It wasn’t quite a triumphant return by the dictionary definition, but Mathieu Baumel was more than happy with how his racing comeback went.

The Baja TT Sharish Gin was Baumel’s first race since the Dakar Rally in January, having been sidelined for the past eight months by severe injuries sustained in an accident that resulted in his right leg being amputated. Keen on racing the 2026 Dakar, Baumel and Guillaume de Mévius decided to reunite for a shorter race like a baja to test his prosthesis.

With Baumel once again reading the roadbook for de Mévius, the pair finished runner-up to Henk Lategan in the Prologue before setting the fastest time overall in Stage 1.

Alas, their chances of winning evaporated on the second and final stage when they suffered a flat tire just ten kilometers from the finish. João Ferreira, who entered Sunday trailing by less than a minute, seized the opportunity to beat them and the field by 2:29.

While coming up short was certainly a disappointment, de Mévius and Baumel were still pleased with how the latter’s return went.

“We were able to fight right at the front,” commented de Mévius. “We could lead the rally and battle for the win until the very last second. Mathieu’s comeback went really well. He’s working in the cockpit just like before the accident. Of course, I’m also disappointed that we couldn’t hold on to first place. Still, I’m very satisfied with the weekend.”

Even the puncture that doomed their victory prospects doubled as a learning experience when they changed it after the stage, giving Baumel a chance to practice on his prosthetic leg.

“A dream has come true. I didn’t expect such a result for my comeback,” said Baumel. “Fighting directly for the win was an incredibly emotional feeling. It was also a good test for me to see what I can improve on my prosthesis, how to make my body feel more comfortable in the seat, and also how we can get faster at changing tires.

“In the end, we took second place. Just seven months after my accident, that feels like a victory to me.”

Ferreira scored his second victory with Toyota after the Baja Aragón in July. He had also won the 2024 Baja TT Sharish Gin, incidentally with de Mévius and Baumel’s X-raid Team.

Seth Quintero, usually a W2RC driver, made his European Baja Cup debut with his trusty Hilux and fellow American Andrew Short as navigator. He initially received four minutes of penalties in Stage 1 for not taking going through the transfer zone at the right time, which the FIA canceled after roadbook maker Anube confirmed the Hilux’s navigation system had glitched out. Clearing the penalty didn’t improve his position, though keeping it wouldn’t have dropped him either as he finished third overall.

Fellow TGR driver Henk Lategan was fastest in the Prologue but retired after drifting wide and clipping a rockm, suffering terminal rear damage. Yazeed Al-Rajhi also bowed out with a broken driveshaft early into Stage 2, cutting short his and Timo Gottschalk’s own racing returns after being out since April with vertebrae and spinal injuries.

Ultimate

Finish	Overall	Number	Driver	Navigator	Team	Vehicle	Class	Total Time	Margin
1	1	201	João Ferreira	Filipe Palmeiro	Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa	Toyota Hilux	T1+	3:49:28.6	Leader
2	2	203	Guillaume de Mévius	Mathieu Baumel	X-raid Mini JCW Team	Mini John Cooper Works Rally 3.0i	T1+	3:51:18.5	+ 1:49.9
3	3	202	Seth Quintero	Andrew Short	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Toyota Hilux	T1+	3:55:56.1	+ 6:27.5
4	7	205	Denis Krotov	Konstantin Zhiltsov	X-raid Mini JCW Team	Mini John Cooper Works Rally 3.0i	T1+	4:09:04.2	+ 19:35.6
5	13	206	Włodzimierz Grajek	Michał Goleniewski	Grajek Rally Team	Toyota Hilux	T1+	4:23:32.2	+ 34:03.6
6	15	212	Lino Carapeta	Fábio Carapeta	Lino Carapeta	Ford Ranger	T1.1	4:29:47.0	+ 40:18.4
7	17	210	José Rogeira	Paulo Marques	José Rogeira	Ford Ranger	T1.1	4:40:32.4	+ 51:03.8
DNF	DNF	200	Yazeed Al-Rajhi	Timo Gottschalk	Overdrive Racing	Toyota Hilux	T1+	DNF	N/A
DNF	DNF	204	Henk Lategan	Brett Cummings	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Toyota Hilux	T1+	DNF	N/A
DNF	DNF	207	Francisco Barreto	Oriol Mena	Barata Racing Team	Toyota Hilux	T1+	DNF	N/A
DNF	DNF	208	Alejandro Martins	David Monteiro	Alejandro Martins	Mini John Cooper Works Rally Plus	T1+	DNF	N/A
DNF	DNF	209	César Sequeira	Filipa Sequeira	César Sequeira	Mercedes-Benz 350SLC	T1.1	DNF	N/A
DNF	DNF	211	Edgar Condenso	Nuno Silva	Prolama Competição	Ford Ranger EXR 05 Proto	T1.1	DNF	N/A
DNF	DNF	213	Miguel Casaca	João Luz	Miguel Casaca	Volkswagen Amarok	T1.1	DNF	N/A
DNF	DNF	214	João Franco	Ricardo Batista	João Franco	Mini Cooper D Prototype	T1.1	DNF	N/A
DNF	DNF	215	Pedro Helfenstein	Joseana de Souza	Sizmic Racing	Ford Ranger	T1.1	DNF	N/A

Challenger

Finish	Overall	Number	Driver	Navigator	Team	Vehicle	Class	Total Time	Margin
1	5	301	Tiago Reis	Paulo Fiúza	Team Transfradelos	Taurus T3 Max	T3.1	4:06:23.1	Leader
2	6	303	Daniel Silva	Gonçalo Magalhães	Team Transfradelos	Taurus T3 Max	T3.1	4:06:48.1	+ 25.0
3	8	307	Pim Klaassen	Mark Laan	DaklaPack Rallysport	Taurus T3 Max	T3.1	4;15;23.6	+ 9:00.5
4	16	306	Mario Ferreira	Miguel Silva	Santag Racing	Can-Am Maverick X3	T3.1	4:33:14.7	+ 26:51.6
5	18	300	Miguel Valero	Carlos Ruiz	Gedeser XXI	VM Competición T34	T3.1	4:53:05.8	+ 46:42.7
6	19	308	Nuno Faria	João Martins	Benimoto Racing	Can-Am Maverick X3	T3.1	5:09:32.9	+ 1:03:09.8
7	22	302	Edgar Reis	Fábio Ribeiro	Team Transfradelos	Taurus T3 Max	T3.1	29:51:00.2	+ 25:44:37.1
DNF	DNF	304	Nuno Matos	Ricardo Claro	Nuno Matos	Volkswagen Amarok PROTO	T3.1	DNF	N/A
DNF	DNF	305	Amândio Alves	Nuno Sousa	Cattiva Sport	Kaizen S1	T3.1	DNF	N/A

SSV

Finish	Overall	Number	Driver	Navigator	Team	Vehicle	Class	Total Time	Margin
1	4	402	Gonçalo Guerreiro	Joel Lutas	Gonçalo Guerreiro	Polaris RZR Pro R	T4	4:03:18.6	Leader
2	9	410	Rúben Rodrigues	Rui Jorge Moreira	Rio Seco Racing	Can-Am Maverick R	SSV1	4:16:11.4	12:52.8
3	10	404	Tiago Guerreiro	Carlos Paulino	Tiago Guerreiro	Polaris RZR Pro R	T4	4:16:24.4	+ 13:05.8
4	11	401	Sean Haran	Martin Hales	Sean Haran	Polaris RZR Pro R	T4	4:17:16.0	+ 13:57.4
5	12	411	Rui Serpa	Rui Pita	Santag Racing	Polaris RZR Pro R	T4	4:20:51.1	+ 17:32.5
6	14	407	Filipe Lopes	Gonçalo Reis	Rio Seco Racing	Can-Am Maverick X3 XRS Turbo RR	T4	4:26:0.3	+ 22:42.7
7	20	403	Luís Cidade	Valter Cardoso	South Racing Can-Am	Can-Am Maverick R	SSV1	7:05:00.7	+ 3:01:42.1
8	21	400	Afonso Oliveira	Fábio Belo	Santag Racing	Polaris RZR Pro R	T4	7:57:51.7	+ 3:54:33.1
DNF	DNF	405	Herlander Araújo	Tiago Magalhães	Herlander Araújo	Polaris RZR Pro R	T4	DNF	N/A
DNF	DNF	406	Paulo Rodrigues	Fauso Mota	Rio Seco Racing	Can-Am Maverick R	SSV1	DNF	N/A
DNF	DNF	408	Filipe Cameirinha	Jérémy Dubois	Benimoto Racing	Can-Am Maverick R	SSV1	DNF	N/A

Featured image credit: X-raid Team