After their third place at the Dubai International Baja a fortnight ago, Yasir Seaidan and Alexey Kuzmich have taken victory in a MINI JCW Rally at the Sharqiya Baja. The rally near the Saudi city of Dammam was the third event in this year’s FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas.
Seaidan made a successful start to the Sharqiya Baja: The Saudi driver was the fastest man over the 10-kilometre opening stage, and was looking to repeat his performance on Friday. However, the second stage had to be cancelled due to bad weather, which forced the helicopter to remain grounded.
The organisers postponed SS2 to Saturday and cancelled stage three completely. In order to complete the minimum distance specified in the FIA regulations, part of SS2 – from the start to the second control point – was run twice. Seaidan and Kuzmich also completed these two tests without any major problems and thus secured the overall victory.
Round four of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas is the Jordan Baja, which takes place in two weeks (18th to 20th March).
Sharqiyah Baja overall standings
1. Y. Seaidan / A. Kuzmich – MINI JCW Rally – 4h 05m 27s
2. M. Zapletal / M. Sykora – Ford – 4h 19m 05s
3. S. Al-Saif / O. Vidal – CanAm – 4h 27m 37s
4. M. Althefiri / N. Al-Kuwari – CanAm – 4h 59m 58s
5. S. Al-Mouri / S. Lafuente – CanAm – 5h 02m 37s
