In the aftermath of her rollover at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge in Fbruary, Aliyyah Koloc will not race the Jordan Baja on April 10–12. While she was not injured in the accident, she feels she is currently not at 100%.

The crash happened in Stage #4 of the ADDC when she hit a patch of soft sand while scaling a high dune, causing her REVO to roll down to the bottom. She and navigator Sébastien Delaunay were not hurt, though Koloc was brought to the hospital for evaluation before being discharged the next day.

Although she avoided injury, Koloc noted that “doctors advised me to take it easy for a couple of weeks.

“I want to be at my full strength, mentally and physically, before returning to competition, and I don’t feel that’s the case yet. But I’ll keep on training to be ready for the next race.”

Instead of Jordan, Buggyra ZM Racing plans to return to Abu Dhabi later in April for testing. Once the team feels she is good to go, her next rally will be the Taklimakan Rally in May.

“This was Aliyyah’s first really big accident, and while she didn’t suffer any major injuries, she doesn’t feel ready for the challenging Jordan Baja yet,” explained her father and team boss Martin Koloc. “It is always a difficult decision for a team to withdraw from a race, but Aliyyah’s well-being comes first, and I fully support her choice. To help her be fully ready for the next event, we have decided to test for a few days in the Abu Dhabi desert. The whole team will be there, and we’ll also use this opportunity to strengthen team coordination which is an essential aspect of rally raid racing, where anything can happen.”

Besides rally raid, she and Buggyra will spend the summer competing in the GT Cup Series. In the fall, Koloc will run the Rallye du Maroc and the final two races of the FIA Middle East Baja Cup in Qatar and Dubai; the Jordan Baja is the second race of the MEBC season. She finished 34th in Ultimate at the Dakar Rally in January.

Featured image credit: Eric Vargiolu / DPPI