The event has attracted a 35-car entry with 13 crews registered for the FIA World Baja Cup and a similar number competing for points in the FIA European series. Of those, a dozen are entered in the Ultimate category, six in Challenger, 15 in SSV and two in Stock. 

This year’s eight-round FIA World Baja Cup has so far taken competitors to Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Greece. 

Czech veteran Miroslav Zapletal leads both the Ultimate and Master Driver categories and heads to northern Italy with a 39-point lead in the overall Drivers’ Championship in his Ford F-150 Evo. His Slovakian navigator Marek Sykora is third in his respective championship behind Andrei Rudnitskiy and Dani Oliveras.

With overall points also accumulated for finishing positions in the Challenger, SSV and Stock categories, Emirati Khalid Al-Jafla is his closest pursuer at the helm of a Taurus T3 Max and also leads the Challenger section by 35 points from the absent Sergei Remennik.

Great Britain’s Paul Severn has amassed 125 points from the first three rounds and is fourth in the overall Drivers’ Championship and leads the SSV category by 32 points in his Polaris RZR Pro R. 

Argentina’s Juan Cruz Yacopini picked up maximum points for winning the Jordan Baja and holds third in the Drivers’ Championship in his Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux. He is joined in the Belgian-based team by Martin Kaczmarski in a second Toyota, although the Pole is not registered for FIA points. Francisco Barreto of Portugal is also chasing FIA World Baja Cup points in a privately-run Toyota.

Al-Jafla is the sole Challenger entrant in the FIA World Baja Cup section but seven rivals will be hoping to close in on Severn in the battle for SSV honours. 

Second-placed Italian Amerigo Ventura wheels out his Yamaha YXZ 1000R and the South Racing Can-Am Team has entered a quartet of Maverick Rs for Dutchman Mitchel van den Brinck, Saudi Arabia’s Maha Al-Hamali. Argentina’s Diego Martinez and local driver Eugenio Amos. 

Abdullah Al-Haydan (Can-Am) and Oman’s Hamed Al-Wahaibi (Can-Am) round off the Challenger field in the FIA World Baja Cup with the latter teaming up with Emirati Khaled Al-Kendi in place of his usual Austrian navigator Ilka Minor. 

Saudi Arabian driver Majed Al-Thunayyan is the runaway leader of the Stock category but is absent from the Italian event. That leaves the door open for Portugal’s Fernando Barreiros (Isuzu) to close the gap on the Nissan driver in the championship. 

Poland’s Wajzer and Gorecki look to extend FIA European Baja Cup leads

The points structure of the FIA European Baja Cup gives drivers in each of the Ultimate, Challenger, SSV and Stock categories a fighting chance of lifting the title. 

After three rounds of the series in western Spain, Turkey and northern Greece, Poland’s Bartholmiej Wajzer has moved into a 64-point lead with his navigator Ernest Gorecki. The Pole is also the runaway leader of the Master Driver and Stock class for series-production cross-country machines in his Toyota Land Cruiser KDJ 155.

The tussle for second place in the Drivers’ Championship is much closer with just three points separating Poland’s Ultimate class-leading Magdalena Zając (Toyota), Challenger front-runner Miguel Angel Valero (VN Competition T34) and SSV leader and Baja Troia Turkey winner Yağiz Birinci (Can-Am).

Spaniard Valero leads the Challenger section by 38 points from Portugal’s Tiago Reis but the Taurus T3 Max driver and winner of the recent Baja Greece has also made the trip to northern Italy along with Hungarian Lorinc Meszaros in his G Rally Team OT3. 

Birinci leads his closest SSV rival Murat Kapanoğlu (Can-AM) by 41 points, while third-placed Afonso Oliveira is also present in his Santag Racing Polaris RZR Pro R. 

Hungary’s Balasz Molnar and Great Britain’s Sean Haran complete the SSV line-up competing for FIA European Baja Cup points. 

The X-Raid Team has entered a solitary Mini JCW 3.0i for Denis Krotov and Konstantin Zhiltsov and the crew are also registered for the FIA European Baja Cup. In addition to trying to win the Ultimate class, Krotov will be eyeing outright victory. 

Poland’s Wlodzimierz Grajek and Gurtam Toyota Gazoo Racing Baltics’s Benediktas Vanagas are also chasing Ultimate and FIA European Baja Cup points in their Toyotas, alongside Zając in her Proxcars TME Rally Team Toyota.

The event is being organised by the ASD Fuoristrada Club 4x4 Pordenone in conjunction with ACI Pordenone and ASD Motori dello Stella. 

In a compact route of 772.57km, competitors will tackle a total of 430.23km against the clock. 

Action gets underway with a Prologue stage of 11.32km between Cordenons and Fiera from 09.30hrs on Friday morning (July 4th). 

That will determine the running order for the first of two passes through the Rivignano stage of 51.13km between Castions and Muzzana, starting at 14.30hrs. The second pass gets underway at 17.30hrs.

Action concludes with four short stages on Saturday. Tagliamento 1 runs for 68.86km between Cordenons and San Paolo from 08.00hrs and precedes the first pass through the Dignano stage of 36.659km between Madrisio and Fiera. The two specials are repeated in the afternoon with Tagliamento 2 scheduled to get underway at 12.30hrs.

Italian Baja – entry list:

200. Juan-Cruz Yacopini (ARG)/Dani Oliveras (ESP)                                     Toyota Hilux*

201. Denis Krotov (KGZ)/Konstantin Zhiltsov (ISR)                                       Mini JCW Rally 3.0i+

202. Miroslav Zapletal (CZE)/Marek Sykora (SVK)                                        Ford F-150 Evo*

203. Francisco Battero (POR)/Carlos Silva (POR)                                          Toyota Hilux*

204. Wlodzimierz Grajek (POL)/Michal Goleniewski (POL)                       Toyota Hilux+

205. Mark Mustermann (AUT)/Michael Zajc (AUT)                                     Toyota Hilux

206. Luis Recuenco (ESP)/Daniel Camara (ESP)                                             Toyota Hilux

207. Martin Kaczmarski (POL)/Armand Monleón (ESP)                              Toyota Hilux

208. Benediktas Vanagas (LTU)/Aisvydas Paliukenas (LTU)                      Toyota Hilux+

209. Magdalena Zając (POL)/Błażek Czekan (POL)                                       Toyota Hilux+           

210. Andre Schiumarini (ITA)/Daniel Coffaro (ITA)                                                         Century CR6

211. Sam Heyvaert (BEL)/Dave Berghmans (BEL)                                         Red-Lined VK56                           

300. Khalid Al-Jafla (UAE)/Andrei Rudnitskiy (LTU)                                      Taurus T3 Max*

301. Miguel Angel Valero (ESP)/Carlos Moreno (ESP)                                VN Competition T34+

302. Tiago Reis (POR)/Paulo Fiuza (POR)                                                         Taurus T3 Max+

303. Lorinc Meszaros (HUN)/Albert Horn (HUN)                                          G Rally Team OT3+

304. Gianpaolo Bedin (ITA)/Sara Torielli (ITA)                                               Raitec RT3B

305. Miklos Trebitsch (HUN)/Sandor Trebitsch (HUN)                               Bedu Pro X3

400. Paul Severn (GBR)/Max Delfino (FRA)                                                    Polaris RXR Pro R Sport*

401. Amerigo Ventura (ITA)/Erika Mingozzi (ITA)                                        Yamaha YXZ 1000R*

402. Mitchel Van Den Brinck (NED)/Bart van Heun (NED)                        Can-Am Maverick R*

403. Maha Al-Hamali (KSA)/Michael Metge (FRA)                                       Can-Am Maverick R*

404. Hamed Al-Wahaibi (OMA)/Khaled Al-Kendi (UAE)                             Can-Am Maverick R*

405. Abdullah Al-Haydan (KSA)/Bader Al-Ajmi (KUW)                                Can-Am Maverick R*

406. Diego Martinez (ARG)/Bernardo Graue (ARG)                                     Can-Am Maverick R*

407. Eugenio Amos (ITA)/Paolo Ceci (ITA)                                                      Can-Am Maverick R*

408. Yağiz Birinci (TUR)/Evangelos Sotirchos (GRE)                                     Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR+            

409. Murat Kapanoğlu (MKD)/Alexsandar Trendafílov (MKD)                    Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR+

410. Afonso Oliveira (POR)/Fabio Belo (POR)                                                Polaris RXR Pro R+   

411. Balasz Molnar (HUN)/Gabriella Molnar (HUN)                                    Can-Am Maverick R+

412. Vic Flip (AUT)/Gerhard Schmiedberger (AUT)                                      Can-Am Maverick R

413. Sean Haran (GBR)/Martin Hales (GBR)                                                   Polaris RXR Pro R+   

414. Rebecca Busi (ITA)/Sergio Lafuente (URU)                                            Can-Am Maverick R

500. Fernando Barreiros (POR)/Jose Sa Pies (POR)                                      Isuzu D-Max*

501. Barthomiej Wajzer (POL)/Ernest Górecki (POL)                                   Toyota Land Cruiser KDJ 155+                   

*denotes registered for FIA World Baja Cup

+denotes registered for FIA European Baja Cup

Timetable of events

Thursday, July 3

Administration checks                                                        08.00-19.00hrs, Fiera - Pordenone

Scrutineering checks                                                           09.00-20.00hrs, Fiera, Pavilion 5 - Pordenone

Pre-event press conference                                               15.00hrs - Media Centre

Shakedown                                                                           17.00-20.00hrs – San Martino al Tagliamento

Friday, July 4

Prologue – Guilia Maroni, 11.32km                                 09.30hrs - first car

Stage 1 – Rivignano, 51.13km                                           14.30hrs – first car 

Stage 2 – Rivignano, 51.13km                                           17.30hrs – first car 

Saturday, July 5

Stage 3A – Tagliamento 1, 68.86km                                08.00hrs – first car

Stage 3B – Dignano, 1, 36.69km                                       09.30hrs – first car approx.

Stage 4A – Tagliamento 1, 68.86km                                12.30hrs – first car

Stage 4B – Dignano, 1, 36.69km                                       14.00hrs – first car approx.

Podium ceremony                                                               22.00hrs – Parterra, Pavilion 5 

Post-event press conference                                             22.30hrs - Media Centre