Zoltán Garamvölgyi is sounding the alarm. In his welcome speech for those entering the Hungarian Baja in August, the rally director expressed great concern about the declining field sizes at FIA World and European Baja Cup races so far in 2025.

“This event is more than just a cross-country rally race: it is a meeting of passion, perseverance, teamwork, and Hungarian organizational creativity,” began Garamvölgyi’s message. “For this reason, I was both disappointed and surprised to see how alarmingly low the entry numbers were for the first FIA Baja European Cup races of the 2025 season.”

The European Baja Cup began with the Baja TT Dehesa Extremadura in May, which drew 40 competitors and just one fewer than the 2024 edition. However, the next round—the Baja Troia Türkiye two weeks later—saw one of the smallest grids in series history with a paltry five teams signed up for the EBC. This stark drop can partly be attributed to the race being held on the same weekend as the bigger World Rally-Raid Championship’s South African Safari Rally, though it’s still a substantial difference regardless.

Baja Greece, a combination race for the World and European Cups, had 19 FIA crews but just three in Ultimate. For comparison, the WBC’s first two races in tandem with the Middle East Baja Cup had 31 (Saudi Baja) and 25 (Jordan Baja) entries.

Garamvölgyi suggested this is because the “ever-increasing regulations are ill-considered, expensive, and do not serve the interests of the sport, the athletes, or the organizers. It is sad to see that the FIA Baja World Cup and the European Baja Cup have become less attractive in recent times.

“We have been looking into the reasons behind this for several weeks, and I would like to share our findings soon with the officials who asked for our opinion and who are also committed to making the Baja series more popular, more accessible, and better at integrating new talent.

“Organizing each event and championship requires an enormous amount of work, so it is very hurtful that regulations are introduced without consulting us, leaving us to bear the harmful and negative consequences, which devalue our work and profession. Many of us have chosen cross-country rallying as a lifelong commitment, but given today’s economic circumstances, we cannot afford the current overregulation and overspending.

“Therefore, immediate relief, clear communication, predictability, easier access, and consistency are urgently needed! Additionally, to sustain and revive the sport in the future, it is essential to involve promoters, sponsors, and unified media, while placing special emphasis on integrating amateur youth development.”

Decreasing numbers also impacted the FIM side, with a steady decline in recent years prompting the Hungarian Baja to drop bikes and quads from the 2025 program. It was due to be the sixth race of the FIM Bajas World Cup.

The FIA classes as well as the Hungarian Cross-Country Rally Championship will still proceed as planned. Hungary is the sixth round on the EBC.

“We hope our ‘call for help’ will reach many, and that the authorities will finally face reality and involve us in finding prompt solutions, so we do not have to fear that the 23rd HunGarian Baja might be cancelled due to lack of interest,” said Garamvölgyi.

The 2025 Hungarian Baja is scheduled for August 14–17.

Featured image credit: X-raid Team