Nasser Al-Attiyah did not need long to get used to his new ride in the Prodrive Hunter, and was already a race winner in just his second start for the team.
His début with Prodrive at the Baja Portalegre 500, just two weeks after clinching the World Rally-Raid Championship in his final race for Toyota, was overshadowed by a penalty and lost time to a damaged windshield wiper in the mud of Portugal that relegated him to fifth. The Dubai International Baja, on the other hand, presented wide-open dunes akin to most rounds on the W2RC calendar like the Dakar Rally that gave him a chance to showcase the Hunter’s potential as he won the first two stages before being edged out by Yazeed Al-Rajhi in Stage #3.
Like in the W2RC, Al-Attiyah beat Al-Rajhi for the overall win by over five minutes. The victory also put the bow atop a dominant campaign in the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas, where Al-Attiyah never finished worse than second in his four Bajas for Toyota and had twice as many points as João Ferreira entering the finale in Dubai. It is his second Bajas title after 2008, while he became the first driver to win a World Cup with two different manufacturers as well as the first to complete the triple crown of a World Cup, World Championship, and Dakar Rally in the same year.
“We really enjoyed being in the car as we worked hard to make a good result for the team too,” said Al-Attiyah. “We learned a lot for the next step, the Dakar. Thank you to the team who got the car here and who have engineered it for us to take this win. It’s a great start to take this victory and get ready for Dakar and think we can make it in Saudi Arabia to win the Dakar in January.”
Ferreira won the T4 class in his first Baja in a Can-Am Maverick for South Racing ahead of European Cup T4 regular Amerigo Ventura. The former, who normally races Bajas in a Mini and intends to continue doing so for the 2024 Portuguese Cross-Country Championship, also won on début in the W2RC’s T4 class at the Rallye du Maroc in October.
Another João Ferreira (full name João Filipe Ferreira Miranda) was also victorious as he called the shots for Otávio Sousa Leite to win the T3 class in both the Dubai Baja and the World Cup. Mshari Al-Thefiri had led Sousa by twenty points going into the finale but was plagued by mechanical issues that forced him to retire and surrender the championship.
Sousa Leite’s father Cristiano de Sousa Batista finished second to him in Dubai, having already clinched the T4 World Cup with a dominant season as he won four races in a row.
“We came into the event with low expectations of becoming the champion. Turns out, all the bad luck throughout the year turned in our favour in this last race,” said Sousa Leite. “We won yesterday’s stage and today my dad secured another victory. Now, we are World Champions.”
Seth Quintero ran his first race as Al-Attiyah’s successor at Toyota Gazoo Racing. Despite the big shoes he had to fill and finishing at the bottom of the leaderboard due to a mechanical issue, he looked like a natural in the Toyota GR DKR Hilux T1+ with a run that included finishing less than a minute behind Al-Attiyah in Stage #2.
Aliyyah Koloc, the 2022 Middle East Cup for Cross-Country Bajas champion, finished tenth in a Red-Lined REVO T1+, marking her first time running an international rally in the top subcategory. The race had started on a bizarre note for Koloc as logistical issues resulted in a delay while shipping her REVO from South Africa to Dubai; according to father and Buggyra Racing principal Martin Koloc, both ships that they tried to move the vehicle on were delayed for two and three weeks each. The start was intended to provide her with more seat time ahead of her first Dakar in the Ultimate class.
“I think I need to be a bit more aggressive with it,” said Koloc. “For now, I feel I’m being too gentle, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Both events I have done so far with this car, here in Dubai and in South Africa, have definitely helped me grow as a driver, so I’m pleased about that, although we need to drive more in the desert to get more out of the car.”
The FIA’s Middle East Cup and FIM Bajas World Cup also concluded their seasons in Dubai, which became the final race for all three series following the cancellation of the Jordan Baja in response to the war in Gaza. The race was also the last for the World and Middle East Cups under their Cross-Country Bajas identities as they will be rebranded to the World Baja Cup and Middle East Baja Cup for 2024. The European Cup, the other Bajas series under FIA sanction, wrapped up its calendar in October.
Overall winners
| Class | Number | Competitor | Team | Time |
| T1 | 200 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Nasser Racing | 5:22:52.3 |
| T2 | 220 | Ibrahim Nasser Almuhna | Ibrahim Nasser Almuhna | 23:09:30.5 |
| T3 | 301 | Otávio Sousa Leite | South Racing Can-Am | 6:04:05.5 |
| T4 | 400 | João Ferreira | South Racing Can-Am | 5:48:48.1 |
| 450cc | 2 | Mohammed Al-Balooshi | MX Ride Dubai | 5:42:25.3 |
| Quad | 105 | Abdulaziz Ahli | Abdulaziz Ahli | 6:34:23.1 |
| FIM Junior | 76 | Jean-Loup Lepan | DUUST Diverse Racing | 5:53:53 |
| FIM Veteran | 50 | Richard Brewer | Richard Brewer | 6:23:38.5 |
| FIM Woman | 20 | Esther Merino | Esther Merino | 9:03:52.5 |
Final FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas standings
World Cup
Drivers
| Rank | Driver | Points | Margin |
| 1 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | 187 | Leader |
| 2 | Yazeed Al-Rajhi | 115 | – 72 |
| 3 | João Ferreira | 104 | – 83 |
| 4 | Juan Cruz Yacopini | 98 | – 89 |
| 5 | Krzysztof Hołowczyc | 75 | – 112 |
| 6 | Otávio Sousa Leite | 62 | – 125 |
| 7 | Cristiano de Sousa Batista | 61 | – 126 |
| 8 | Mshari Al-Thefiri | 51 | – 136 |
| 9 | Michał Małuszyński | 41 | – 146 |
| 10 | Dania Akeel | 34 | – 153 |
| 11 | Lucas Moraes | 33 | – 154 |
| 12 | Denis Krotov | 31 | – 156 |
| T-13 | Fernando Alvarez Castellano | 28 | – 159 |
| T-13 | Jeremie Warnia | 28 | – 159 |
| 15 | Guoyu Zhang | 27 | – 160 |
| 16 | João Dias | 26 | – 161 |
| 17 | Ronan Chabot | 23 | – 164 |
| 18 | Vaidotas Žala | 22 | – 165 |
| T-19 | Armindo Araújo | 20 | – 167 |
| T-19 | Amerigo Ventura | 20 | – 167 |
| T-21 | Saleh Al-Saif | 19 | – 168 |
| T-21 | Włodzimierz Grajek | 19 | – 168 |
| T-23 | Pau Navarro | 17 | – 170 |
| T-23 | Adam Thomelius | 17 | – 170 |
| T-25 | Tiago Reis | 16 | – 171 |
| T-25 | Kees Koolen | 16 | – 171 |
| 27 | Ricardo Ramilo | 15 | – 172 |
| T-28 | Nani Roma | 14 | – 173 |
| T-28 | Mattias Ekström | 14 | – 173 |
| T-30 | Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari | 13 | – 174 |
| T-30 | Nasser Al-Kuwari | 13 | – 174 |
| 32 | Miguel Barbosa | 11 | – 176 |
| T-33 | Egidijus Valeiša | 9 | – 178 |
| T-33 | Seth Quintero | 9 | – 178 |
| T-35 | Rokas Baciuška | 8 | – 179 |
| T-35 | Santiago Navarro | 8 | – 179 |
| T-37 | Francisco Barreto | 7 | – 180 |
| T-37 | Pedro Carvalho | 7 | – 180 |
| T-37 | Andrea Lafarja | 7 | – 180 |
| T-37 | Miroslav Zapletal | 7 | – 180 |
| T-41 | Stefano Marrini | 6 | – 181 |
| T-41 | Francisco Javier Rodriguez Hernandez | 6 | – 181 |
| T-41 | Gareth Woolridge | 6 | – 181 |
| T-44 | Michele Cinotto | 5 | – 182 |
| T-44 | Guillaume de Mévius | 5 | – 182 |
| T-44 | Alexandre Re | 5 | – 182 |
| T-44 | Magdalena Zajac | 5 | – 182 |
| T-48 | Tomas Mickus | 4 | – 183 |
| T-48 | Paulo Rodrigues | 4 | – 183 |
| T-48 | Aleksander Szustkowski | 4 | – 183 |
| T-51 | Lionel Baud | 3 | – 184 |
| T-51 | Nuno Madeira | 3 | – 184 |
| T-51 | Piotr Otko | 3 | – 184 |
| T-51 | Ronald Schoolderman | 3 | – 184 |
| T-55 | František Brutovský | 2 | – 185 |
| T-55 | Sebastián Halpern | 2 | – 185 |
| T-55 | Csaba Miklós | 2 | – 185 |
| T-55 | Romain Dumas | 2 | – 185 |
Co-drivers
| Rank | Co-Driver | Points | Margin |
| 1 | Mathieu Baumel | 187 | Leader |
| 2 | Timo Gottschalk | 115 | – 72 |
| 3 | Filipe Palmeiro | 104 | – 83 |
| 4 | Dani Oliveiras | 98 | – 89 |
| 5 | João Filipe Ferreira Miranda | 79 | – 108 |
| 6 | Łukasz Kurzeja | 75 | – 112 |
| 7 | Oriol Vidal | 59 | – 128 |
| 8 | Fuasto Mota | 53 | – 134 |
| T-9 | Kaique Bentivoglio | 33 | – 154 |
| T-9 | Julita Maluszinska | 33 | – 154 |
| T-9 | Paulo Fiuza | 33 | – 154 |
| 12 | François Cazalet | 32 | – 155 |
| 13 | Konstantin Zhiltsov | 31 | – 156 |
| T-14 | Xavier Panseri | 28 | – 159 |
| T-14 | Loïc Minaudier | 28 | – 159 |
| 16 | Oriol Mena | 27 | – 160 |
| T-17 | Gilles Pillot | 23 | – 164 |
| T-17 | Taye Perry | 23 | – 164 |
| T-19 | Luis Ramalho | 20 | – 167 |
| T-19 | Mirko Brun | 20 | – 167 |
| T-21 | Nasser Al-Kuwari | 19 | – 168 |
| T-21 | Dominik Jazik | 19 | – 168 |
| 23 | Oskar Andersson | 17 | – 170 |
| T-24 | Valter Cardoso | 16 | – 171 |
| T-24 | Wouter Rosegaar | 16 | – 171 |
| 26 | Alex Haro Bravo | 14 | – 173 |
| T-27 | Alexei Kuzmich | 13 | – 174 |
| T-27 | Michael Metge | 13 | – 174 |
| 29 | Laurent Lichtleuchter | 11 | – 176 |
| T-30 | Dmytro Tsyro | 9 | – 178 |
| T-30 | Mindaugas Varža | 9 | – 178 |
| T-30 | Dennis Zenz | 9 | – 178 |
| T-33 | Szymon Gospodarczyk | 8 | – 179 |
| T-33 | Robleto Nicoletti | 8 | – 179 |
| T-33 | Adrien Metge | 8 | – 179 |
| T-36 | Hector Garcia Chavez | 7 | – 180 |
| T-36 | Romeu Martins | 7 | – 180 |
| T-36 | Carlos Silva | 7 | – 180 |
| T-36 | Marek Sýkora | 7 | – 180 |
| T-40 | Boyd Dreyer | 6 | – 181 |
| T-40 | Yoni Luis Pérez Curbelo | 6 | – 181 |
| T-40 | Silvio Valentini | 6 | – 181 |
| T-43 | Jakub Brzezinski | 5 | – 182 |
| T-43 | Maurizio Dominella | 5 | – 182 |
| T-43 | João Pedro Re | 5 | – 182 |
| T-46 | Miguel Antonio | 4 | – 183 |
| T-46 | Gonçalo Reis | 4 | – 183 |
| T-46 | Darius Leskauskas | 4 | – 183 |
| T-46 | Andrei Rudnitski | 4 | – 183 |
| T-46 | Robin Szustkowski | 3 | – 184 |
| T-51 | Lucie Baud | 3 | – 184 |
| T-51 | José Janela | 3 | – 184 |
| T-51 | Karolina Otko | 3 | – 184 |
| T-51 | Pedro Re | 3 | – 184 |
| T-51 | Makeren Salomons | 3 | – 184 |
| T-56 | Bernardo Graue | 2 | – 185 |
| T-56 | Petr Hauptmann | 2 | – 185 |
| T-56 | Albert Horn | 2 | – 185 |
| T-56 | Marc Solà Terradellas | 2 | – 185 |
| T-56 | Max Delfino | 2 | – 185 |
Teams
| Rank | Team | Points | Margin |
| 1 | Overdrive Racing | 237 | Leader |
| 2 | South Racing Can-Am | 177 | – 60 |
| 3 | X-raid Mini JCW Team | 165 | – 72 |
| 4 | GRallyTeam | 61 | – 176 |
| 5 | FN Speed Team | 59 | – 178 |
| 6 | Sports Racing Technologies | 49 | – 188 |
T3
| Rank | Driver | Points | Margin |
| 1 | Otávio Sousa Leite | 148 | Leader |
| 2 | Mshari Al-Thefiri | 129 | – 19 |
| 3 | Dania Akeel | 104 | – 44 |
| 4 | Fernando Alvarez Castellano | 89 | – 59 |
| 5 | João Dias | 69 | – 79 |
| 6 | Kees Koolen | 59 | – 89 |
| 7 | Armindo Araújo | 51 | – 97 |
| 8 | Guillaume de Mévius | 40 | – 108 |
| 9 | Saleh Al-Saif | 38 | – 110 |
| T-10 | Cristiano de Sousa Batista | 33 | – 115 |
| T-10 | Egidijus Valeiša | 33 | – 115 |
| 12 | Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari | 32 | – 116 |
| 13 | Adam Thomelius | 27 | – 121 |
| 14 | Nasser Al-Kuwari | 25 | – 123 |
| T-15 | João Monteiro | 24 | – 124 |
| T-15 | Mattias Ekström | 24 | – 124 |
| T-17 | Andrea Lafarja | 19 | – 129 |
| T-17 | Hector Diego Joaquin Martinez | 19 | – 129 |
| T-19 | Tomas Mickus | 18 | – 130 |
| T-19 | Santiago Navarro | 18 | – 130 |
| 21 | Erik Van Loon | 17 | – 131 |
| T-22 | Pedro Carvalho | 16 | – 132 |
| T-22 | Paulo Rodrigues | 16 | – 132 |
| T-24 | Lionel Baud | 14 | – 134 |
| T-24 | Piotr Otko | 14 | – 134 |
| 26 | Csaba Miklós | 12 | – 136 |
| T-27 | Rashia Jima Al-Muhannadi | 11 | – 137 |
| T-27 | Alexandre Re | 11 | – 137 |
| T-29 | Andrea Castagnera | 9 | – 139 |
| T-29 | Laia Sanz | 9 | – 139 |
| 31 | Anja Van Loon | 8 | – 140 |
| T-32 | Ahmad Al-Muhannadi | 7 | – 141 |
| T-32 | Filipe Cameirinha | 7 | – 141 |
| T-32 | Miklos Trebitsch | 7 | – 141 |
| T-35 | Benjamin Favre | 6 | – 142 |
| T-35 | Edgar Reis | 6 | – 142 |
| T-37 | Jean-Luc Ceccaldi | 5 | – 143 |
| T-37 | Laurent Poletti | 5 | – 143 |
| T-39 | Nelson Beiro | 4 | – 144 |
| T-39 | Christophe Cresp | 4 | – 144 |
| T-41 | Jedidia Favre | 3 | – 145 |
| T-41 | Daniel Silva | 3 | – 145 |
| T-41 | Mitch Guthrie | 3 | – 145 |
| T-44 | Romain Locmane | 2 | – 146 |
| T-44 | Pedro Ruivo | 2 | – 146 |
T4
Drivers
| Rank | Driver | Points | Margin |
| 1 | Cristiano de Sousa Batista | 192 | Leader |
| 2 | Jérémie Warnia | 132 | – 60 |
| 3 | Ricardo Ramilo | 104 | – 88 |
| 4 | Pau Navarro | 95 | – 97 |
| 5 | Amerigo Ventura | 67 | – 125 |
| 6 | Stefano Marrini | 58 | – 134 |
| 7 | João Ferreira | 40 | – 152 |
| 8 | Francisco Javier Rodriguez Hernandez | 39 | – 153 |
| 9 | Alexander Josef Toril Boquoi | 35 | – 157 |
| 10 | Sean Haran | 33 | – 159 |
| 11 | Luis Henderson | 32 | – 160 |
| 12 | Michele Cinotto | 24 | – 168 |
| 13 | Eduard Pons | 23 | – 169 |
| T-14 | Dario de Lorenzo | 22 | – 170 |
| T-14 | João Paula | 22 | – 170 |
| 16 | Aleksander Szustkowski | 19 | – 173 |
| 17 | Krzysztof Wicentowicz | 17 | – 175 |
| 18 | Patrycja Brochocka | 15 | – 177 |
| T-19 | Federico Mogni | 13 | – 179 |
| T-19 | Pietro Cinotto | 13 | – 179 |
| 21 | Carlos Vento Sanchez | 12 | – 180 |
| 22 | Adrien Choblet | 9 | – 183 |
| 23 | Rebecca Busi | 8 | – 184 |
| 24 | Heathcliff Zingraf | 3 | – 189 |
| 25 | Jean-Luc Ceccaldi | 2 | – 190 |
Teams
| Rank | Team | Points | Margin |
| 1 | South Racing Can-Am | 195 | Leader |
| 2 | FN Speed Team | 97 | – 98 |
Final FIA Middle East Cup for Cross-Country Bajas standings
Middle East Cup
Drivers
| Rank | Driver | Points | Margin |
| 1 | Khaled Ahmed Alferaihi | 74 | Leader |
| 2 | Hamad Nasser Alharbi | 45 | – 29 |
| 3 | Salem Aldhafeeri | 41 | – 33 |
| 4 | Yasir Seaidan | 40 | – 34 |
| 5 | Ahmed Alkuwari | 38 | – 36 |
| 6 | Aliyyah Koloc | 35 | – 39 |
| 7 | Atif Alzarouni | 34 | – 40 |
| 8 | Ibrahim Nasser Al-Muhna | 33 | – 41 |
| 9 | Ahmed Abdullah Al-Shegawi | 28 | – 46 |
| 10 | Maha Mohammed Hamali | 27 | – 47 |
| 11 | Adel Abdulla | 25 | – 49 |
| T-12 | Abdullah Ahmed Alshegawi | 23 | – 51 |
| T-12 | Mohammed Almeer | 23 | – 51 |
| 14 | Josef Macháček | 20 | – 54 |
| 15 | Mario Franco | 19 | – 55 |
| 16 | Nouef Hassan Al-Sowaidi | 15 | – 59 |
| 17 | Abdulla Ali Al-Khelaifi | 13 | – 61 |
| 18 | Saeed Almouri | 11 | – 63 |
| 19 | Mohammed An Al-Atteya | 5 | – 69 |
| 20 | Abdulla Al-Rabban | 4 | – 70 |
Co-drivers
| Rank | Co-Driver | Points | Margin |
| 1 | Sébastien Delaunay | 74 | Leader |
| 2 | Dmytro Tsyro | 64 | – 10 |
| 3 | Marc Serra Jové | 45 | – 29 |
| 4 | Alexey Kuzmich | 40 | – 34 |
| 5 | Manuel Luchesse | 38 | – 36 |
| 6 | Riaan Greyling | 35 | – 39 |
| 7 | Patrick McMurren | 34 | – 40 |
| 8 | Ali Hasan Obaid | 26 | – 48 |
| 9 | Waleed Saleh Alshegawi | 23 | – 51 |
| 10 | Osama Alsanad | 22 | – 52 |
| 11 | David Schovánek | 20 | – 54 |
| 12 | Rui Franco | 19 | – 55 |
| T-13 | Arif Bin Mohammed | 15 | – 59 |
| T-13 | Aisvydas Paliukėnas | 15 | – 59 |
| 15 | Abdulaziz Al-Jabri | 13 | – 61 |
| 16 | Marcin Pasek | 13 | – 61 |
| 17 | Annie Seel | 12 | – 62 |
| T-18 | Tariq Saleh Al-Rammah | 11 | – 63 |
| T-18 | Ata Al-Hmoud | 11 | – 63 |
| 20 | Omar Abdulleh Al-Lahim | 8 | – 66 |
| 21 | Taye Perry | 6 | – 68 |
| 22 | Ali Mirza | 5 | – 69 |
| 23 | Tamer Alhijazeen | 4 | – 70 |
Teams
| Rank | Team | Points | Margin |
| 1 | Shegawi Racing | 77 | Leader |
| 2 | Buggyra ZM Racing | 47 | – 30 |
| T-3 | Saudi Border Guard | 45 | – 32 |
| T-3 | QMMF Racing Team | 45 | – 32 |
| T-5 | Race World Team | 30 | – 47 |
| T-5 | Quaddy Racing | 30 | – 47 |
| 7 | Dark Horse | 25 | – 52 |
| 8 | Sports Racing Technologies | 20 | – 57 |
T2
| Rank | Driver | Points | Margin |
| 1 | Ibrahim Nasser Al-Muhna | 108 | Leader |
| 2 | Ahmed Abdullah Al-Shegawi | 73 | – 35 |
| 3 | Majed Abdulrahman Al-Thunayyan | 26 | – 82 |
T3
| Rank | Driver | Points | Margin |
| 1 | Hamad Nasser Alharbi | 53 | Leader |
| 2 | Yasir Seaidan | 40 | – 13 |
| 3 | Abel Abdulla | 39 | – 14 |
| 4 | Josef Macháček | 35 | – 18 |
| 5 | Mohammed Almeer | 32 | – 21 |
| 6 | Abdullah Ahmed Alshegawi | 26 | – 27 |
| 7 | Mario Franco | 25 | – 28 |
| 8 | Nouef Hassan Al-Sowaidi | 21 | – 32 |
T4
Drivers
| Rank | Driver | Points | Margin |
| 1 | Salem Aldhafeeri | 102 | Leader |
| 2 | Maha Mohammed Hamali | 81 | – 21 |
| 3 | Ahmed Fahad Alkuwari | 57 | – 45 |
| 4 | Atif Alzarouni | 40 | – 62 |
| 5 | Saeed Almouri | 28 | – 74 |
| 6 | Abdulla Ali Al-Khelaifi | 23 | – 79 |
| 7 | Mohammed An Al-Atteya | 22 | – 80 |
Teams
| Rank | Team | Points | Margin |
| 1 | Quaddy Racing | 50 | Leader |
| 2 | Dark Horse | 47 | – 3 |
| 3 | Sports Racing Technologies | 25 | – 25 |
