Qatar International Baja

FIA World Baja Cup, round 6

October 30-November 2, 2024

FIFTH AND SIXTH PLACES FOR OVERDRIVE RACING’S AKEEL AND MUIRA AFTER PUNISHING QATAR INTERNATIONAL BAJA

LUSAIL (QATAR) – Saturday, November 2: Overdrive Racing’s Dania Akeel and her navigator Stéphane Duplé and Akira Miura and his French co-driver Jean-Michel Polato finished fifth and sixth overall in the challenging three-day Qatar International Baja on Saturday.

Akeel was deprived of second place by a cruel steering arm breakage on the final run-in to the finish. Leading overnight after a sensational day of driving and mastery of tricky navigation, Akeel opened the road on the final stage and held off a fierce challenge from the pursuing Denis Krotov for over 45 minutes.

When Krotov caught her after she lost her way for a short time, Akeel looked set to shadow him to the finish only to see a steering arm work loose in cruel fashion near the finish. She managed to make emergency repairs and reached the finish one place ahead of her team-mates.

Akeel said: “We had a great day opening the stage. That was something new for us. We were in second place until 10km from the end when one of the steering arms came loose. It came off. We ended up finishing fifth instead of second. That happens sometimes. That’s part of the game. We came here to learn and train and we learned a lot. At one point we crossed the dunes and I asked Stéphane if we were going the right way. We went down the dune and passed the water. It was fun, a great weekend overall. Thanks to the team for an amazing experience.”

Miura and Polato crewed the other car for the second time this season after finishing third together at Baja Greece. They were fifth and 14th on the opening two stages after a couple of punctures on the run south to Lusail. But a solid drive by the Japanese on the final stage that crossed from the west of Qatar to the dunes in the south netted him the second fastest time. He was later handed a 10-minute time penalty for using more than his allotted number of tyres.

Miura said: “I am very happy with the performance on the last stage after we had delays on Friday. The futuristic city scape in Doha really made an impression. I was thrilled to have another opportunity to race in a Baja with the Overdrive Team. I was racing in a new model with a wider track and the tyres were improved based on our experience in Greece.”

After a 10.01km Prologue to determine the official start order, the route distance of leg one was slightly increased to 246.41km and the second one through the Sealine area to the south was also upped to 251.10km for a total competitive distance of 497.51km.

The Prologue was rocky and demanding and held in the heat of the afternoon. Akeel came home in seventh and third of the Middle East Cup runners with Miura in 11th and fifth of the World Cup entrants.

Akeel said: “I have some points in the Middle East Cup but I am not sure I will go to the remaining rounds. The plan was to get more seat time in the Ultimate car and that’s why I jumped on this opportunity. I finished second in the race in Saudi last week in this car, where it was very sandy with dunes. This event is known for its hard rocky surface and some dunes. I am looking forward to adding to my experience with every kilometre. If that lands us on the podium, I would be very happy for that.”

Leg one was split into two stages of 123.91km and 122.50km special stages on the northwestern side of Qatar. Akeel delivered a stunning performance on the opener to surge into an outright lead of 5min 36.6sec with the fastest time. The feat meant she was the first female driver ever to lead the Qatar Baja. Miura also delivered a solid drive to hold fifth place.

The Saudi ceded the second stage win to Denis Krotov but did enough over the course of the day to take a lead of 1min 32.9sec into the night halt. Miura held ninth place after sustaining two flat tyres.

Akeel said: “That’s it! This is our first stage win overall. I had a great time. Stéphane was amazing. The cap was changing. The stage was fast, twisty, rocky and a really nice sector by the sea. That was really steep for the first time. That was really good training. We are in a perfect position for tomorrow. It’s going to be a really fun ride.”

The last stage of 251.10km was used by the motorcycles and quads before the cars and headed into the deep south after starting to the east of Dukhan. Miura carded the second quickest time behind eventual winner Krotov, but a cruel steering arm breakage for Akeel cost her a potential second place and she slipped to fifth.

The FIA World Baja Cup resumes with the seventh round in the Hashemite Kingdon of Jordan on November 14th-16th.

2024 Qatar International Baja – final result:

  1. Denis Krotov (KGZ)/Konstantin Zhiltsov (ANA) Mini John Cooper Works Rally 3.0i 5hr 27min 13.7sec*
  2. João Ferreira (PRT)/Filipe Palmeiro (PRT) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR 5hr 57min 20.4sec*
  3. João Dias (PRT)/Gonçalo Reis (PRT) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR 6hr 01min 09.7sec*
  4. Miroslav Zapletal (CZE)/Marek Sykora (SVK) Ford F-150 Evo 6hr 01min 29.9sec*
  5. Dania Akeel (SAU)/Stéphane Duplé (FRA) Toyota Hilux Overdrive 6hr 09min 02.6sec+
  6. Akira Miura (JPN)/Jean-Michel Polato (FRA) Toyota Hilux Overdrive 6hr 12min 08.4sec*
  7. Fernando Alvarez (ARG)/Xavier Panseri (FRA) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR 6hr 16min 59.4sec*
  8. Anja Van Loon (NLD)/Floor Maten (NLD) Can-Am Maverick X3 6hr 29min 57.6sec*
  9. Rashid Al-Muhannadi (QAT)/Szymon Gospodarczyk (POL) Taurus T3 Max 6hr 30min 52.1sec
  10. Khalid Al-Jafla (ARE)/Andrei Rudnitski (LTU) Taurus T3 Max                    6hr 31min 27.9sec*

*denotes not registered for FIA World Baja Cup

+ denotes registered for the FIA Middle East Baja Cup

Ends

For further information:

Jean-Marc Fortin (E-mail: jmf@overdriveracing.be), Overdrive S.A., rue de L’Enterprise 1, 4530 Villers-le-Bouillet, Belgium, Tel: + 32 475 762 391. www.overdriveracing.be, Facebook: Overdrive Racing, Twitter: @OverdriveToyota

 

 

Published On: 2 November 2024