On their debut in a Toyota Hilux IMT Evo with Toyota Gazoo Racing and SVR Racing, the Portuguese pairing managed to finish third on the final stage and edge victory by just two seconds from Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah and his new Belgian navigator Fabian Lurquin. Overnight leader Al-Attiyah lost vital seconds in the closing part of the stage and had to settle for second place in his Dacia Sandrider on this fifth round of the 2025 FIA World and European Baja Cups.

Ferreira said: “I am super happy because we managed to beat Nasser and win the race by two seconds. It was super tight. Filipe did an amazing job and I also want to congratulate SVR, my team and Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa for the performance. I’m getting used to the car more and more. Maybe some holidays now and then our next challenge will be a round of the Portuguese Championship.”

Al-Attiyah added: “It was not easy for us. We wanted to win this race and finished second by two seconds. This was the first time at this event with our Dacia Sandrider. Now we focus our attention on the next race in Portugal (W2RC).”

Ferreira suffered a late scare when it was discovered at post-event scrutineering that the rear wheel travel on the Toyota exceeded 350mm. Varying measurements were given with three different measuring devices that showed fluctuations between zero and four millimetres. As a result of the different measurements, event Stewards decided to impose a suspended disqualification on the winning crew until the end of the season, provided that there is no further breach of a similar nature.

Spaniard Joan ‘Nani’ Roma (Ford Raptor) and Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Saood Variawa finished third and fourth overall but, like Al-Attiyah, were not registered for FIA points.

Overdrive Racing’s Juan Cruz Yacopini was fifth overall in his Overdrive Racing Toyota Hilux and earned maximum points towards the Ultimate class and the Drivers’ Championship in the FIA World Baja Cup. The Argentine now leads the overall series from Czech racer Miroslav Zapletal with his partner Dani Oliveras extending his advantage in the Navigators’ Championship.

Portugal’s Francisco Barreto and Carlos Silva moved up to third in the Ultimate category standings after rounding off the top 10 and picking up points for finishing second of the FIA World Baja Cup crews in their Toyota Hilux.

Mitchel Van Den Brink and Bart van Heun delivered another strong performance in their South Racing Can-Am Maverick R.  The Dutch crew finished 25th, third of the registered FIA World Baja Cup crews and claimed maximum points in the SSV section to move ahead of the absent Paul Severn and Max Delfino in the points’ standings. Team-mates Eugenio Amos and Paulo Ceci retired on the final stage.

It was a disappointing event for Miroslav Zapletal in his Ford F-150 Evo. The Czech finished the event down in 38th position but still picked up points for fourth in the FIA World Baja Cup and was third in the Ultimate section with his navigator Marek Sykora. That enabled the veteran to increase his lead in the Master class.

Oman’s Hamed Al-Wahaibi was classified in 39th place with Austrian navigator Ilka Minor and picked up points for second place in SSV and fifth in the FIA World Baja Cup after two punctures and time losses in the dust. The result enabled the Omani to stay in the title hunt with two of his six designated events still to go.

Diego Martinez (Can-Am) and Amerigo Ventura (Yamaha) were third and fourth of the SSV drivers registered for the FIA World Baja Cup. Ventura suffered ongoing gearbox problems that cost him valuable time.

Despite finishing well down the general classification in 62nd, UAE-based Sergei Remennik picked up maximum Challenger points towards the FIA World Baja Cup with navigator Aleksei Ignatov. That marked the third maximum points haul of the season for the Taurus driver and enabled him to close the gap on leader Khalid Al-Jafla.

Fernando Barreiros and Jose Sá Pires won the Stock section for series production cross-country vehicles in an Isuzu D-Max and moved into a duel with the absent Saudi driver Majed Al-Thunayyan for title honours.

The event was based out of the town of Teruel in the Aragón province of Spain and the final 93-car start list included 24 entered in the Ultimate category, 39 running in Challenger, 28 entered in the SSV section and two in the Stock class for series-production cross-country vehicles. Of those, 11 were registered in the FIA World Baja Cup and 10 opted for the FIA European Baja Cup.

After finishing fourth on the Prologue stage behind Ferreira, Eryk Goczal and Martin Kaczmarski, Roma guided his M-Sport Ford Rally Team Raptor to the fastest time on the opening 132.11 special stage. The Spaniard carved out a slender lead of 8.8 seconds over Al-Attiyah with Ferreira in third.

Neither Overdrive Racing’s Martin Kaczmarski nor Challenger front-runner Al-Jafla were able to complete the stage and retired. It was only a minor blow for Al-Jafla, who led the Challenger section, was second in the Master class and third in the overall Drivers’ Championship before the start but had not registered for FIA World Baja Cup points in Spain.

First blood in the Challenger and SSV categories went to Rui Carneiro (OT3) and Alexandre Pinto (Polaris).

Ferreira beat Al-Attiyah by just half a second on the second stage of 199.48km on Saturday afternoon but the Dacia factory driver retained a lead of 13.1 seconds to take into the overnight halt. Roma slipped to third, ahead of Yacopini, Variawa and Marek Goczal in a trio of Toyotas.

Charles Munster (Taurus) won the stage in Challenger but Fidel Castillo (Taurus) led the category at the night halt. Gonçalo Guerreiro (Polaris) claimed the fastest time in the SSVs and moved ahead of Pinto in the overall standings.

After suffering serious brake issues on the opening stage, former FIA Baja champion Fernando Alvarez was forced out of the second special with electrical issues, as were FIA World Baja Cup Challenger category front-runners Lőrinc Mészáros and Tiago Reis. Eryk Goczal also retired his Energylandia Rally Team Toyota with a sheared suspension bolt.

A third stage of 232.11km rounded off the competitive action before the finish in Teruel. Luís Cidade (Can-Am) and Rui Carneiro (OT3) did not start the last day.

A resurgent Eryk Goczal claimed the fastest time on the last stage from event winner Ferreira. Charles Munster (Taurus) and Guerriero earned the overall laurels in the Challenger and SSV categories with the stage wins falling to Pau Navarro (Taurus) and Pinto.

Triumphant Ferreira and Palmeiro prevail in the FIA European Baja Cup

Outright victory for Ferreira and Palmeiro catapulted the Portuguese duo into contention for the Ultimate category prize in the FIA European Baja Cup this season and enabled them to close the gap on leader Magdalena Zając and her navigator Czekan Błażej, who finished down in fourth of the Ultimate crews.

It was also a strong event for the Toyota Gazoo Racing Baltics crew of Benediktas Vanagas and Aisvydas Paliukenas. The Lithuanians finished eighth overall and second in the FIA European Baja Cup and Ultimate class standings.

Vanagas said: “P8, but to be in the top 10 on this race was a good thing. I am a fan of this race. I think it is very good in terms of tracks and competition. The pace we had was good. Now we look ahead to the event in Hungary.”

Denis Krotov and Konstantin Zhiltsov registered for FIA European Baja Cupo points in their X-Raid Mini JCW 3.0i and finished 21st overall and third in the points’ standings for the overall championship and the Ultimate category.

In the absence of several of their SSV rivals, Briton Sean Haran and his navigator Martin Hales guided their Polaris RXR Pro R Sport to 32nd overall and picked up maximum points in the category to move ever closer to the absent front-runner Yağiz Birinci in the Drivers’ Championship. Afonso Oliveira and Fabio Belo were second in the SSVs in their Polaris and that enabled Oliveira to move ahead of Birinci in the SSV title race.

Oliveira said: “We got the first place in the European Championship and in the Juniors. It was hard but fun. Now we will continue the fight for the title in Hungary.”

The Spanish duo of Miguel Angel Valero and Carlos Ruiz picked up maximum Challenger class points towards the FIA European Baja Cup in their VN Competición T34 and extended their lead over Lőrinc Mészáros and Tiago Reis in the standings. Valero also stayed in contention for Master Driver honours.

The Polish crew of Barthomiej Wajzer and Ernest Górecki continued to plod on towards FIA European Baja Cup honours. They clinched the Stock category title in a Toyota Land Cruiser KDJ 155 with a fifth successive maximum points haul this year and remain in contention for overall honours. Wajzer also prevails in the Master class.

Górecki said: “We did our job. We achieved the maximum amount of points we could get. Bartek did great. There were no problems. It was a nice, difficult rally, fast, slow and big stones. It was very easy to finish off the track or with a broken wheel.”

The 2025 FIA European Baja Cup continues with the 22nd Hungarian Baja on August 15th-17th, while the FIA World Baja Cup resumes with the BP Ultimate Baja Portalegre 500 in Portugal on October 23rd-25th. 

2025 Baja Spain Aragón – final result:

1. João Ferreira (POR)/Filipe Palmeiro (POR) Toyota Hilux IMT Evo                                                                       5hr 50min 39.6sec+

2. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Fabian Lurquin (BEL) Dacia Sandrider                                              5hr 50min 41.6sec

3. Joan ‘Nani’ Roma (ESP)/Alex Haro (ESP) Ford Raptor                                                                        5hr 52min 21.6sec

4. Saood Variawa (RSA)/François Cazalet (FRA) Toyota Hilux IMT Evo                                                 5hr 57min 04.8sec

5. Juan Cruz Yacopini (ARG)/Daniel Oliveras (ESP) Toyota Hilux Overdrive                                          5hr 59min 12.2sec*

6. Martin Prokop (CZE)/Viktor Chytka (CZE) Ford Raptor T1+                                                               6hr 03min 49.4sec

7. Marek Goczal (POL)/Maciej Marton (POL) Toyota Hilux IMT Evo                                                                       6hr 03min 55.6sec

8. Benediktas Vanagas (LTU)/Aisvydas Paliukenas (LTU) Toyota Hilux                                                 6hr 05min 37.0sec+

9. Lionel Baud (FRA)/Lucie Baud (FRA) Mini JCW Rally 3.0d                                                                  6hr 05min 55.4sec

10. Francisco Barreto (POR)/Carlos Silva (POR) Toyota Hilux                                                                6hr 06min 42.7sec*

11. Michal Goczal (POL)/Daniel Dymurski (POL) Toyota Hilux IMT Evo                                                6hr 07min 49.6sec

12. Felix Macias (ESP)/José-Luis Conde (ESP) Toyota Hilux Overdrive                                                  6hr 10min 02.9sec

13. Gonçalo Guerreiro (POR)/Joel Lutas (POR) Polaris RXR Pro R Sport                                               6hr 10min 14.9sec

14. Charles Munster (LUX)/Loris Pascaud (FRA) Taurus T3 Max                                                           6hr 11min 17.9sec

15. Alexandro Pinto (POR)/Bernardo Oliveira (POR) Polaris RXR Pro R Sport                                       6hr 11min 32.4sec

16. Pau Navarro (ESP)/Jan Rosa (ESP) Taurus T3 Max                                                                           6hr 13min 58.5sec

17. Fidel Castillo (ESP)/Candido Carrera (ESP) Taurus T3 Max                                                              6hr 14min 08.2sec

18. Puck Klaassen (RSA)/Augusto Sanz (ARG) G-ECKO Challenger One                                                6hr 15min 33.8sec

19. Jourdan Serderidis (BEL)/Fréderic Miclotte (BEL) Ford Raptor                                                       6hr 16min 09.5sec

20. Santiago Carnicer (ESP)/Sergio Peinado (ESP) Toyota Hilux Overdrive                                           6hr 16min 43.9sec

21. Denis Krotov (KGZ)/Konstantin Zhiltsov (ISR) Mini JCW Rally 3.0i                                                  6hr 17min 02.9sec+

22. João Monteiro (POR)/Nuno Morais (POR) Can-Am Maverick R                                                      6hr 17min 22.0sec

23. Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP)/Pablo Moreno (ESP) Taurus T3 Max                                                         6hr 17min 51.9sec

24. Pim Klaassen (NED)/Wade Harris (RSA) Taurus T3 Max                                                                  6hr 18min 28.2sec

25. Mitchel Van Den Brink (NED)/Bart van Heun (NED) Can-Am Maverick R                                       6hr 19min 34.0sec*

26. Laia Sanz (ESP)/Luka Larrosa (ESP) Taurus T3 Max                                                                          6hr 19min 37.2sec

27. Charles Tuthill (GBR)/Alex Sabater (ESP) Oryx T3 Evo2                                                                   6hr 21min 19.4sec

28. Romuald Lasne (FRA)/Delphine Delfino (FRA) Can-Am Maverick X3                                              6hr 22min 05.1sec

29. Daniel Alonso (ESP)/Alejandro Lopez (ESP) Ford Ranger                                                                 6hr 22min 43.6sec

30. Andre Lotterer (MON)/Alexandre Giroud (FRA) Taurus T3 Max                                                                       6hr 23min 15.3sec

31. Yannick Panagiotis (FRA)/Valérie Panagiotis (FRA) Apache APH-03                                               6hr 24min 05.8sec

32. Sean Haran (GBR)/Martin Hales (GBR) Polaris RXR Pro R Sport                                                      6hr 24min 10.1sec+

33. Ruben Rodrigues (POR)/Rui Paulo (POR) Can-Am Maverick R                                                        6hr 24min 23.9sec

34. Pierre-Antoine Rampon (FRA)/Loic Minaudier (FRA) Can-Am Maverick R                                     6hr 24min 28.1sec

35. Paul Spierings (NED)/Dick van Culenborg (NED) Taurus T3 Max                                                                       6hr 25min 17.5sec

36. Wilson Galo (POR)/Carlos Paulino (POR) Polaris RXR Pro R Sport                                                   6hr 25min 57.9sec

37. Yasir Seaidan (SAU)/Omar Al-Lahim (SAU) MMP T3 Rally-Raid                                                      6hr 28min 27.2sec

38. Miroslav Zapletal (CZE)/Marek Sykora (SVK) Ford F-150 Evo                                                          6hr 28min 35.1sec*

39. Hamed Al-Wahaibi (OMA)/Ilka Minor (AUT) Can-Am Maverick R                                                  6hr 29min 02.9sec*

40. Paulo Rodrigues (POR)/João Miranda (POR) Can-Am Maverick X3                                                 6hr 29min 52.3sec

41. Nicolas Martinez (FRA)/Loriane Forgues (FRA) G Rally Team OT3                                                  6hr 29min 58.2sec

42. Eduardo Pons (ESP)/Jaume Betriu (ESP) Taurus T3 Max                                                                 6hr 30min 31.0sec

43. Michael Metge (FRA)/Xavier Flick (FRA) Can-Am Maverick X3 XRS Turbo RR                                 6hr 30min 49.4sec

44. Pedro Gonçalves (POR)/Hugo Magalhães (POR) Taurus T3 Max                                                                       6hr 31min 35.7sec

45. Federico Mogni (ESP)/David Nieto (ESP) Polaris RXR Pro R Sport                                                   6hr 36min 41.4sec

46. Alex Toril (ESP)/Daniel Jordão (POR) JMP JMPT T3                                                                         6hr 37min 00.8sec

47. Henk Klaassen (NED)/Mark Laan (NED) Taurus T3 Max                                                                  6hr 37min 14.8sec

48. Juan Gasso (ESP)/Pol Ros (ESP) G Rally Team OT3                                                                          6hr 37min 19.2sec

49. Diego Martinez (ARG)/Bernardo Graue (ARG) Can-Am Maverick R                                                6hr 38min 08.8sec*

50. José Maria Nananjo (ESP)/Eduard Ferran (ESP) JMP JMPT T3                                                        6hr 39min 33.7sec

51. Rafa Muñoz (ESP)/Sergio Fernández (ESP) Can-Am Maverick X3 XRS Turbo RR                             6hr 41min 44.6sec

52. Amerigo Ventura (ITA)/Erika Mingozzi (ITA) Yamaha YXZ 1000R SS                                               6hr 45min 24.5sec*

53. Hedda Hosås (NOR)/Harry Stubbs (GBR) Can-Am Maverick X3 XRS Turbo RR                                6hr 45min 49.6sec

54. Jesus Calleja (ESP)/Eduardo Blanco (ESP) Century CR7                                                                   6hr 46min 28.0sec

55. Mónica Plaza (ESP)/Marta Plaza (ESP) Can-Am Maverick X3 XRS Turbo RR                                                     6hr 47min 00.1sec

56. Ronald Schoolderman (NED)/Mark Salomons (NED) Mitsubishi ASX                                              6hr 48min 54.3sec

57. Vincent Albira (FRA)/Maxime Albira (FRA) Can-Am Maverick X3                                                                     6hr 50min 39.9sec

58. Juan Manuel Maña (ESP)/Giovanni Di Blasi (ESP) Polaris RXR Pro R Sport                                     6hr 51min 55.5sec

59. Benjamin Favre (FRA)/Thibaud Darroux (FRA) MMP T3 Rally-Raid                                                 6hr 52min 11.7sec

60. Renato Duarte (POR)/Miguel Silva (POR) Polaris RXR Pro R Sport                                                  6hr 54min 04.3sec

61. Marco Pereira (POR)/Eurico Adão (POR) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR                                     6hr 54min 10.9sec

62. Sergei Remennik (UAE)/Aleksei Ignatov (KGZ) Taurus T3 Max                                                        7hr 02min 18.4sec*

63. Magdalena Zając (POL)/Czekan Błażej (POL) Toyota Hilux                                                              7hr 02min 21.8sec+  

64. José Cami (ESP)/Cristian Cami (ESP) Can-Am Maverick X3 XRS Turbo RR                                       7hr 04min 27.9sec

65. Afonso Oliveira (POR)/Fabio Belo (POR) Polaris RXR Pro R Sport                                                   7hr 07min 16.8sec+  

66. Herlander Araújo (POR)/Tiago Magalhães (POR) Polaris RXR Pro R Sport                                      7hr 11min 33.5sec

67. Jordi Pons (AND)/Miguel Amblas (ESP) MMP T3 Rally-Raid                                                            7hr 19min 52.6sec

68. Miguel Angel Valero (ESP)/Carlos Ruiz (ESP) VN Competición T34                                                 7hr 20min 11.3sec+

69. Gaël Queralt (ESP)/Marc Solà (ESP) Can-Am Maverick X3 XRS Turbo RR                                       7hr 21min 45.4sec

70. Agnė Telyčėnaitė (FRA)/Marion Andrieu (FRA) Can-Am Maverick X3 XRS Turbo RR                      7hr 47min 05.9sec

71. Fernando Barreiros (POR)/Jose Sá Pires (POR) Isuzu D-Max                                                           7hr 48min 05.8sec*

72. Jedidia Favre (FRA)/Antoine Lecourbe (FRA) MMP T3 Rally-Raid                                                   7hr 48min 45.3sec

73. Barthomiej Wajzer (POL)/Ernest Górecki (POL) Toyota Land Cruiser KDJ 155                                7hr 54min 58.8sec+

74. Maria Gameiro (POR)/Rosa Romero (ESP) Mini JCW Rally 3.0d                                                      8hr 25min 37.2sec

75. Emilio Fernandez (CHI)/Ion Del Cid (ESP) Taurus T3 Max                                                                9hr 04min 47.7sec

76. Eryk Goczal (POL)/Szymon Gospodarczyk (POL) Toyota Hilux IMT Evo                                           10hr 00min 29.6sec

77. Jesus Fuster (ESP)/Joan Rubi (ESP) Herrator Inzane 901                                                                 10hr 26min 41.2sec

78. Lőrinc Mészáros (HUN)/Albert Horn (HUN) G Rally Team OT3                                                       12hr 41min 37.1sec+

79. João Dias (POR)/Rui Pita (POR) Polaris RXR Pro R Sport                                                                  12hr 57min 57.0sec

*denotes registered for FIA World Baja Cup

+denotes registered for FIA European Baja Cup

Ends