When he runs this weekend’s Baja Aragón, Andrei Halaborodzka will be the first Belarusian to race under his country’s flag in an FIA-sanctioned international cross-country rally since the 2022 Dakar Rally.

Russian and Belarusian competitors had been forbidden from using their nations’ emblems and flags in FIA events from March 2022—shortly after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine—until last August when the World Motor Sport Council voted to lift the ban. The decision has proven controversial, with the Automobile Federation of Ukraine filing an appeal to the FIA while various European ASNs have reiterated they will not permit racers from Russia or Belarus in domestic events.

Halabarodzka was allowed to compete in international rallies like the 2025 Dakar Rally because he agreed to the FIA’s policy at the time, which let Belarusians and Russians show up if they agreed to be a neutral athlete or use another country’s license. In Halabarodzka’s case, he raced with the flag of Kyrgyzstan.

Despite the ban’s termination, his Russian navigator Aleksei Ignatov is entered for Aragón under a Spanish license and flag. Ignatov had previously been under the neutral banner of “ANA” (“Authorised Neutral Athletes”), which he and driver Sergei Remennik both used at this year’s Dakar Rally and in their 2025 FIA World Baja Cup Challenger title run.

Andrei Rudnitski was the last Belarusian to use his country’s bicolor in an FIA-sanctioned rally, when he navigated for Maria Oparina at the 2022 Dakar. Rudnitski would eventually switch to an ANA designation himself. Russian flags had already been prohibited prior to the invasion because of the country’s doping scandal, which limited them to the Russian Automobile Federation banner. Coincidentally, Rudnitski and Halabarodzka have also worked together in Russia’s rallying and cross-country series as well as the 2021 Dakar.

Halabarodzka and Ignatov will run Aragón in the Stock category, driving a Toyota Land Cruiser on loan from 2025 European Baja Cup class champion Bartłomiej Wajzer. It’s a one-off entry before he returns to his Hilux and the Ultimate class for the 2027 Dakar; with MAZ unlikely to take part due to sanctions, it appears Halabarodzka will also be the first driver to race Dakar under the Belarusian flag in five years.

“For me, this is an opportunity to get familiar with the roads in Spain and Portugal, gain experience and better understand these events,” Halabarodzka told Cross-Country Rally News. “A Stock car is very different from a T1, and especially from a T1+. It is heavier, less agile and not as fast. But that’s exactly why this experience is important as we prepare for a possible European or World Baja Cup program next year.”

Halabarodzka has raced Dakar twice in 2021 and 2025. He is a multi-time champion in the Belarus Rally Sprint Championship and acquired his Hilux from Benediktas Vanagas.

Featured image credit: Amaury Sport Organisation