Cross-Country – Military stages await the cross-country contenders
Hungarian Baja – round six of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas and the second round of the FIA European Cup for Cross-Country Bajas
Yasir Seaidan and Alexey Kuzmich maintain a commanding lead in the FIA World Cup standings, the Saudi Arabian/Russian crew amassing two victories together so far this season. As such, the MINI John Cooper Works Rally crew head the provisional entry list and are gunning for World Cup glory with four rounds remaining. Fellow compatriot Yazeed Al Rajhi – who is competing in Hungary for the first time – is however chasing hard and he and British co-driver Michael Orr need another top result to close the gap and mount an assault on the title. The two Saudi Arabian drivers are split by 27.5 points as the series heads into the second half of its season.
Regular contenders Miroslav Zapletal – reigning Hungarian rally raid champion – and Marek Sykora will once again be in action in their Ford F150 Evo, the Czech/Slovak crew needing a repeat of their second place on March’s Sharqiyah International Baja to boost their points tally. Poland’s Krzysztof Hołowczyc and Lukasz Kurzeja make their second consecutive outing in the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas and will be piloting X-Raid’s MINI John Cooper Works Rally in Hungary.
Michal and Julita Małuszyński are in another MINI, and Pál Lónyai and Attila Csató fly the flag for Hungary as the lead national crew on the entry list in their LPR Porsche Macan ahead of three other T1 entries. T3 is headed by Santiago Navarro and Marc Sola in an Overdrive OT3. The Spaniard finished third on his lasting outing on home territory and needs a top result to close the gap to Dania Akeel, the Saudi Arabian driver leading the T3 standings. She has entered an RM Sport Mamba for Hungary, her first event in Europe. Mshari Al-Thefiri and Nasser Al-Kuwari head the T4 category standings by six points over Frenchman Claude Fournier, the Kuwaiti with four second position to his name. Saleh Al-Saif and Sébastien Delaunay are entered in a BRP Can-Am Maverick XRS, as are Alexandre and Pedro Ré, category winners last time out on Baja España Aragon.
RALLY DATA
| Total distance | 604.97 km |
| Selective section distance: | 454.75 km |
| Number of selective sections: | 7 |
LEADING ENTRIES
| Yasir Seaidan/Alexey Kuzmich | MINI John Cooper Works Rally |
| Yazeed Al Rajhi/Michael Orr | Toyota Hilux Overdrive |
| Miroslav Zapletal/Marek Sykora | Ford F150 Evo |
| Krzysztof Hołowczyc/Łukasz Kurzeja | MINI John Cooper Works Rally |
| Michal Małuszyński/Julita Małuszyński | MINI John Cooper Works Rally |
| Pál Lónyai/Attila Csató | LPR Porsche Macan |
| Zdenek Porizek/Pavel Vaculik | Ford F150 Evo |
| Pedro Dias da Silva/Jose Sa Pires | Ford Ranger EXR Proto |
| Wlodzimierz Grajek/Szymon Marciniuk | BMW X5 |
| Santiago Navarro/Marc Sola | Overdrive OT3 (T3) |
HUNGARIAN BAJA – TIMETABLE & MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES
| Thursday August 5 | |
| Scrutineering | From 10:00 hrs |
| Friday August 6 | |
| Shakedown | 09:00-13:00 hrs |
| Pre-event press conference | 15:15 hrs |
| Qualifying Stage (7.69 km) | 17:00 hrs |
| Selection of starting positions | 19:30 hrs |
| Ceremonial Start | 20:30 hrs |
| Saturday August 7 – Leg 1 – Section 2/3 | |
| Start of SS2 (82.39 km) | 09:30 hrs |
| Start of SS3 (57.84 km) | 10:45 hrs |
| Service/regroup | 12:10 hrs |
| Start of SS4 (82.39 km) | 13.45 hrs |
| Start of SS5 (57.84 km) | 14:50 hrs |
| First car arrives final service | 16:15 hrs |
| Sunday August 8 – Leg 2 – Section 4/5 | |
| Start of SS6 (83.30 km) | 09:00 hrs |
| Service/regroup | 10:05 hrs |
| Start of SS7 (83.30 km) | 12:15 hrs |
| First car arrives parc ferme | 13:45 hrs |
| Podium and Prize-giving Ceremony | 16:00 hrs |
| FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas (Drivers) | |
| Yasir Seaidan (SAU) | 70.5 points |
| Yazeed Al Rajhi (SAU) | 43 points |
| Erik Van Loon (NLD) | 34 points |
| Mshari Al-Thefiri (KWT) | 30 points |
| Vladimir Vasilyev (RUS) | 29 points |
| Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) | 27.5 points |
| Saleh Abdullah Alsaif (SAU) | 27.5 points |
| FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas (Co-drivers) | |
| Alexey Kuzmich (RUS) | 99.5 points |
| Michael Orr (GBR) | 43 points |
| Sébastien Delaunay (FRA) | 38 points |
| Mathieu Baumel (FRA) | 27.5 points |
| Orio Vidal Montijano (ESP) | 27.5 points |
| Nasser Al-Kuwari (QAT) | 22 points |
| FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas (T3 Drivers) | |
| Dania Saud Akeel (SAU) | 54.5 points |
| Boris Gadasin (RUS) | 29 points |
| Pierre Lachaume (FRA) | 28 points |
| Roberto Rodriguez (ESP) | 28 points |
| Ronald Basso (FRA) | 20 points |
| Michel Fadel (LBN) | 20 points |
| Anastasiya Nifontova (RUS) | 20 points |
| FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas (T4 Drivers) | |
| Mshari Al-Thefiri (KWT) | 75.5 points |
| Claude Fournier (FRA) | 69.5 points |
| Saleh Abdullah Alsaif (SAU) | 64.5 points |
| Alexandre Ré (PRT) | 27.5 points |
| Pavel Lebedev (RUS) | 27 points |
| Thomas Bell (ARE) | 16.5 points |