Balooshi under pressure from chasing trio in thrilling big bikes battle
Eight riders are locked in a battle for three titles in the 2019 UAE Baja Championship which now heads for a big climax in Fujairah next month.
Only six points separate the top four Moto 450 challengers, with Emirati leader Mohammed Al Balooshi under pressure from Dave McBride, Kuwaiti Mohamed Jaffar and South African Honda star Aaron Mare, winner in last weekend’s Abu Dhabi Baja.
Emirati rider Abdulla Al Falasi, who powered his Yamaha YFZ 450 R to a quads victory in Abu Dhabi at the weekend, still has a lot to do to catch Ahmed Al Mulla who leads him by 13 points in the championship ahead of the sixth and final round in Fujairah on 13 December.
The tussle for the Motos 25 title also goes down to the wire in Fujairah, with Rashed Abdulla leading fellow-Emirati Abdulla Lanjawi by seven points in the new series which is organised by the Emirates Motorsport Club (EMC).
The UAE’s Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi, Saudi driver Saleh Al Saif and Emirati Saif Al Muhairi are among the first overall title winners in the championship following the inaugural Abu Dhabi Baja.
Al Qassimi’s victory in the Liwa desert has confirmed him as the Auto T1 champion while runner up Al Saif has secured the UTV T class for four-wheel side-by-side vehicles.
Al Muhairi is the championship’s first UTV category winner, while Tamjeed Abdulla has clinched the Auto T2 title and Ahmad Barakat’s eighth place overall in Abu Dhabi has ensured him of the Group S crown.
“The stage is set for a big finish to the championship in its first season, and we’re very encouraged by the way it has run from the start,” said Sheikh Abdullah Al Qassimi, Founder and President of the EMC.
“By introducing the Abu Dhabi Baja we’ve given the series a flagship two-day event. But the one-day rallies which make up the rest of the championship will still form the basis for the series as entry level events designed to attract more competitors.”