Al-Attiyah and Delfino secure clean sweep of FIA Middle East Baja Cup successes with Qatari’s fourth win in the Dubai International Baja

Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah teamed up with Frenchman Max Delfino to secure a fourth victory in the Dubai International Baja and wrap up a clean sweep of four victories on rounds of the 2026 FIA Middle East Baja Cup.

The Qatari guided his Optimus MD Rallye to back-to-back stage wins on a demanding route through the Al-Qudra desert in the United Arab Emirates to add another Baja success to the 10 Dubai International Rally wins he earned before the event switched to a Baja-style format in 2016.

Based at Dubai Festival City and organised by the Emirates Motorsports Organisation (EMSO), thirty-one of the original 35 crews made the final start list for the 10th edition with seven registered in the Ultimate category, eight in Challenger, a dozen in SSV and four in the Stock class.

The South Racing Can-Am Team’s Mitchel van den Brink came into the weekend needing a strong finish to snatch the FIA World Baja Cup title from Francisco Barreto’s clutches. The Dutchman started strongly with a good result on the Prologue and then finished second behind Al-Attiyah on the opening stage.

He shadowed the Qatari to the finish of the last timed section to secure second place, albeit 5min 18.7sec behind the winner, to win the world title in a Can-Am Maverick Challenger and also confirm success in the Challenger category.

Van den Brink said: “It was a very nice last stage and we pushed from the beginning. We had a nice flow and a nice rhythm. We knew at the refuelling zone that we were one minute ahead of Nasser. We knew we had created a big gap to the others and we took it safe. We were just two seconds behind Nasser (stage two). It doesn’t matter. First in the World Cup. We became world champions in the Challenger and the overall.”

Francisco Barreto and Paulo Fiúza were penalised for an offence on the Prologue, recovered to finish fourth in the opening stage but retired early on the final day with engine problems and lost their chance of claiming the world titles. Van den Brink’s navigator Bart van Heun duly became the champion navigator for the 2026 season. He had already won the Challenger Navigators’ title.

A disappointed Barreto, who finished second in the FIA World Baja Cup, said: “We had engine problems at kilometre 50, no oil pressure in the engine. The points that the organisation took from us on the Prologue, maybe we could win the World Cup. It’s what it is…”

Sergei Remennik and Aleksei Ignatov were not registered for either Baja series but rounded off the podium places in a Taurus T3 Max.

Oman’s Hamed Al-Wahaibi may have missed out on the Challenger title to van den Brink but the Omani finished his season strongly with fourth place alongside François Cazalet. That result catapulted the veteran into third in the overall Drivers’ Championship.

Al-Wahaibi said: “The season went very well. We had issues every rally, whether it’s over-speeding, crashing or mechanical and that didn’t help the overall situation. We didn’t have a chance in Challenger. Mitch (Van den Brink) was flying. He won the T3 and the overall.”

The local crew of Mansour Al-Helai and Khalid Al-Kendi finished fifth in a Can-Am Maverick R and collected enough points to secure the FIA World Baja Cup’s SSV titles. Norwegian Hedda Hosås suffered brake issues on the first selective section and had to settle for second in the championship with her navigator Pol Tibau. They finished 11th overall and earned the fastest SSV time on the second stage.

“For me, since I am a child, I always dream of being a world champion and today I am,” said Al-Helei. “The stage was full of drama. My engine was overheating for exactly 180km. So, I was driving very slow, but I wanted to bring it to the finish. I feel very excited, very honoured.”

R-X Sport’s Rashid Al-Ketbi and Oriol Mena came home in 14th and third of the SSV crews in the FIA World Baja Cup. But a time penalty for missing way points dropped the Emirati to 18th overall.

Majed Al-Thunayyan and Omar Al-Lahim got the better of Abdulla Al-Rabban and Ali Al-Ajami to seize victory in the Stock category to add to their championship title. It was the Saudi’s third success in Dubai in four years. Al-Rabban had broken both wishbones, a link rod and the crown gear on his Nissan Patrol on the first stage.

Al-Mashna and Abdullah Al-Shammeri failed to finish the season’s finale but were classified second in the championship standings.

In a late update to the itinerary, the Emirates Motorsports Organisation (EMSO) hosted the short 4.80km Prologue at Mushrif Park for the first time.

Barreto repeated his Qatar success from the previous weekend and clocked the fastest time of 2min 55.9sec to win the short test by 5.6 seconds from title rival Saood Variawa. Aliyyah Koloc came home in third with Challenger and SSV bragging rights going to fourth-placed Sergei Remennik and Rashid Al-Ketbi in seventh.

Martin Koloc retired after incurring a 10-minute penalty for losing a wheel on the stage and there were surprise 12-minute penalties for both Al-Shammeri and Al-Attiyah for not starting the Prologue. Hamed Al-Harbi also incurred a 10-minute penalty for a missing wheel in the Prologue.

Barreto was later disqualified from the results of the Prologue. It came to light from video evidence that the Portuguese had not used notes provided by Baja officials for the short opening stage. As a result, the Prologue win went to Variawa with Barreto pushed down to start the opening desert stage from 29th position. More importantly, he lost his Prologue points.

The rolling dunes of the Al-Qudra desert hosted the opening selective section of 178.02km on Saturday morning. Al-Attiyah led the way from Variawa, Al-Ketbi and Van den Brink.

The Qatari stopped the clocks in 2hr 41min 59.9sec and moved into a 5min 16sec lead over Challenger pace-setter Van den Brink. Al-Helai led the SSVs in third and Barreto battled his way through the tail-enders to claim the fourth quickest time.

Van den Brink said: “Second overall, first in the World Cup and only five minutes behind Nasser is not bad with the Challenger. We were in a good flow. He (Nasser) set up some nice lines and we were following them.”

Technical issues ruined Variawa’s challenge for FIA World Baja Cup glory and he was sidelined. Likewise, a collision with another competing vehicle and damage sustained to his South Racing Can-Am forced Argentina’s Fernando Alvarez out of the three-way fight for SSV title honours. Khalid Al-Jafla and Andrei Rudnitskiy also retired their Toyota Hilux Evo after an accident.

Alvarez said: “Another driver hit us very hard from the side and we rolled several times. Neither of us were injured but it ended our possibility of winning the World Championship that we led until this event.”

The second Al-Faqa’a selective section ran for 179.56km. Al-Attiyah claimed the stage win and did enough to earn a fourth Dubai Baja victory, with Van den Brink prevailing in the FIA World Baja Cup.  

El-Shamy shadows Al-Attiyah through the FIA Middle Baja Cup finale

Al-Attiyah may have dominated this year’s FIA Middle East Baja Cup with Max Delfino but it was also a successful finale to the season for Ahmed El-Shamy and his navigator Leonard Cremer.

The Century CR6 driver confirmed the runner-up spot in the regional Ultimate category in Qatar recently. A sixth-place finish in Dubai and points for second in the Middle East Baja Cup were sufficient for the Egyptian to seal third in the overall Drivers’ Championship and Master Driver honours. Rival Yasir Seaidan had graced the original entry list but was a non-starter.

The UAE-based British pairing of David Mabbs and Dave McBride reached the finish in 10th overall and third in the regional Baja points. With Seaidan failing to start, they were able to confirm the regional Challenger titles in a Can-Am Maverick X3.

Qatari Mohammed Al-Marri confirmed success in the regional SSV title race by finishing 12th overall with French navigator Pierre Delorme and also second in the main Drivers’ Championship. Fellow countryman Mohammed Al-Atteya claimed the runner-up spot with his co-pilot Aleksei Kuzmich topping the SSV Navigators’ Championship standings in the regional Baja series in 13th.

The Qatari finished just ahead of the Saudi pairing of Hamad Al-Harbi and Faisal Al-Suwayh and Ahmed Al-Kuwari with his navigator Augusto Sanz. Al-Kuwari was driving a new Can Am Maverick R in the Experimental category and was not classified in the final results. He had already secured the Teams’ Championship through his Al-Kuwari Racing by Apex operation.

Camelia Liparoti (Yamaha) incurred half an hour of time penalties on the opening stage for missing waypoints but reached the finish in 15th with navigator Erika Mingozzi.

Saudi Abdullah Al-Shegawi and his Emirati navigator Ali Mirza retired on the second stage but still secured both regional Stock titles in their Toyota Prado.

The Baja was held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum. Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai.

It was supported by the Dubai Government and its key entities, including Dubai Police, the Roads and Transport Authority, the Dubai Municipality and official automotive partner, Al-Futtaim Toyota.

2026 Dubai International Baja  – result:

1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Max Delfino (FRA) Optimus MD Rallye                                 5hr 30min 40.5sec+

2. Mitchel van den Brink (NED)/Bart van Heun (NED) Can-Am Maverick R                              5hr 35min 59.2sec*

3. Sergei Remennik (RUS)/Aleksei Ignatov (RUS) Taurus T3 Max                                               5hr 46min 29.8sec  

4. Hamed Al-Wahaibi (OMA)/François Cazalet (FRA) Can-Am Maverick R                               5hr 54min 14.3sec*

5. Mansour Al-Helai (UAE)/Khalid Al-Kendi (UAE) Can-Am Maverick R                                     6hr 02min 25.3sec*

6. Ahmed El-Shamy (EGY)/Leonard Cremer (RSA) Century CR6                                                  6hr 05min 03.0sec+

7. Damien Byrne (IRL)/Mark Grams (GER) Can-Am Maverick X3                                                6hr 09min 44.9sec

8. Aliiyah Koloc (UAE)/Marcin Pasek (POL) Red-Lined Revo GTR                                                6hr 18min 08.0sec

9. Bassam Knonfli (CAN)/Willem Avenant (RSA) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR                 6hr 19min 34.7sec

10. David Mabbs (GBR)/David McBride (GBR) Can-Am Maverick X3                                         6hr 23min 48.0sec+

11. Hedda Hosås (NOR)/Pol Tibau (ESP) Can-Am Maverick R                                                      6hr 24min 08.8sec*

12. Mohammed Al-Marri (QAT)/Pierre Delorme (FRA) Can-Am Maverick R                            6hr 30min 26.2sec+

13. Mohammed Al-Atteya (QAT)/Aleksei Kuzmich (RUS) Can-Am Maverick R                        6hr 31min 56.1sec+

14. Hamad Al-Harbi (KSA)/Faisal Al-Suwayh (KSA) Can-Am Maverick R                                    6hr 43min 29.4sec+

15. Camelia Liparoti (SMR)/Erika Mingozzi (ITA) Yamaha YXZ 1000R Sport Shift                    7hr 30min 31.4sec+

16. Majed Al-Thunayyan (KSA)/Omar Al-Lahim (KSA) Nissan Patrol                                          8hr 11min 00.0sec

17. Abdulla Al-Rabban (QAT)/Ali Al-Ajami (UAE) Nissan Patrol                                                   8hr 47min 43.1sec*

18. Rashid Al-Ketbi (UAE)/Oriol Mena (ESP) Can-Am Maverick R                                               9hr 26min 46.0sec*

19. Francisco Barreto (POR)/Paulo Fiúza (POR) Toyota Hilux IMT Evo                                      10hr 22min 33.1sec*

20. Abdullah Al-Fahad (KSA)/Antoine Lecourbe (FRA) Taurus T3 Max                                      10hr 32min 33.3sec+

21. Jonathan Hart (GBR)/Dmytro Tsyro (UKR) Can-Am Maverick X3 XRS                                 10hr 32min 40.4sec

22. Evgenii Kudriavtcev (RUS)/Oleg Zaikin (RUS) Can-Am Maverick X3                                     10hr 38min 19.2sec

23. Nora Al-Jassasi (UAE)/Jeannette Kvick (DEN) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR                11hr 14min 49.3sec+

24. Dhari Al-Dhafeeri (KUW)/Ali Obaid (UAE) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR                      11hr 46min 47.3sec+

Al-Mashna Al-Shammeri (KSA)/Abdullah Al-Shammeri (KSA) Nissan Patrol                             RETIRED – SS2

Abdullah Al-Shegawi (KSA)/Ali Mirza (UAE) Toyota Prado                                                           RETIRED – SS2+

Fernando Alvarez (ARG)/Xavier Panseri (FRA) Can-Am Maverick R                                           RETIRED – SS1*

Khalid Al-Jafla (UAE)/Andrei Rudnitskiy (LTU) Toyota Hilux Evo                                                 RETIRED – SS1*

Saood Variawa (RSA)/Charan Moore (RSA) Toyota Hilux IMT Evo                                             RETIRED – SS1*

Martin Koloc (CZE)/Hugo Magalhães (POR) Red-Lined Revo V8                                                 RETIRED – PROLOGUE

*denotes registered for the FIA World Baja Cup

+ denotes registered for the FIA Middle East Baja Cup