The Jordan Baja concluded on Valentine’s Day Saturday, and Saood Variawa was certainly feeling the country’s love. Nasser Al-Attiyah, on the other hand, seems to have been rejected.
Al-Attiyah hoped to continue his strong start to 2026 after winning the Dakar Rally and Saudi Baja in January. Things seemed to trend in that direction early on when he topped the Prologue as the only driver to set a time below nine minutes (8:53), with Variawa 36 seconds back. While he finished second in Stage 1 to Lionel Baud, he only did so by 1.8 seconds while everyone else was over two minutes behind. Meanwhile, Variawa struggled in the dust to a fourth.
Just when Al-Attiyah seemed poised to strike, however, a fuel pump issue in Stage 2 cost him eight minutes and he fell to fourth for the day. Variawa found some clean air and pulled ahead, beating Dania Akeel by 4:26 and Al-Attiyah by eight and a half.
Variawa had won the 2024 Vaal 400 and 2025 Bushveld 400 back home in South Africa, while his previous best run overseas was a sixth at the 2025 Rallye du Maroc.
“We did a decent job today. We caught Dania, we caught Nasser, we passed him and we caught the leader,” Variawa told Cross-Country Rally News. “Happy with the result. We won the race, so first baja win for me. Happy with that.”
He wasn’t the only first-time winner in Jordan as Hedda Hosås won in SSV, her maiden victory in cross-country rally. The Extreme H driver had already enjoyed her breakout with her first stage victory on Friday, then finished second to Erik Van Loon to ice the overall on Saturday.
Like at the Saudi Baja, Van Loon had a strong performance spoiled by mechanical issues. The turbo broke while he was leading Stage 1, to which Van Loon remarked on Saturday that “yesterday really was Friday the 13th.” The problems seemed to continue on the last day when he bent the rear wheel on a bad landing, but he was able to salvage a stage win.
“Driving and navigating are going really well, but it’s always the technology that lets us down,” Van Loon stated. “If it all goes well, then we’d really compete for the win.”
Mansour Al-Helei would’ve contended with Hosås and Van Loon, but he was taken out by a turbo issue on Friday. To add insult to injury, his car couldn’t go back to neutral on the last day while heading to the media stop; Al-Mshana Al-Shammari towed him back to parc fermé.
“I think I got all my bad luck for the season [here] in Baja Jordan,” Al-Helei quipped.
Despite the Stage 1 win, Baud settled for third after suffering a puncture on Saturday.
After racing a 350cc enduro bike in Ha’il, Patrick Emmert entered Jordan on a KTM 500 EXC-F. This left him in a strange position since the FIM only has categories for engine displacements up to 450cc and over 600cc, so race organizers created a special class for him outside of the Bajas World Cup.
FIA
Ultimate
| Finish | Overall | Number | Driver | Navigator | Team | Vehicle | Class | Total Time | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 201 | Saood Variawa | François Cazalet | Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa | Toyota Hilux IMT EVO | T1+ | 4:41:37.3 | Leader |
| 2 | 2 | 202 | Dania Akeel | Sébastien Delaunay | Overdrive Racing | Toyota Hilux Overdrive | T1+ | 4:45:29.1 | + 3:51.8 |
| 3 | 3 | 203 | Lionel Baud # | Lucie Baud | X-raid Mini JCW Team | Mini John Cooper Works Rally 3.0d | T1+ | 4:46:16.1 | + 4:38.8 |
| 4 | 4 | 200 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Max Delfino | Nasser Racing / MD Rallye Sport | MD Optimus | T1.2 | 4:47:46.1 | + 5:38.8 |
| 5 | 6 | 204 | Miroslav Zapletal # | Michał Goleniewski | Offroadsport | Ford F-150 EVO | T1+ | 5:05:35.9 | + 2358.6 |
| 6 | 19 | 205 | Ahmed El-Shamy # | Ali Obaid | Ahmed El-Shamy | Century CR6 | T1.2 | 5:53:02.9 | + 1:11:25.6 |
Italics – Middle East Baja Cup
# – Master Cup
^ – Junior Cup
Challenger
| Finish | Overall | Number | Driver | Navigator | Team | Vehicle | Total Time | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | 300 | Yasir Seaidan | Xavier Flick | Nasser Racing | Taurus Evo Max | 5:04:54.9 | Leader |
| 2 | 7 | 301 | Hamed Al-Wahaibi # | Maciej Giemza | R-X Sport | Can-Am Maverick R | 5:10:34.4 | + 5:39.5 |
| 3 | 11 | 305 | Abdullah Al-Fahad | Leander Pienaar | Abdullah Al-Fahad | Taurus Evo Max | 5:26:30.7 | + 21:35.8 |
| 4 | 12 | 302 | Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari | Marcin Pasek | QMMF Racing | Taurus T3 Max | 5:27:05.0 | + 22:10.1 |
| 5 | 13 | 303 | David Mabbs # | David McBride | Vendetta Racing UAE | Can-Am Maverick X3 | 5:28:52.9 | + 23:58.0 |
| DNF | DNF | 304 | Nouef Al-Sowaidi | Aisvydas Paliukėnas | QMMF Racing | Taurus T3 Max | DNF | N/A |
SSV
| Finish | Overall | Number | Driver | Navigator | Team | Vehicle | Class | Total Time | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 405 | Hedda Hosås ^ | Pol Tibau | R-X Sport | Can-Am Maverick R | SSV1 | 5:11:02.6 | Leader |
| 2 | 9 | 403 | Mohammed Al-Marri ^ | Szymon Gospodarczyk | QMMF Racing | Can-Am Maverick R | SSV1 | 5:12:24.8 | + 1:22.2 |
| 3 | 10 | 400 | Fernando Álvarez # | Xavier Panseri | South Racing | Can-Am Maverick R | SSV1 | :21:20.4 | + 10:17.8 |
| 4 | 14 | 404 | Tomasz Białkowski | Dariusz Baśkiewicz | Kamena Rally Team | Polaris RZR Pro R Sport | T4 | 5:29:50.8 | + 18:48.2 |
| 5 | 15 | 408 | Maha Al-Hamali | Nuno Morais | Maha Al-Hamali | Can-Am Maverick R | SSV1 | 5:37:22.6 | + 26:20.0 |
| 6 | 16 | 407 | Hamad Al-Harbi # | Faisal Al-Suwayh | Hamad Al-Harbi | Can-Am Maverick R | SSV1 | 5:38:28.1 | + 27:25.5 |
| 7 | 17 | 409 | Ahmed Al-Kuwari | Augusto Sanz | Al-Kuwari Racing by Apex | Yamaha YXZ1000R Sport Shift | T4 | 5:42:50.5 | + 31:47.9 |
| 8 | 18 | 406 | Mohammed Al-Atteya | Alexey Kuzmich | Mohammed Al-Atteya | Can-Am Maverick R | SSV1 | 5:47:55.33 | + 36:52.7 |
| 9 | 20 | 413 | Moaz Hariri | Krill Shubin | Moaz Hariri | Can-Am Maverick R | SSV1 | 6:18:14.1 | + 1:07:11.5 |
| 10 | 23 | 410 | Camelia Liparoti # | Erika Mingozza | Al-Kuwari Racing by Apex | Yamaha YXZ1000R Sport Shift | T4 | 7:22:40.4 | + 2:11:37.8 |
| 11 | 26 | 414 | Farah Zakaria | Jennifer Lerch | Farah Zakaria | Can-Am Maverick X3 XRS Turbo RR | T4 | 8:06:23.3 | + 2:55:20.7 |
| 12 | 28 | 402 | Erik Van Loon # | Wouter Rosegaar | Van Loon Racing / South Racing | Can-Am Maverick R | SSV1 | 11:35:01.6 | + 6:23:59.0 |
| DNF | DNF | 401 | Mansour Al-Helei | Khalid Al-Kendi | R-X Sport | Can-Am Maverick R | SSV1 | DNF | N/A |
| DNF | DNF | 411 | Dhari Al-Dhafeeri | Fahad Al-Amr | Dhari Al-Dhafeeri | Can-Am Maverick X3 XRS Turbo RR | T4 | DNF | N/A |
| DNF | DNF | 412 | Nora Al-Jassasi | Baptiste Cerrato | Nora Al-Jassasi | Can-Am Maverick X3 XRS Turbo RR | T4 | DNF | N/A |
Stock
| Finish | Overall | Number | Driver | Navigator | Team | Vehicle | Total Time | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | 500 | Majed Al-Thunayyan | Omar Al-Lahim | Majed Al-Thunayyan | Nissan Patrol | 7:10:58.9 | Leader |
| 2 | 22 | 502 | Al-Mshana Al-Shammari | Abdullah Al-Shammari | Al-Mshana Al-Shammari | Nissan Patrol | 7:19:46.4 | + 8:47.5 |
| 3 | 24 | 501 | Abdullah Al-Shegawi | Ali Mirza | Abdullah Al-Shegawi | Toyota Prado | 7:35:29.6 | + 24:30.7 |
| 4 | 25 | 503 | Abdulla Al-Rabban # | Ali Ajmi | Abdulla Al-Rabban | Nissan Patrol | 8:06:04.3 | + 55:05.4 |
| 5 | 27 | 505 | Ahmad Al-Muhannadi | Alexey Mun | Ahmad Al-Muhannadi | Nissan Patrol | 8:38:37.6 | + 1:27:38.7 |
FIM
450cc
| Finish | Overall | Number | Rider | Team | Vehicle | Total Time | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 1 | Alex McInnes | Alex McInnes | KTM 450 EXC-F | 6:54:17.7 | Leader |
| 2 | 2 | 4 | Abdulhalim Al-Mogeera | Abdulhalim Al-Mogeera | KTM 450 EXC-F | 7:00:43.3 | + 6:25.6 |
| 3 | 3 | 6 | Abdullh Al-Shatti | MX Ride Dubai | KTM 450 Rally | 7:17:36.0 | + 23:18.3 |
| 4 | 4 | 2 | Mohammed Al-Balooshi | MX Ride Dubai | KTM 450 Rally Replica | 7:18:00.0 | + 23:42.3 |
| 5 | 5 | 18 | Zaid Jaber | Zaid Jaber | GasGas RX 450F Replica | 7:25:52.3 | + 31:34.6 |
| 6 | 6 | 8 | Rafic Eid | MX Ride Dubai | KTM 450 Rally Replica | 7:27:17.9 | + 33:00.2 |
| 7 | 7 | 10 | Philip Horlemann | Philip Horlemann | KTM 450 Rally Replica | 7:34:10.8 | + 39:53.1 |
| 8 | 8 | 7 | Abdullah Abuaisheh | Abdullah Abuaisheh | Yamaha WR450F | 7:40:23.8 | + 46:06.1 |
| 9 | 9 | 13 | Thomas Childs | Thomas Childs | KTM 450 Rally | 7:42:05.9 | + 47:48.2 |
| 10 | 10 | 5 | Marcin Talaga | Marcin Talaga | GasGas RX 450F Replica | 7:45:51.2 | + 51:33.5 |
| 11 | 11 | 12 | Mohammed Al-Kubaisi | Mohammed Al-Kubaisi | KTM 30 EXC-F | 7:56:40.9 | + 1:02:23.2 |
| 12 | 12 | 14 | Joanna Modrzewska | DUUST Rally Team | Triumph TF 450-E | 7:57:06.6 | + 1:02:48.9 |
| 13 | 13 | 9 | Brett Hunt | Brett Hunt | Husqvarna FE 450 | 7:57:34.5 | + 1:03:16.8 |
| 14 | 15 | 11 | Tomasz Niedźwiedzki | Tomasz Niedźwiedzki | GasGas RX 450F Replica | 7:59:21.3 | + 1:05:03.6 |
| 15 | 18 | 15 | Thony Schattat | Thony Schattat | KTM 450 Rally Replica | 8:22:51.8 | + 1:28:34.1 |
| 16 | 19 | 20 | Eyad Salmirza | Eyad Salmirza | Yamaha WR450F | 10:56:56.6 | + 4:02:38.9 |
| DNF | DNF | 3 | Sultan Al-Balooshi | MX Ride Dubai | Kove 450 Rally EX | DNF | N/A |
| DNF | DNF | 16 | Sultan Al-Shanqiti | MX Ride Dubai | KTM 450 Rally Replica | DNF | N/A |
| DNF | DNF | 17 | Darko Marasovic | Darko Marasovic | KTM 450 Rally Replica | DNF | N/A |
| DNF | DNF | 19 | Tla’at Al-Shishane | Tla’at Al-Shishane | Yamaha WR450F | DNF | N/A |
Italics – Veteran Trophy
Underscore – Women Trophy
Quad
| Finish | Overall | Number | Rider | Team | Vehicle | Total Time | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 | 100 | Hani Al-Noumesi | Hani Al-Noumesi | Yamaha Raptor 700R | 7:58:05.0 | Leader |
| 2 | 16 | 102 | Ahmed Al-Jaber | Ahmed Al-Jaber | Yamaha Raptor 700R | 8:09:53.5 | + 11:48.5 |
| 3 | 17 | 101 | Abdulaziz Al-Atawi | Abdulaziz Al-Atawi | Yamaha Raptor 700R | 8:19:21.0 | + 21:16.0 |
Over 450cc
| Finish | Number | Rider | Team | Vehicle | Total Time | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | Patrick Emmert | Patrick Emmert | KTM 500 EXC-F | 8:34:50.8 | Leader |
Featured image credit: via Saood Variawa
131 Off-Road 
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