Matthias Walkner can finally get started on adding a four-wheel wing to his trophy case. On Saturday, he won the Baja Europe in the SSV class just two months after making his return to cross-country rallying as a driver.
The 2018 Dakar Rally bike winner, Walkner’s career on two wheels ended after a devastating testing accident ahead of the 2024 Dakar that raised fears of his legs needing amputation. Two years since the crash, he can walk like usual and ride his motorcycle recreationally, but his racing days with it are now behind him. Still, his love for rally raids and competitive spirit never wavered and he decided to make the switch to driving.
In March, he entered the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid in the SSV class. While the race ended in a DNF due to a myriad of mechanical problems, Walkner was eager to get back behind the wheel again. To prepare for the next W2RC race in Argentina (where he will move up to Challenger), he decided to sign up for the two-day Baja Europe. While the race is more a dress rehearsal for Rallye Breslau and the forests of Poland aren’t exactly the same terrain as the Desafío Ruta 40, any experience was good experience.
The race started on a modest note as Walkner was 11th among SSVs in the Prologue, while winner Lukas Lauda was three minutes ahead. Lauda, a fellow Austrian and the oldest son of F1 legend Niki Lauda, did Dakar in 2024 and has been carving out his own career outside of driver management as a rally raider. Walkner then edged out Grzegorz Gąsiorowski to win SS1 by just 71 seconds.
A ninth in SS2 was followed by back-to-back special wins, including beating Lauda by 26 seconds in SS4, to secure the SSV overall. Although Lauda finished top three in all but one stage, the exception—a sixth in SS3—pinned him too far back to catch Walkner or Arūnas Lekavičius.
Lauda’s navigator Stefan Henken commended Walkner on their “nice fight”. Walkner winning also puts him on the same path as his former Red Bull KTM teammates Kevin Benavides, who also won Dakar before retiring from motorcycles due to injuries and now seeing success as a driver, and Toby Price, another Dakar bike champ who currently races trucks.
Despite its short nature, taking place on a tank training area meant the course was unforgiving. Dutch Off Road Rally Team’s Bowlers had a tough go on Saturday with their dynamos, then Herman Jasper had to exit with a gearbox failure while Jenne Jasper clawed to a top ten in Car Open. Henry Ulke’s Nissan Patrol had a big moment when he hit a jump before getting stuck in the mud upon landing, so eventual Truck winner Tom Heuer had pull him out with his Tatra 815.
The race partially reused the route on both days, which made Day 2 navigation tricky as competitors had to keep in mind that the tracks they saw were for Friday rather than Saturday. Justin Gerlach, a friend of 131 Off-Road, pointed out part of the surface was also chewed up from cars and trucks.
“You had to be careful on the track and also with the navigation,” said Gerlach after Saturday’s action. “First route was in an area from yesterday, but some new terrain in the second loop was mixed up so you went into the same area. We saw competitors who were on the first leg, so you had to be careful to follow the roadbook and make sure that you stay on your track for the second leg and not the first one.
“Overall, great race, great day. I really enjoyed it.”
Berend de Ruiter, who hopes to race the Dakar Rally in 2028, held off a trio of Dakarians in Bartłomiej Tabin, Edvard Sokolovski, and Gerlach for the Enduro win. Gerlach rode alongside his friend and teammate Tobias Haidt, and the two were separated by just 32 seconds despite Haidt having a massive crash.
Adam Krysiak, who won Rallye Breslau for ATV in 2025, dominated his class to comfortably win by 28 minutes over Karol Slugocki. Slugocki had also finished runner-up at Breslau last year.
ATV
| Finish | Number | Rider | Team | Total Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 55 | Adam Krysiak | Polaris Polska Racing Team | 5:18:26.74 |
| 2 | 3 | Karol Slugocki | Sidweld Rallye Team | 5:46:59.65 |
| 3 | 5 | Rob Vervloesem | The Raw Motoring Company | 6:07:41.40 |
| 4 | 17 | Jarosław Malkus | Sidweld Rallye Team | 6:14:35.88 |
| 5 | 35 | Christian Winter | 4×4 Rallye Team | 6:26:53.23 |
| 6 | 19 | Wiljan Koster | Kaktuskraft Racing | 7:36:32.84 |
| 7 | 23 | Markus Sander | Blackforest Powersport | 9:33:53.13 |
| 8 | 6 | Alexej Kolossov | Limburg | 10:06:55.70 |
| 9 | 54 | Tim Schodts | The Raw Motoring Company | 11:24:23.84 |
| 10 | 44 | Aleksey Fuhr | Limburg | 11:39:12.42 |
| 11 | 7 | Gilles Vandenberghe | Gilles Vandenberghe | 13:43:52.71 |
| 12 | 24 | Jerzy Makedonski | Makedonski | 18:58:50.64 |
| 13 | 40 | Mariusz Matuszak | Mario Racing 59 | 21:28:00.00 |
Enduro
| Finish | Number | Rider | Team | Total Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 60 | Berend de Ruiter | Extend Rallysport | 5:00:12.55 |
| 2 | 47 | Bartłomiej Tabin | Kove Polska | 5:02:58.18 |
| 3 | 50 | Edvard Sokolovski | AG Dakar School | 5:06:05.45 |
| 4 | 11 | Justin Gerlach | JG Racing | 5:09:10.19 |
| 5 | 14 | Tobias Haidt | JG Racing | 5:09:42.11 |
| 6 | 53 | Modestas Siliūnas | AG Dakar School | 5:21:38.43 |
| 7 | 51 | Peter Gurndin | Walkner Racing | 5:46:27.19 |
| 8 | 49 | Laurynas Avyžius | AG Dakar School Arch Moto Team | 5:47:27.44 |
| 9 | 48 | Andrius Greiciunas | AG Dakar School | 5:48:22.15 |
| 10 | 41 | Hille Dalstra | Fryslan | 5:49:45.85 |
| 11 | 26 | Moritz Türk | MC+E St. Leonhard E.V. Rallye4You | 5:56:16.54 |
| 12 | 39 | Siim Needrit | Redmoto | 5:58:40.20 |
| 13 | 32 | Niels van der Spek | Road to Rally | 6:00:50.18 |
| 14 | 15 | Matthias Haidt | Myrace | 6:04:45.49 |
| 15 | 10 | Erik Ott | Ott Racing | 6:13:46.99 |
| 16 | 18 | Imar Verdouw | VVK Racing | 6:18:50.54 |
| 17 | 37 | Bart van der Spoel | moto4all | 6:38:13.51 |
| 18 | 45 | Janko Brezigar | Desert Soul Rally Team | 6:40:44.55 |
| 19 | 29 | Mario Urthaler | Mario Urthaler | 6:56:14.36 |
| 20 | 38 | Rait Tamp | Redmoto | 7:06:40.65 |
| 21 | 42 | Martsen Bron | Fryslan | 7:21:06.25 |
| 22 | 16 | Georg Reinprecht | Desert Soul Adventures | 7:35:50.83 |
| 23 | 33 | Jens Dethloff | Rallye Team MV | 7:38:03.17 |
| 24 | 22 | Urban Jerkic | Desert Soul Rally Team | 7:40:37.44 |
| 25 | 9 | Michael Seemann | Team BGL | 8:03:08.87 |
| 26 | 30 | Elmar Ott | Ott Racing | 8:22:54.61 |
| 27 | 4 | Maarten Fikke | Omega Rally Racing | 8:28:48.31 |
| 28 | 52 | Marek Halamunda | Motokolub Wielkopolski | 9:06:30.48 |
| 29 | 57 | Matthias Wyss | Swiss Race Crew | 9:46:37.77 |
| 30 | 34 | Lorenz Arnold | Team BGL | 9:56:42.29 |
| 31 | 31 | Gediminas Jacikevicius | Kinolab | 10:32:05.42 |
| 32 | 36 | Gerben Timmer | moto4all | 13:26:48.41 |
| 33 | 28 | Torsten Wolf | Asphalt | 13:33:19.78 |
| 34 | 20 | Yorick Gosman | Maverick | 13:36:23.23 |
| 35 | 25 | Dyon van Wieringen | Road to Rally | 14:20:57.55 |
| 36 | 43 | Jeff Zandbergen | Jeff | 14:30:22.16 |
| 37 | 56 | Dominik Heusser | Swiss Race Crew | 14:56:27.41 |
| 38 | 27 | Jörg Labudda | Asphalt | 20:22:00.00 |
| 39 | 8 | Andy Schmidt | Team BGL | 22:00:00.00 |
Car Limited
| Finish | Number | Driver | Navigator | Team | Total Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 208 | Robbert van Lutterveld | Suzan Saat | Saris4×4 Rally Team | 8:09:20.86 |
| 2 | 209 | Nils Böhme | Marco Böhme | GZR Rallye Team | 9;16:02.16 |
| 3 | 226 | Hagen Maikranz | David Gosebrink | Hamago Team | 9:52:27.93 |
| 4 | 211 | Ewald Holler | Markus Bodzenta | Hekla Competition Datsun 510 SSS | 11:58:20.11 |
| 5 | 231 | Ghassan Kaddoura | Thomas Kurkowski | GSFP Racing Team | 12:09:23.55 |
| 6 | 210 | Gunther Heupel | Matthias Kölsch | GH Offroad Team | 12:36:39.24 |
| 7 | 212 | Sascha Capraro | Nina Capraro | SCAP | 14:23:09.91 |
| 8 | 224 | Krasimir Hristov | Stefan Stoyanovski | Offroad Club Plovdiv | 17:50:22.00 |
| 9 | 221 | Nikolay Mustakov | Daniel Mustakov | Mustak Offroad | 17:56:13.00 |
Car Open
| Finish | Number | Driver | Navigator | Team | Total Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 228 | Remigiusz Wutkowski | Artur Kordala | Wutkowski Motorsport | 5:00:17.67 |
| 2 | 216 | Bert Mourik | Robert voor de Poorte | Red-Lined Europe | 5:18:53.26 |
| 3 | 203 | Frank Stensky | Stephan Stensky | 4×4 Haltlos | 5:30:35.94 |
| 4 | 215 | Rients Hofstra | Michiel Sickler | Red-Lined Europe | 5:33:21.95 |
| 5 | 214 | Konrad Theobald | Ramona Theobald | Kraftverkehr Torgau | 5:49:50.31 |
| 6 | 204 | Henry Ulke | Stefan Dorn | 4×4 Rallye Team | 6:39:13.10 |
| 7 | 223 | Philip Ploog | Jan Lippeck | Fox-Off Racing | 7:47:09.71 |
| 8 | 222 | Henry Lippeck | Marvin Taye | Fox-Off Racing | 8:04:33.31 |
| 9 | 202 | Jenne Jasper | Marijn Verbeek | Dutch Off Road Rally Team | 8:53:05.34 |
| 10 | 219 | Atanas Vasev | Pavel Radev | Navara Team | 9:00:18.65 |
| 11 | 225 | Nils Barde | Andre Rittner | UG Rallyesport | 9:12:1855 |
| 12 | 205 | Helmut Schwarz | Tabea Warg | Blackbird | 10:12:36.44 |
| 13 | 207 | Herman Jasper | Anoek Jasper | Dutch Off Road Rally Team | 10:34:29.60 |
| 14 | 206 | Stefan Goverts | Sefan Plaggenmarsch | Stego Offroad Racing | 12:34:28.66 |
| 15 | 217 | Diyan Sotev | Dinko Todorov | MG Redline | 13:58:16.61 |
| 16 | 218 | Stoycho Kalvachev | Tenyo Kirilov | MG Redline Bulgaria | 14:28:55.13 |
| 17 | 220 | Doncho Tsanev | Zornitsa Todorova | Tremol | 20:33:00.00 |
| 18 | 230 | Thomas Berkers | Roland Berkers | Berkers Offroad Rally Racing | 22:00:00.00 |
SSV
| Finish | Number | Driver | Navigator | Team | Total Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 429 | Matthias Walkner | Oliver Pyerin | Walkner Racing | 4:46:50.93 |
| 2 | 407 | Arūnas Lekavičius | Arūnas Gelažninkas | TSSK Pilenai | 4:48:45.78 |
| 3 | 432 | Lukas Lauda | Stefan Henken | UTVParts.de | 4:53:44.84 |
| 4 | 402 | Grzegorz Gąsiorowski | Katarzyna Szałęga | Gąsiorowski Racing | 4:57:28.84 |
| 5 | 422 | Vasil Petrov | Danail Daskalov | Vasil Petrov | 5:18:59.23 |
| 6 | 410 | Gerrit Schrader | Tim Kullick | Rallye Team Winkel | 5:30;22.15 |
| 7 | 426 | Alar Veski | Kaido Kool | AK Racing | 5:30:44.70 |
| 8 | 408 | Taavi Raadik | Alar Kulp | TRAK Racing | 5:38:28.45 |
| 9 | 427 | Frank Beyer | Finn Trautsch | AMS-Beyer | 5:42:42.69 |
| 10 | 423 | Roman Rausch | Katharina Braendle | Quadrausch | 5:49:48.79 |
| 11 | 428 | Bart Franssen | Marco Bouman | Franssen Rally Team | 5:49:55.22 |
| 12 | 415 | Benjamin Gericke | Sebastian Kluge | BA Team | 5:58:43.10 |
| 13 | 405 | Andreas Gaus | Andrej Termer | Limburg | 6:02:39.16 |
| 14 | 433 | Daniel Vennes | Norbert Jansen | RMX Racing | 6:13:39.71 |
| 15 | 424 | Rick de Wit | Jorn de Wit | DWR | 6:21:15.54 |
| 16 | 431 | Elias Steffen | Emilija Gelažninkienė | Elias Garage Racing Team | 6:44:16.16 |
| 17 | 409 | Olivia Braun | Steffan Braun | Rallye Team unimog-racing.de | 6:52:40.84 |
| 18 | 430 | Menno Lambooij | Marnix Leeux | Adabt Rallysport | 7:16:57.92 |
| 19 | 421 | Vladislav Velkov | Nikolay Rumenov | Vabonti Racing Team | 7:45:44.80 |
| 20 | 420 | Georgi Vladimirov | Yavor Ivanov | Ludi Glavi | 8:42:45.29 |
| 21 | 406 | Christian Spanner | Tobias Seebauer | Team RTS | 8:44:52.49 |
| 22 | 416 | Felix Bartholomae | Tano Bartholomae-Feuerherdt | Feta Racing | 9:46:57.41 |
| 23 | 419 | Thomas Ziegltrum | Tobias Ziegltrum | Ziegltrum | 9:50:40.61 |
| 24 | 425 | Uwe Götzel | Christof Trautsch | UG Rallyesport Time Out Racing | 14:26:44.98 |
| 25 | 417 | Axel Bayer | Ivan Stocker | RTD Motorsport Chemnitzer AMC | 16:32:25.73 |
| 26 | 414 | Wasilios Diagos | Perry Wanrooij | Imagos Racing | 17:2:12.76 |
| 27 | 404 | Anton Kolosov | Iwan Wachtel | Limburg | 19:51:00.00 |
Truck
| Finish | Number | Driver | Crew Members | Team | Total Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 506 | Tom Heuer | Christoph Tum Marco Richter | Sueptitz Motorsport | 5:58:01.37 |
| 2 | 507 | Tilo Sueptitz | Lars Hiller Rene Steinbach | Sueptitz Motorsport | 6:30:26.86 |
| 3 | 508 | Oliver Schaller | Marcel Fleischhauer | Trucksport Team Ettersberg | 6:33:38.64 |
| 4 | 509 | Christoph Laurenroth | Frank Müller | Team Lauenroth | 6:38:21.46 |
| 5 | 504 | Stella Koerber | Sebastian Rodel Maximilian Jackermeier | Nessi Racing | 7:23:10.60 |
| 6 | 510 | Pawel Buczak | Dawid Chrusciel | Buczakteam | 8:14:07.88 |
| 7 | 505 | Filip Dąbrowski | Ludwik Wikowicz | Dąbrowski Team | 9:08:34.46 |
| 8 | 511 | Carsten Felten | Marcel Decker Felix Felten | FE Racing | 10:34:50.46 |
| 9 | 503 | Adrian Bernhard | Eduard Degner | MOG Team Bavaria | 12:26:29.69 |
Featured image credit: RBI Media
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