Massive 92-car FIA field set to battle through the heat and dust at Teruel-based Baja Spain Aragón
The three-day event marks the fifth round of the 2026 FIA World Baja Cup and round four of the FIA European Baja Cup. Teams will compete across rural tracks and demanding arid terrain in the Aragón province of northeastern Spain.
The massive field includes a record 36 teams entered in the Ultimate category, 33 running in the Challenger section, 20 entered in the SSV section and three in the Stock class for series-production cross-country vehicles. Of those, 14 are chasing points in the FIA World Baja Cup and 17 are registered for the FIA European Baja Cup.
With six scores to count from eight rounds in each of the FIA Baja series’, five of the top six drivers in the FIA World Baja Cup standings have opted to miss the Spanish event. Series leader Hamed Al-Wahaibi, second-placed Dania Akeel, Hedda Hosås, Saood Variawa and Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari are all absent.
Fifth-placed Mansour Al-Helai and his navigator Khalid Al-Kendi are the highest-placed crew to have entered in their R-X Sport Can-Am Maverick R. R-X Sport currently leads the FIA World Baja Cup Teams’ series by 200 points.
Four of the leading six crews in the FIA European Baja Cup will be present in Teruel with Portugal’s Paulo Rodrigues and Fausto Mota hoping to defend a 16-point cushion over the Lithuanian Toyota Gazoo Racing Baltics crew of Benediktas Vanagas and Aisvydas Paliukenas in the Drivers’ and Navigators’ Championships. Rodrigues and Mota also have a 40-point cushion over Murat Kapanoğlu and Aleksandr Trendafilov in the SSV category.
Overdrive Racing’s Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk are the overall top seeds in a Toyota and will be aiming to give the Japanese manufacturer a sixth successive victory at Europe’s most popular Baja.
Competition comes from Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings and Lithuania’s Rokas Baciuška and his Spanish navigator Oriol Vidal, who make a switch from competing with the Defender Rally Team in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship to tackle the Spanish event with Overdrive Racing.
Belgium’s Guillaume de Mévius won the event with Andorra-based Mathieu Baumel in a Toyota in 2024 and teams up with the X-Raid teams in the first of six Minis entered by the Trebur-based company in the Ultimate class. Baumel is a six-time winner of the event, having also taken five victories with Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah.
The French father and daughter duo of Lionel and Luce Baud are chasing overall and Ultimate class honours in the FIA World Baja Cup and they crew a diesel-engined Mini JCW Rally alongside Maria Gameiro and Rosa Romero, who are chasing European points. José Luis Garcia and Manuel Navarro also team up with X-Raid in a diesel Mini registered in the European series.
Marek and Eryk Goczal have switched from the Toyota brand and entered a pair of Ford Raptors under the Energylandia Rally Team banner. The Polish father and son team up with navigators Maciej Marton and François Cazalet.
Portugal’s João Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro are the defending Baja Spain Aragón champions and will attempt to defend their title in a Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux Evo. Francisco Barreto won the last round of the FIA World Baja Cup in Italy and the Portuguese teams up with Paulo Fiuza in an SVR-run Toyota. Emirati Khalid Al-Jafla also returns to chase World Baja Cup points.
Vanagas and Magdalena Zając currently hold first and third in the Ultimate standings in the FIA European Baja Cup and wheel out a pair of Toyotas. José Rogeira (Ford), Costel Căşuneanu (Mini) and Maríusz Wiatr (Ford) are also registered for the FIA European Baja Cup and are aiming for Ultimate category points.
Amongst the drivers not registered for either Baja Cup are Lucio Alvarez, Pau Navarro and Isidre Esteve Pujol in a trio of Toyotas, Sebastian Halpern and Alejandro Martins in two X-Raid Minis, Jourdan Serderidis (Ford Raptor) and Laia Sanz (Ebro S800).
Van den Brink looks to overhaul Challenger rivals
In the absence of both leading Master driver Al-Wahaibi and Al-Kuwari, the South Racing Can-Am Team’s Mitchel van den Brink and Bart van Heun have the perfect opportunity to hit the front in the FIA World Baja Cup’s Challenger standings.
The Dutchman currently trails Al-Wahaibi by 49 points but has won both his events so far in Greece and Italy and his Omani rival has already competed in four Bajas. Van den Brink is the only registered World Baja Cup Challenger competitor in Spain.
Portugal’s leading Junior driver Dinis Rogeira and his navigator Nelson Ramos are the only crew to have scored Challenger points so far in the FIA European Baja Cup and head to Teruel with 113 points apiece. They face competition in Aragón from Hungary’s Lőrinc Mészáros and Albert Horn (G Rally Team G-Ecko) and Poland’s Marek Kubicek and Artur Kordala (Taurus).
Two-time Dakar winner Joan ‘Nani’ Roma has won Baja Spain Aragón on five occasions (2005, 2009, 2013, 2014 and 2015) and the official Ford Raptor driver will attempt to take a sixth victory in a Taurus T3 Max entered by the PCR Sport Club Esportiu.
He teams up with navigator Alex Haro on a list of non-registered Challenger competitors that also includes Rebecca Busi, Charles Munster and Eduardo Pons in Taurus machines, Ricardo Porém (Kaizen), Nasser Racing Team’s Gonçalo Guerreiro and Paul Schmidt in an X-Raid Fenic.
With SSV category leader and top Junior Hosås giving this event a miss, Al-Helai has a chance to turn over his 15-point deficit to the Norwegian girl in the FIA World Baja Cup. The South Racing Can-Am Team’s Fernando Alvarez and Xavier Panseri have also made the trip to Spain and currently hold third in the points’ standings, 38 points behind Hosås and her navigator Pol Tibau. Tomasz Białkowski and Dariusz Baśkiewicz are also chasing SSV points in the FIA World Baja Cup.
While Rodrigues and Mota will be looking to increase their SSV category leads and try and stay out in front in the overall FIA European Baja Cup classification, rival Portuguese drivers Filipe Lopes and Rúben Rodrigues will be chasing points with navigators Gonçalo Reis and Rui Moreira. Lopes currently trails Paulo Rodrigues by 48 points. Poland’s Ernest Kús and Grzegorz Szymanski are also registered for the FIA European Baja Cup.
Rio Seco Racing has a 95-point lead over the 767/PRK Sport Rally Team in the FIA European Baja Teams’ Championship.
Non-registered SSV drivers present in Spain include Portugal’s Afonso Oliveira and Luís Cidade and Great Britain’s Sean Haran.
Three-way fight for Stock honours
Saudi Arabia’s Al-Mashna and Abdullah Al-Shammeri have built up a 27-point cushion over their fellow countrymen Majed Al-Thunayyan and Omar Al-Lahim in the FIA World Baja Cup’s Stock category.
Al-Shammeri has earned four podium finishes in his Nissan Patrol – including a class victory at the Italian Baja – while Al-Thunayyan has tackled just three rounds and claimed Stock wins at the first two in Saudi Arabia and Jordan.
Portugal’s Fernando Barreiros (Isuzu D-Max) missed the first two events in the Middle East, claimed a class win in Greece and finished third in Italy. He trails Al-Shammeri by 73 points but has two events in hand over his Saudi rival.
Competitors will tackle 488.68 competitive kilometres in a revised route of 810.11km laid on by Motor Club Baja – Octagon.
A short Prologue of 6.48km will determine starting positions on Friday (July 24th) afternoon from 17.15hrs, before competitors tackle two stages of 151.07km and 180.08km through the sizzling temperatures and choking dust of a Spanish summer on Saturday (July 25th).
Action concludes on Sunday (July 26th) with a single stage of 151.07km before the podium and prize giving ceremony in Teruel in the evening.
2026 Baja Spain Aragón – entry list:
Ultimate
200. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (KSA)/Timo Gottschalk (GER) Toyota Hilux Overdrive*
201. Henk Lategan (RSA)/Brett Cummings (RSA) Toyota Hilux GR*
202. Rokas Baciuška (LTU)/Oriol Vidal (ESP) Toyota Hilux Overdrive*
203. Guillaume de Mévius (BEL)/Mathieu Baumel (AND) X-Raid Mini JCW 3.0i+
204. Eryk Goczal (POL)/François Cazalet (FRA) Ford Raptor+
205. Lionel Baud (FRA)/Lucie Baud (FRA) X-Raid Mini JCW 3.0d*
206. Francisco Barreto (POR)/Paulo Fiuza (POR) Toyota Hilux Evo*
207. Benediktas Vanagas (LTU)/Aisvydas Paliukenas (LTU) Toyota Hilux+
208. Magdalena Zając (POL)/Błażej Czekan (POL) Toyota Hilux+
209. Maria Gameiro (POR)/Rosa Romero (ESP) X-Raid Mini JCW Rally 3.0d+
210. Costel Căşuneanu (ROU)/Alejandro Lopez (ESP) Mini Countryman R60 CC+
211. José Rogeira (POR)/Paulo Marques (POR) Ford Ranger T1+
212. Maríusz Wiatr (POL)/Łukasz Łaskawiec (POL) Ford F-150 Evo+
213. José Luis Garcia (ESP)/Manuel Navarro (ESP) X-Raid Mini JCW 3.0i+
214. João Ferreira (POR)/Filipe Palmeiro (POR) Toyota Hilux Evo*
215. Marek Goczal (POL)/Maciej Marton (POL) Ford Raptor+
216. Lucio Alvarez (ARG)/Bernando Graue (ARG) Toyota Hilux Evo
217. Pau Navarro (ESP)/Jan Rosa (ESP) Toyota Hilux Evo
218. Isidre Esteve Pujol (ESP)/José-Maria Villalobos (ESP) Toyota Hilux Evo
219. Sebastian Halpern (ARG)/Bruno Jacomy (ARG) X-Raid Mini JCW 3.0i
220. Laia Sanz (ESP)/Maurizio Gerini (ITA) Ebro S800 XRR
221. Alejandro Martins (POR)/David Monteiro (POR) X-Raid Mini JCW 3.0d
222. Khalid Al-Jafla (UAE)/Andrei Rudnitskiy (LTU) Toyota Hilux Evo*
223. Tomas Ourednicek (CZE)/Pavel Vaculik (CZE) Toyota Hilux
224. Adam Lacko (CZE)/Mirko Brun (ITA) Red-Lined Revo T1
225. Luis Recuenco (ESP)/Daniel Camara (ESP) Toyota Hilux Evo
226. Jourdan Serderidis (BEL)/Lucas Cruz (ESP) Ford Raptor
227. Włodzimierz Grajek (POL)/Szymon Marciniak (POL) Toyota Hilux
228. Pim Klaassen (NED)/Mark Laan (NED) Red-Lined DKR Evo GTR
229. Daniel Beecroft (GBR)/Phillip Gillespie (GBR) Red-Lined Revo T1
230. David Beecroft (GBR)/Fraser Parish (GBR) Red-Lined Revo T1
231. Steven Rotsaert (BEL)/Laure Rotsaert (BEL) Red-Lined Revo T1
233. Rients Hofstra (NED)/Wouter de Graaff (NED) Red-Lined Revo GTR
234. Richard Timmerman (NED)/Lucas van Geest (NED) Toyota Hilux
235. Pieter de Backere (POR)/Anthony de Backere (POR) Toyota Hilux
236. Josep Sole (ESP)/Oscar Bravo (ESP) Century CR6
Challenger
300. Joan ‘Nani’ Roma (ESP)/Alex Haro (ESP) Taurus T3 Max
301. Mitchel van den Brink (NED)/Bart van Heun (NED) Can-Am Maverick R*
302. Dinis Rogeira (POR)/Nelson Ramos (POR) Can-Am Maverick X3+
303. Lőrinc Mészáros (HUN)/Albert Horn (HUN) G Rally Team G-Ecko+
304. Marek Kubicek (POL)/Artur Kordala (POL) Taurus Evo Max+
305. Rebecca Busi (ITA)/Rudy Briani (ITA) Taurus Evo Max
306. Eduardo Pons (ESP)/Candido Carrera (ESP) Taurus Evo Max
307. Paul Spierings (NED)/Kala Senders (NED) Taurus Evo Max
308. Charles Munster (LUX)/Grégoire Munster (LUX) Taurus Evo Max
309. Ricardo Porém (POR)/Nuno Sousa (POR) Kaizen S1
310. Henk Klaassen (NED)/Sasha Siripanyavuthi (THA) Taurus T3 Max
311. Michael Metge (FRA)/Enio Bozzano Jr. (BRA) Kaizen S1
312. Paul Schmidt (GER)/Jeannete Kvick (DEN) X-Raid Fenic
313. Gonçalo Guerreiro (POR)/Pablo Moreno (ESP) Taurus Evo Max
314. Martin Benko (SVK)/Marek Sýkora (SVK) Taurus T3 Max
315. Jesus Fuster (ESP)/Pol Ros (ESP) Taurus Evo Max
316. Rodrigo Varela (BRA)/Carlos Sachs (BRA) Odissey CR-X
318. Juan Gasso (ESP)/Ion Del Cid (ESP) G Rally Team OT3
320. Gaël Queralt (ESP)/Marc Solà (ESP) Taurus Evo Max
321. Raphael Astier (FRA)/Loïc Minaudier (FRA) Taurus Evo Max
322. Oscar Ral (ESP)/Oriol Mena (ESP) Taurus Evo Max
323. Jérôme Naquert (FRA)/Paul Durame (FRA) Can-Am Maverick R
324. Johan Senders (NED)/Yvet Senders (NED) Taurus T3 Max
325. Luis Caneiro (POR)/Hugo Magalhães (POR) MMP T3 Rally-Raid
326. Luis Climent (ESP)/Ricardo Ranero (ESP) Can-Am Maverick X3
327. Philip McVay (ESP)/Santiago Costa (ESP) Taurus Evo Max
328. José-Maria Naranjo (ESP)/José Antonio Alvarez (ESP) JMP JMPR T3
329. Leo Castro (BRA)/Daniel Spoli (BRA) Taurus T3 Max
330. Laura Bonillo (ESP)/Miguel García (ESP) Can-Am GPR24
331. Frédéric Ganache (FRA)/David Linel (FRA) MMP Can-Am X3
332. Alexis Romero (ESP)/Álvaro Valduérteles (ESP) Herrator Inzane 901
333. Raul Delgado (ESP)/José Luis Rosa (ESP) Herrator Inzane 901
334. Agne Telycenaite (LTU)/Marion Andrieu (FRA) Can-Am Maverick X3
SSV
400. Mansour Al-Helai (UAE)/Khalid Al-Kendi (UAE) Can-Am Maverick R*
401. Fernando Alvarez (ARG)/Xavier Panseri (FRA) Can-Am Maverick R*
402. Tomasz Białkowski (POL)/Dariusz Baśkiewicz (POL) Polaris RXR Pro R*
403. Paulo Rodrigues (POR)/Fausto Mota (POR) Can-Am Maverick R +
404. Filipe Lopes (POR)/Gonçalo Reis (POR) Can-Am Maverick R+
405. Rúben Rodrigues (POL)/Rui Moreira (POR) Can-Am Maverick R +
406. Ernest Kús (POL)/Grzegorz Szymanski (POL) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR+
408. Afonso Oliveira (POR)/ Gonçalo Magalhães (POR) Can-Am Maverick R
409. Sean Haran (GBR)/Martin Hales (GBR) Polaris RXR Pro R
410. Luís Cidade (POR)/Valter Cardoso (POR) Can-Am Maverick R
411. Herlander Araújo (POR)/Tiago Magalhães (POR) Polaris RXR Pro R
412. Giovanni Manfrinato (ITA)/Michele Manfrinato (ITA) Can-Am Maverick R
413. Enrique Reyes (ESP)/Carlos Ruiz (ESP) Can-Am Maverick R
414. Federico Mogni (ESP)/David Nieto (ESP) Polaris RXR Pro R
415. David Asensio (ESP)/Pablo Izcue (ESP) Can-Am Maverick R
417. Juan Manuel Maña (ESP)/Giovanna di Blasi (ESP) Polaris RXR Pro R
419. Rafael Muñoz (ESP)/Raquel Cecilia (ESP) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR
420. George Hales (GBR)/Max Defino (FRA) Polaris RXR Pro R
421. Graham Knight (GBR)/David Watson (GBR) Polaris RXR Pro R
422. Kevin Haren (GBR)/Daniel Jordão (POR) Polaris RXR Pro R
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)/José Sá Pires (POR) Isuzu D-Max*
*denotes registered for FIA World Baja Cup
+denotes registered for FIA European Baja Cup
Timetable of events
Administration checks, Rally HQ, Teruel 15.00-19.00hrs
Scrutineering checks, Rally HQ, Teruel 17.00-20.00hrs
Thursday, July 23
Administration checks, Rally HQ, Teruel 08.00-13.00hrs and 14.00-19.30hrs
Scrutineering checks, Rally HQ, Teruel 08.30-12.30hrs and 14.30-20.00hrs
Friday, July 24
Pre-event press conference, Assembly Hall, Teruel 11.00hrs
Prologue (6.48km) First car – 17.15hrs
Saturday, July 25
SS1 (151.07km) First car – 07.46hrs
SS2 (180.08km) First car – 12.53hrs
Sunday, July 26
SS3 (151.07km) First car – 11.16hrs
Podium ceremony, Teruel 15.00hrs
Post-event press conference, Assembly Hall, Teruel 15.30hrs
Prize giving, Rally HQ, Assembly Hall, Teruel 19.00hrs
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