Vehicle	Time	Margin
1	306	Rui Carneiro	Ola Floene	GRallyTeam	GRally OT3	5:21:28.6	Leader
2	305	Alexandre Pinto	Bernardo Oliveira	Alexandre Pinto	Can-Am Maverick X3	5:21:37.9	+ 9.3
3	303	Armindo Araújo	Pedro Ré	Santag Racing	GRally OT3	5:27:22.1	+ 5:53.5
4	300	Pau Navarro	Ian Rosa	GRS Team	Demon Car DT3	5:28:12.5	+ 6:43.9
5	311	Nuno Madeira	Nuno Morais	Nuno Madeira	Can-Am Maverick X3	5:2:38.5	+ 7:09.9
6	304	Adam Kus	Marcin Pasek	GRallyTeam	GRally OT3	5:32:19.2	+ 10:50.6
7	302	Fernando Álvarez	Xavier Panseri	GRallyTeam	GRally OT3	5:52:52:2	+ 31:23.6
8	314	Nelson Beiró	Ricardo Batista	Nelson Beiró	Can-Am Maverick X3	6:10:57.6	+ 49:29.0
9	317	Nuno Rogéiro	Pedro Santos	Nuno Rogéiro	Can-Am Maverick X3	6:39:47.6	+ 1:18:19.0
10	315	Enrique Reyes	Jaqueline Ricci	Gedeser XXI S.L.	VM Competición T3 ordaz-R	6:48:51.0	+ 1:27:22.4
11	301	João Dias	João Miranda	Santag Racing	GRally OT3	8:35:13.6	+ 3:13:45.0
12	312	Jose Maria Naranjo	Jose Antonio Alvarez	Escudería JMP Racing	JMP Racing JMPRT3	9:06:48.7	+ 3:45:20.1
DNF	307	Jesús Fuster	Carlos Fernandez	Herrador Factory Team	Herrator Inzane X3	DNF	N/A
DNF	308	Paulo Jorge Rodrigues	Miguel Salvador Francisco	Paulo Jorge Rodrigues	Can-Am Maverick X3	DNF	N/A
DNF	309	Nicolás Fuchs	Alex Toril	Escudería JMP Racing	JMP Racing JMPRT3	DNF	N/A
DNF	310	Félix Macías	José Luis Conde	GPR Sport	GR Sport GPR 24	DNF	N/A
DNF	316	Pedro Carvalho	Romeu Martins	Pedro Carvalho	Can-Am Maverick X3	DNF	N/A
DNF	318	Roberto Rodríguez Gamboa	Claudi Ribeiro Leite	Roberto Rodríguez Gamboa	Herrator Inzane X3	DNF	N/A

SSV

Finish	Number	Driver	Co-Driver	Team	Vehicle	Time	Margin
1	401	Tomasz Białkowski	Dariusz Baśkiewicz	Kamena Rally Team	Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR	5:31:33.4	Leader
2	406	Federico Guillermo Mogni	David Aguando Fernandez	TH-Trucks Team	Polaris RZR Pro R	5:52:00.3	+ 20:26.9
3	400	Fidel Castillo Ruiz	Fausto Mota	Ahúja Racing	Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR	5:57:42.0	+ 26:08.6
4	404	Miquel Prat Martinez	Daniel Oliveira Carreras	Moto Club Sabadell	Yamaha YXZ1000R	6:31:30.5	+ 59:57.1
5	403	William Buller	Jorge Jordao	William Buller	Yamaha YXZ1000R	7:00:50.5	+ 1:29:17.1
6	402	Rui Farinha	Rui Pita	Santag Racing	Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR	7:31:14.7	+ 1:59:41.3
7	407	Rafael Muñoz	Daniel Cámara	Federación Andaluza de Automovilismo	Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR	13:43:03.5	+ 8:11:30.1
DSQ	405	Carlos Vento	Julián Garcia	Carlos Vento	Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR	DSQ	N/A

Stock

Finish	Number	Driver	Co-Driver	Team	Vehicle	Time	Margin
1	500	Fernano Manuel Barreiros	Rui Pereira António	Fernano Manuel Barreiros	Isuzu D-Max	7:27:39.8	Leader

FIM

Bike

Finish	Number	Rider	Team	Bike	Time	Margin
1	2	Bruno Santos	Bruno Santos	Husqvarna FR 450 Rally	728:10.5	Leader
2	21	David Megre	David Megre	Kawasaki KX450X	7:35:41.0	+ 7:30.5
3	17	Pedro Bianchi Prata	Pedro Bianchi Prata	Honda CRF450RX	8:02:14.0	+ 34:03.5
4	98	Sara Garcia #	Sara Garcia	Yamaha WR450F Rally	8:17:35.9	+ 49:25.4
5	47	Rafa Marques	Rafa Marques	Fantic XEF 450 Rally	8:23:03.6	+ 54:53.1
6	50	Rafic Bassam	Rafic Bassam	Honda CRF450RX	8:23:06.0	+ 54:55.5
7	27	Joanna Modrzewska #	DUUST Rally Team	Husqvarna FE 450	8:32:27.0	+ 1:04:16.5
8	54	Slawomir Sypien	DUUST Rally Team	Husqvarna FR 450 Rally	8:34:35.2	+ 1:06:24.7
9	52	Abdulhaim Al-Mogeera	Abdulhaim Al-Mogeera	KTM 450 EXC	8:40:58.4	+ 1:12:47.9
10	55	Filip Grot	Filip Grot	GasGas RX 450F Replica	8:41:30.1	+ 1:13:19.6
11	30	Robert Przybyłowski	Robert Przybyłowski	KTM 450 EXC	9:02:10.0	+ 1:33:59.5
12	1	Mohammed Al-Balooshi	Mohammed Al-Balooshi	KTM 450 EXC	9:03:56.6	+ 1:35:56.1
13	75	Abdullah Alshatti	Abdullah Alshatti	KTM 450 EXC	9:04:52.	+ 1:36.42.4
14	10	Tomasz Niedźwiedzki	Tomasz Niedźwiedzki	GasGas RX 450F Replica	9:15:51.2	+ 1:47:40.7
15	32	Josep Pedró Subirats	Pedrega Team	GasGas RX 450F Replica	11:05:17.8	+ 3:37:07.3
16	53	Pedro Pinheiro	Pedro Pinheiro	Husqvarna FR 450 Rally	11:23:58.3	+ 3:55:47.8
17	62	Andrew Houlihan	Andrew Houlihan	KTM 450 EXC	11:29:46.6	+ 4:01:36.1
18	25	Paulo Cardoso	Paulo Cardoso	Kawasaki KX450X	11:39:27.8	+ 4:11:17.3
DNF	73	Edgar Canet	Edgar Canet	KTM 450 EXC	DNF	N/A
DNF	76	Tiago Santos	Tiago Santos	AJP SPR 310R	DNF	N/A

Quad

Finish	Number	Rider	Team	Quad	Time	Margin
1	110	Abdulaziz Al-Shayban	Abdulaziz Al-Shayban	Yamaha Raptor	8:45:34.6	Leader
2	109	Hani Al-Noumesi	Hani Al-Noumesi	Yamaha Raptor	8:55:48.2	+ 10:13.6
3	101	Haitham Al-Tuwayjiri	Haitham Al-Tuwayjiri	Yamaha Raptor	17:31:19.4	+ 8:45:44.8

CERTT winners

Class	Number	Competitor	Team	Vehicle	Time
T1	700	Santiago Carnicer Colomer	Santiago Carnicer Colomer	Toyota Hilux Overdrive	5:29:15.0
T1N	705	Diego Villanueva Capote	Diego Villanueva Capote	Toyota Hilux	6:12:25.8
T2	500	Fernano Manuel Barreiros	Fernano Manuel Barreiros	Isuzu D-Max	7:31:04.8
T3	303	Armingo Araújo	Santag Racing	GRally OT3	5:27:22.1
T4	406	Federico Guillermo Mogni	TH-Trucks Team	Polaris RZR Pro R	5:47:49.3
T8	722	Raúl Ortiz Correa	Automóvil Club Sol y Nieve	Toyota RAV4	5:09:08.5
SSV	800	Mario Exequiel Morillo Del Rio	Federación Andaluza de Automovilismo	Polaris RZR XP Turbo	5:44:35.2
Enduro	99	Javi Vega	Javi Vega	Yamaha WR450 Rally	5:46:06.1
Quad	102	David Gomez	David Gomez	Yamaha YFZ450R	6:21:38.8
Trail	40	Carlos Diaz Roy	Carlos Diaz Roy	KTM 500 EXC-F	6:10:22.9
Maxitrail	100	Joan Pedrero	Harley-Davidson	Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250	5:58:25.7
Women	98	Sara Garcia	Sara Garcia	Yamaha WR450F Rally	6:15:02.0