Forty-five motorcycle riders and eight quad entrants make up the impressive FIM side of the stunning entry list for this weekend’s Qatar International Baja.
They will tackle the demanding two-day route through the northern, central and southern Qatar deserts ahead of the registered crews in the FIA World and Middle East Baja Cups.
The main focus may be on Junior rider Alex McInnes and Saudi rival Abdulhalim al-Mogheera at the head of the FIM Bajas World Cup standings, but the entry has strength in depth and there are more than a handful of riders capable of overcoming Qatar’s formidable navigational challenges with the pace to succeed on one of the most difficult events in the world calendar.
Emirati Mohammed al-Balooshi is a case in point: the MX Ride Dubai man holds third in the rankings and is a two-time winner in Qatar. Likewise, Pole Konrad Dabrowski has the pace and the guile to prevail and won this event in 2022, 2023 and 2025.
There is strength in depth throughout the field of riders from 17 countries. The vastly-experienced Romain Dumontier has entered on a KTM 450 and has already raced against the likes of Dakar front-runners, Kevin Benavides, Xavier de Soultrait and Toby Price, in the Enduro World Championship.
The Frenchman was 120cc World and European champion in 2009, Brazilian champion 10 years later and inside the world’s top 10 between 2014 and 2018. He entered the world of rally-raids in Morocco in 2021 and has become a formidable competitor on rounds of the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC).
Talented young English rider Ethan Lane is making his way through the ranks and Qatar-based Makis Rees-Stavros is a regular competitor on the local desert scene and has the experience needed to prevail at the highest level.
The likes of Brett Hunt, Martin Chalmers, Andrew Houlihan, Philip Horlemann and Abdullah Abu Aisheh have tackled a lot of desert rallies and Slovenian Toni Mulec is a member of the Bas World KTM Team and first tackled the Dakar in 2023. A regular on ISDE events in the past, the 41-year-old finished ninth overall on the last Dakar in Saudi Arabia and won the Rally 2 category.
Bringing up the rear of the motorcycle field on bike number 46 is Norway’s Ola Floene. The KTM rider is better known for his role as a formidable co-driver in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC).
The 57-year-old’s career began in the 1980s. He became an official team member for M-Sport and Volkswagen Motorsport, partnering the likes of Andreas Mikkelsen, Henning Solberg, Mads Ostberg and Pontus Tidemand. Ola won the 2015 Rally Catalunya with Mikkelsen and earned 15 career podium finishes in the WRC.
The host nation will be represented by Mohammed al-Kubaisi on his Fanatic XEF 450 Rally and Abdulattif Mojadam, riding a Husqvarna FE 450.
Saudi’s al-Jaber leads impressive quad field
FIM Bajas World Cup leader Ahmed al-Jaber leads an eight-strong quad entry into the Qatar deserts. The Yamaha rider has a seven-point cushion over fellow Saudi and 2024 event winner Hani al-Noumesi in the points’ standings but the duo face, perhaps, one of the strongest quad line-ups of the season.
Emirati Abdulaziz Ahli topped the quad section in Qatar last year and has won the Dubai International Baja for the last four years. He rides a Yamaha Raptor along with Saudi’s Abdulaziz al-Atawi. Khalifa al-Bastaki also represents the UAE on a Yamaha.
Matteo Lardori (Polaris) and the Saudi CF Moto CForce duo of Abdulrahman Alabdullatif and Badr al-Hamdan round off the entry.
Minor pre-event changes on the FIA entry list see Xavier Flick partnering Maha al-Hamali in place of Michael Metge, Stefano Tironi sitting alongside Stefano Marrini in his Yamaha YXZ 1000 R and former Emirati quad rider Atif al-Zarouni joining forces with Christiano Gabbarrini as a navigator.
Three Qatari riders have topped the quad standings in the recent history of the event: Abdullah al-Shamein was triumphant on a Yamaha in 2004, Adel Abdulla won the 2011 Baja and, three years later, Mohammed Abu Issa secured victory on the longer five-day cross-country edition with a Honda TRX 700.
On Wednesday, administration and scrutineering checks will take place at the Lusail International Circuit before several of the leading drivers and riders join QMMF officials and members of the media for the pre-event press conference at 6pm.
Qatar International Baja entry list
Motorcycles: 1. Konrad Dabrowski (POL) KTM 450 Rally Replica; 2. Alex McInnes (GBR) KTM 450 RFR; 3. Abdulahim al-Mogheera (KSA) KTM 450 CC; 4. Mohammed al-Balooshi (UAE) KTM 450 RR; 5. Ethan Lane (GBR) KTM 450 Rally; 6. Marcin Talaga (POL) Gas Gas RX 450 F Replica; 7. Rafic Eid (LBN) KTM 450 Rally; 8. Abdullah Abu Aisheh (JOR) Yamaha WR 450F; 9. Joanna Modrzeswka (POL) Triumph TF45E; 10. Philip Horlemann (GER) KTM 450 Rally Replica; 11. Tomasz Niedźwiedzki (POL) Honda CRF 450 RX; 12. Mohammed Al-Kubaisi (QAT) Fanatic XEF 450 Rally; 14. Thomas Childs (GBR) KTM 450 Rally; 15. Brett Hunt (GBR) Husqvarna 450 FE; 16. Martin Chalmers (AUS) Kove Rally ES Pro; 17. Amit Jagtap (IND) Kove 450 Rally EX; 18. Priyankka Dutta (IND) Kove 450 Rally EX; 19. Tony Schattat (GER) KTM 450 Rally Replica; 20. Jason Joslin (GBR) Gas Gas RX 450 F; 21. Michael Anderson (POR) KTM 450 RFR; 22. Makis Rees-Stavros (GBR) KTM EXC F; 23. Hans Dovland (NOR) Gas Gas RX 450 F; 24. Simon Marcic (SLO) Kove 450 Rally EX; 25. Andrew Houlihan (AUS) KTM 450 RFR; 26. Luc Dumore (NED) Husqvarna FE 450; 27. Robert Wallace (GBR) KTM 450 EXC; 28. Jakov Jukić (CRO) Gas Gas RX 450F Replica; 29. Jatin Jain (IND) Kove 450 EX; 30. Ladislao Hernandez (MEX) Kove EX 2026; 31. Christophe Beraud (MEX) Kove EX; 32. Michał Janaszek (POL) KTM EXC; 34. Louis Abou Nader (LBN) KTM 450 EXC-F; 35. Ismail Mansour (USA) KTM 450 EXC-F; 36. Thomas Cross (AUS) Kove MX Rally 450; 37. Asad Khan (IND) Kove 450 Rally EX; 38. Anton Tyll (GER) Husqvarna FR 450; 39. Tomasz Orwat (POL) KTM 450 Rally Replica; 40. Ibrahim Al-Jarallah (KSA) Kove 450 Rally; 41. Romain Dumontier (FRA) KTM 450 Rally Factory; 42. Toni Mulec (SLO) KTM Rally Replica; 43. Abdulattif Mojadam (QAT) Husqvarna FE 450; 44. Patrick Emmert (USA) KTM Rally Factory; 45. Andrew Hayes (GBR) KTM 350 EXC-F; 46. Ola Floene (NOR) KTM 450 Rally Replica
Quads: 101. Ahmed al-Jaber (KSA) Yamaha 2025; 102. Abdulaziz al-Atawi (KSA) Yamaha Raptor 700; 103. Abdulaziz Ahli (UAE) Yamaha Raptor 700; 104. Hani al-Noumesi (KSA) Yamaha 2022; 105. Khalifa al-Bastaki (UAE) Yamaha YFZ 450R; 106. Abdulrahman Alabdullatif (KSA) CF Moto CForce 1000; 107. Badr al-Hamdan (KSA) CF Moto CForce 1000; 108. Matteo Lardori (ITA) Polaris Outlaw 500
