Maria Luís Gameiro obviously would’ve liked for her 2025 baja season to end with all four wheels on the ground, but alas.

The Dubai International Baja was a messy affair as multiple drivers, especially in the first stage, were penalized for speeding or suffered some kind of on-track trouble. Everybody in the SSV top five received a speeding penalty on Saturday, with Mansour Al-Helei losing the stage win because he got five minutes and ten seconds tacked on. Newly crowned World Baja Cup SSV champ Mitchel van den Brink inherited the Stage 1 victory, though he didn’t get away scot-free either with a ten-second penalty.

Gameiro’s race ended in Stage 1 with a rollover after being “caught by an unexpected danger.” She and navigator Rosa Romero Font were unharmed.

With the Dakar Rally a month and a half away, Dubai was in essence the final dress rehearsal for many teams entered. While most were fine tuning their programs, Land Rover and Toyota Gazoo Racing debuted their rally arm and new Hilux, respectively.

Defender Rally arrived in the UAE with two Defender Dakar D7X-Rs piloted by Rokas Baciuška and Stéphane Peterhansel. Neither were classified in the final result since they were considered Experimental Stock cars, but they would’ve notched a 1–2 finish in Stock otherwise.

Peterhansel’s total time would have been good for 12th among all FIA cars with Baciuška right behind in 13th.

“It was really a good weekend,” Peterhansel stated. “Two days of racing with our new Defender. We had no technical problems, none at all. The result is really good, maybe much better than what we expected. At the end, we decided to do this race to continue testing the Defender. Everything is okay now, so we are ready for the next Dakar.”

Since the Land Rovers were not in the official classification, Majed Al-Thunayyan was the only FIA Stock driver to finish.

TGR entered the race with the returning Seth Quintero and newcomer Toby Price in the new Toyota DKR GR Hilux. Quintero was the fastest in the Prologue and Stage 1, but a speeding penalty cost him the latter, while Price topped Stage 2 ahead of Quintero by 6.7 seconds. They were unable to catch the SVR Hilux of Juan Cruz Yacopini for the overall victory but still completed the Toyota podium sweep.

Although he will also race the new Hilux for TGR in 2026, Henk Lategan opted to take part in a Maverick R. He did the Prologue in 2WD after accidentally forgetting to switch on 4WD, finishing that leg seventh in SSV.

“I definitely learned a lot during my first time in the car with Armand (Monleón),” said Price. “I feel like the motorcycle background we both share really helped, which is a strong bonus for us. I really enjoyed driving the GR Hilux EVO. It’s a big step forward for me, and I’m really looking forward to the Dakar Rally.

“We leave Dubai having learned a lot, with a podium and a stage win, which was a dream. Step by step, we’ll keep building on this, gaining a better understanding of how the car reacts and drives. Hopefully, we’ll only get stronger and have a good run at Dakar. Big thanks to the whole team; everyone’s been great to work with, and I’m really looking forward to the future.”

Yacopini’s win secured him the FIA World Baja Cup overall title ahead of Fernando Barreiros. Like van den Brink in SSV, he had clinched the Ultimate championship at the Qatar International Baja.

“We knew that our chances of becoming champion was slim because it’d only happen if our main rival retired, which didn’t happen,” said Barreiros. While coming up short in the overall and officially DNFing, Barreiros still won the WBC Stock title. “He was basically at home this race, but we fought until the end in a race where we weren’t very comfortable.”

Sergei Remennik effectively claimed the WBC for Challenger even before the race began since Khalid Al-Jafla, who was trailing by a mountainous 73 points, opted to compete in Ultimate instead. Fellow Russian and teammate Alexey Shmotev had to miss the baja due to a neck injury caused by a hard landing at the Russian Rally-Raid Championship’s Baja Astrakhan.

Dubai was also the season finale for the Middle East Baja Cup and FIM Bajas World Cup. The MEBC overall was a duel between Dania Akeel and Khalifa Al-Attiyah that the former won for the second time.

FIA

Ultimate

Finish	Overall	Number	Driver	Navigator	Team	Vehicle	Class	Total Time	Margin
1	1	200	Juan Cruz Yacopini	Daniel Oliveras	SVR	Toyota Hilux IMT EVO	T1+	6:04:32.5	Leader
2	2	206	Seth Quintero	Andrew Short	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Toyota DKR GR Hilux	T1+	6:05:38.4	+ 1:05.9
3	3	212	Toby Price	Armand Monleón	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Toyota DKR GR Hilux	T1+	6:07:32.6	+ 3:00.1
4	4	205	Martin Prokop	Viktor Chytka	ORLEN Jipocar Team	Ford Raptor	T1+	6:14:46.0	+ 10:13.5
5	6	202	Dania Akeel	Sébastien Delaunay	Overdrive Racing	Toyota Hilux Overdrive	T1+	6:31:24.2	+ 26:51.7
6	13	211	Khalid Al-Jafla	Andrei Rudnitski	SVR	Toyota Hilux IMT EVO	T1+	7:00:05.4	+ 55:32.9
7	14	204	Ahmed El-Shamy	Ali Obaid	Ahmed El-Shamy	Century CR6	T1.2	7:06:55.4	+ 1:02:22.9
8	19	210	Ronan Chabot	Gilles Pillot	Overdrive Racing	Toyota Hilux Overdrive	T1+	7:56:35.4	+ 1:52:02.9
DNF	DNF	203	Nasser Al-Ajmi	Arūnas Gelažninkas	Nasser Al-Ajmi	Nissan Patrol Safari	T1.1	DNF	N/A
DNF	DNF	208	Khalid Al Qassimi	Khalid Al-Kendi	SVR	Toyota Hilux IMT EVO	T1+	DNF	N/A
DNF	DNF	209	Maria Luís Gameiro	Rosa Romero Font	X-raid Mini JCW Team	Mini John Cooper Works Rally 3.0d	T1+	DNF	N/A

Challenger

Finish	Overall	Number	Driver	Navigator	Team	Vehicle	Total Time	Margin
1	10	305	David Mabbs	David McBride	Vendetta Racing UAE	Can-Am Maverick X3 XRS	6:47:57.5	Leader
2	12	308	Aleksander Szustkowski	Robin Szustkowski	Big Red Racing	Can-Am Maverick X3 XRS	6:58:47.6	+ 10:50.1
3	22	309	Guo Hangting	Zhang Ziming	Guo Hangting	Can-Am Maverick X3 XRS	8:25:14.0	+ 1:37:16.5
4	24	300	Sergei Remennik	Aleksei Ignatov	Nasser Racing	Taurus T3 Max	8:43:42.1	1:55:44.6
5	26	303	Khalifa Al-Attiyah	Bruno Jacomy	QMMF Racing Team by Nasser Racing	Taurus T3 Max	10:39:10.7	3:51:13.2
6	27	304	Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari	Stéphane Duplé	QMMF Racing Team by Nasser Racing	Taurus T3 Max	10:52:03.9	+ 4:04:06.4
7	28	307	Jonathan Hart	Ali Mirza	Jonathan Hart	Can-Am Maverick X3 XRS	11:03:21.5	+ 4:15:24.0
DNF	DNF	306	Rashid Al-Mohannadi	Szymon Gospodarczyk	QMMF Racing Team by Nasser Racing	Taurus T3 Max	DNF	N/A

SSV

Finish	Overall	Number	Driver	Navigator	Team	Vehicle	Class	Total Time	Margin
1	5	400	Mitchel van den Brink	Bart van Heun	Eurol Rally Sport / South Racing	Can-Am Maverick R	SSV1	6:29:59.2	Leader
2	7	404	Henk Lategan	Brett Cummings	South Racing	Can-Am Maverick R	SSV1	6:34:17.7	+ 4:18.5
3	8	410	Mansour Al-Helei	Mohamed Hamri	RX-Sport	Can-Am Maverick R	SSV1	6:34:47.4	+ 4:48.2
4	9	405	Erik Van Loon	Wouter Rosegaar	Van Loon Racing / South Racing	Can-Am Maverick R	SSV1	6:38:34.4	+ 8:35.2
5	11	414	Mohammed Al-Marri	Aisvydas Paliukėnas	QMMF Racing Team	Can-Am Maverick R	SSV1	6:53:13.2	+ 23:14.0
6	15	412	Atif Al-Zarouni	Patrick McMurren	Quaddy Racing	Yamaha YXZ1000R	T4	7:21:36.4	+ 51:37.2
7	16	411	Hassan Jameel	Maciej Giemza	South Racing	Can-Am Maverick R	SSV1	7:25:48.3	+ 55:49.1
8	17	417	Anja Van Loon	Floor Maten	Van Loon Racing / South Racing	Can-Am Maverick R	SSV1	7:48:53.7	+ 1:18:54.5
9	18	416	Stefano Marrini	Stefano Tiraboschi	Stefano Marrini	Can-Am Maverick X3 XRS Turbo RR	T4	7:51:52.2	+ 1:21:530
10	20	403	Maha Al-Hamali	Xavier Flick	South Racing	Can-Am Maverick R	SSV1	8:11:43.1	+ 1:41:43.9
11	21	413	Nora Al-Jassasi	Mohamed Al-Mazrui	Nora Al-Jassasi	Can-Am Maverick X3 XRS Turbo RR	T4	8:23:35.9	+ 1:53:36.7
12	23	418	Robert Knight	Chris Western	RX-Sport	Can-Am Maverick R	SSV1	8:3:14.9	+ 2:07:15.7
13	29	402	Hamed Al-Wahaibi	Ilka Minor	RX-Sport	Can-Am Maverick R	SSV1	11:19:27.2	+ 4:49:28.0
14	30	401	Paul Severn	Max Delfino	PRO7EVERN Racing	Polaris RZR Pro R Sport	T4	13:34:29.0	+ 7:04:29.8
DNF	DNF	408	Fernando Álvarez	Xavier Panseri	South Racing	Can-Am Maverick R	SSV1	DNF	N/A
DNF	DNF	409	Abdullah Al-Haydan	Badar Al-Ajmi	RX-Sport	Can-Am Maverick X3 XRS Turbo RR	T4	DNF	N/A

Stock

Finish	Overall	Number	Driver	Navigator	Team	Vehicle	Total Time
1	25	500	Majed Al-Thunayyan	Fahad Al-Sufyani	Torq Racing	Nissan Patrol Y61	8:55:46.9	Leader
DNF	DNF	501	Fernando Barreiros	José Sá Pires	Fernando Barreiros Race	Nissan Patrol	DNF	N/A
DNF	DNF	502	Abdulla Al-Rabban	Ali Ajami	Abdulla Al-Rabban	Nissan Patrol	DNF	N/A

Experimental

Finish	Number	Driver	Navigator	Team	Vehicle	Total Time	Margin
1	504	Stéphane Peterhansel	Michaël Metge	Defender Rally	Land Rover Defender Dakar D7X-R	6:54:05.9	Leader
2	505	Rokas Baciuška	Oriol Vidal	Defender Rally	Land Rover Defender Dakar D7X-R	6:57:11.1	+ 3:05.2

FIM

Moto

Finish	Number	Rider	Team	Vehicle	Total Time	Margin
1	5	Konrad Dąbrowski	DUUST Rally Team	KTM 450 Rally	6:05:11.1	Leader
2	21	Alex McInnes	Motozone Racing	Husqvarna FE 450	6:05:56.3	+ 34.2
3	1	Mohammed Al-Balooshi	MX Ride Dubai	Yamaha YZ450F	6:09:35.6	+ 4:24.5
4	98	Martin Huber	hm405 Motorsport	Husqvarna FE 450	6:25:01.6	+ 19:50.5
5	94	Abdullah Lanjawi	Abdullah Lanjawi	KTM 450 Rally	6:25:46.1	+ 20:35.0
6	16	Jean-Loup Lepan	DUUST Rally Team	KTM 450 Rally	6:30:57.2	+ 25:46.1
7	57	Makis Rees-Stavros	Makis Rees-Stavros	KTM 450 EXC-F	6:42:20.2	+ 37:09.1
8	2	Rafic Eid	MX Ride Dubai	GasGas RX 450F Replica	7:02:58.1	+ 57:47.0
9	40	Taj Karo	Taj Karo	Husqvarna FE 450	7:07:27.0	+ 1:02:15.9
10	91	Edvard Sokolovski	AG Dakar School	KTM 450 Rally Replica	7:08:12.3	+ 1:03:01.2
11	81	Saulius Klevinskas	AG Dakar School	Husqvarna FE 450	7:20:13.3	+ 1:15:02.2
12	7	Philip Horlemann	Philip Horlemann	KTM 450 Rally Replica	7:21:15.7	+ 1:16:04.6
13	39	Tomasz Orwat	DUUST Rally Team	KTM 450 Rally	7:31:55.7	+ 1:26:44.6
14	34	Marcin Talaga	Marcin Talaga	Husqvarna FE 450	7:32:16.8	+ 1:27:05.7
15	42	Darko Marasovic	Darko Marasovic	KTM 450 Rally Factory Replica	7:32:33.0	+ 1:27:21.9
16	35	Ehab Al-Hakeem	Ehab Al-Hakeem	Yamaha YZ450F	7:46:46.1	+ 1:41:35.0
17	88	Thomas Childs	Vendetta Racing UAE	KTM 450 Rally	7:48:31.4	+ 1:43:20/3
18	9	Sultan Alshanqiti	MX Ride Dubai	KTM 450 Rally Replica	7:51:05.1	+ 1:45:54.0
19	43	Tomasz Niedźwiecki	Niedźwiecki Rally	GasGas RX 450F Replica	8:13:59.7	+ 2:08:48.6
20	20	Frédéric Fontarosa	Frédéric Fontarosa	Husqvarna FE 450	8:46:50.7	+ 2:41:39.6
21	28	Tony Schattat	Tony Schattat	KTM 450 Rally Factory Replica	8:59:20.9	+ 2:54:09.8
22	19	Joanna Modrzewska	DUUST Rally Team	Husqvarna FE 450	9:06:12.9	+ 3:03:01.8
23	36	Jacek Bartoszek	SRG Motorsports	Husqvarna FE 450	9:36:54.6	+ 3:31:43.5
24	26	Jason Joslin	Jason Joslin	GasGas RX 450F Replica	10:05:00.3	+ 3:59:49.2
25	22	Alona Ben Natan	AG Dakar School	Husqvarna FE 450	11:01:57.4	+ 4:56:46.3
26	96	Farooq Husain	Farooq Husain	Yamaha YZ450F	11:16:15.6	+ 5:11:04.5
27	37	Tomasz Dąbrowski	Tomasz Dąbrowski	Sherco 450 SEF Rally	11;21:53.0	+ 5:16:41.9
28	38	Raimonda Ray Biguzaite	DUUST Rally Team	KTM 450 Rally Replica	12:21:38.8

Quad

Finish	Number	Rider	Team	Vehicle	Total Time	Margin
1	174	Abdulaziz Ahli	Abu Dhabi Team	Yamaha 700 Raptor	7:39:34.7	Leader
2	104	Marcin Wilkołek	Marcin Wilkołek	Yamaha 700 Raptor	7:55:04.8	+ 15:30.1
3	100	Hani Al-Noumesi	Hani Al-Noumesi	Yamaha 700 Raptor	9:38:04.1	+ 1:58:28.4

National Auto

Finish	Number	Driver	Navigator	Team	Vehicle	Total Time	Margin
1	701	Sergei Kariakin	Anton Vlasiuk	Big Red Racing	Can-Am Maverick R	6:37:43.7	Leader
2	700	Maksim Deikin	Kirill Izotov	Big Red Racing	Can-Am Maverick R	6:45:08.4	+ 7:24.7
3	709	Bassam Kronfli	Willem Avenant	Big Red Racing	Can-Am Maverick X3	6:58:33.3	+ 20:49.6
4	711	Ruslan Gubaev	Dmyto Tsyro	Big Red Racing	Can-Am Maverick R	6:59:28.1	+ 21:44.4
5	707	Johannes Kleinschmidt		Big Red Racing	Can-Am Maverick R	7:03:07.9	+ 25:24>2
6	710	Konstantin Shilov	Ivan Bezdenezhnykh	Konstantin Shilov	Can-Am Maverick X3	7:22:13.5	+ 44:29:.8
7	706	Damien Byrne	Mark Grams	Damien Byrne	Polaris RZR Pro R	7:42:46.0	+ 1:05:02.3
8	704	Odil Murodov		Odil Murodov	Can-Am Maverick R	8:02:47.7	+ 1:2%:04.0
9	705	Tamer Abou Elsaad		Tamer Abou Elsaad	Polaris RZR Pro R	9:22:46.1	+ 2:45:02.4
10	702	Andreas Borgmann		Andreas Borgmann	Can-Am Maverick R	11:00:19.6	+ 4:22:35.9
DNF	703	Rais Minnikhanov	Ilnaz Gizzatullin	Big Red Racing	Can-Am Maverick R	DNF	N/A
DNF	712	Francesco Dracone	Erika Mingozzi	Big Red Racing	Can-Am Maverick R	DNF	N/A

Featured image credit: Toyota Gazoo Racing