Ex Mercedes ‘Lynchpin’ Unlikely to Join Red Bull F1 Claims Horner

Ex Mercedes ‘Lynchpin’ Unlikely to Join Red Bull F1 Claims Horner

Red Bull will be looking to push Mercedes for the Constructor’s Championship in 2021.  They are looking to bring in new personnel for their engine division. However, team boss Christian Horner has denied ex-Mercedes engine guru Andy Cowell will join the team.  The Austrian team has made changes in their driver lineup by bringing in…

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‘Intense’ Haas F1 Boss Steiner ‘Very Direct’ Admits Mick Schumacher

‘Intense’ Haas F1 Boss Steiner ‘Very Direct’ Admits Mick Schumacher

The F2 world champion and son of Michael Schumacher, Mick Schumacher, is heading to the Formula One grid. The young German driver will be driving for Haas F1 team alongside Russian driver, Nikita Mazepin. The 21-year-old has some heavyweights on his shoulder as he brings the Schumacher name back to the grid in 2021. He…

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Lando Norris Details the Most Obvious Changes After McLaren’s Switch to Mercedes Power

Lando Norris Details the Most Obvious Changes After McLaren’s Switch to Mercedes Power

Mclaren driver, Lando Norris, has given his thoughts on the MCL35M as he drove around the track at Silverstone. As their new car will be powered by the dominant Mercedes engine for the upcoming 2021 Formula One season. The Woking-Based team went for a film day at the Silverstone track to test the new car…

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McLaren Deny Number 1 Status for Daniel Ricciardo: “Not a Part of Contract Negotiations”

McLaren Deny Number 1 Status for Daniel Ricciardo: “Not a Part of Contract Negotiations”

McLaren enters this season with not just a new engine, switching to Mercedes engines for the upcoming 2021 season. They’ve also changed their driver lineup, with Australian Daniel Ricciardo also joining the team. Team principal Andreas Seidl thinks there won’t be a clear number one between Ricciardo and Lando Norris. The British team has gone…

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“Definitely a Goosebump Moment” – Mick Schumacher Names His Greatest F1 Moment

“Definitely a Goosebump Moment” – Mick Schumacher Names His Greatest F1 Moment

Mick Schumacher will make his debut for the Haas outfit at the season opener in March. In a recent interview, the German talked about his new team, his aspirations, and his favorite Formula 1 moment. The son of seven-times world champion, Michael Schumacher has a huge legacy to live up to. He has stated that…

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Cross-Country – Duel in the Dunes for the World Cup contenders

Cross-Country – Duel in the Dunes for the World Cup contenders

Sport news

The FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Bajas now embarks on a tour of the Middle East with the Dubai International Baja marking the first of three events based in the region. In stark contrast to the sub-zero temperatures on the opening round, warm conditions await the crews as they head to the Al Qudra desert for an immense test in the spectacular dunes.

This year, the event moves to the new Dubai Innovation Centre located at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest single-site solar energy project in the world. And, as such, the electrical power to run Rally HQ and the Service Park will all be generated from sustainable solar power, a first for an FIA World Cup cross-country event.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Dubai International Baja was cancelled in 2020 so the form books look back to 2019, when Jakub Przygonski notched up his second consecutive victory on the event. Familiar names top the provisional entry list and Khalid Al Qassimi will be flying the flag for the UAE. The Emirati has won in Dubai three times, each occasion being when the event ran as the Dubai International Rally, the UAE’s first major motor sport event with a 37-year history. The Baja, the natural successor to the rally, was launched in 2017 and since then victory has eluded the Peugeot 3008 DKR driver, who will be partnered by Germany’s Dirk von Zitzewitz this year.

An intriguing battle is sure to play out with another of the top Arab drivers, Yazeed Al-Rajhi. The Saudi Arabian, and navigator Michael Orr, will be aiming for a maiden victory in Dubai in their Toyota Hilux Overdrive. Denis Krotov and Konstantin Zhiltsov top the entries in an X-raid MINI John Cooper Works Rally and are another crew eyeing a good result after a disappointing outing on the opening round.

Dutchman Erik Van Loon, partnered by Sébastien Delaunay from France, are Overdrive team-mates to Al-Rajhi in a second Hilux, and Yasir Seaidan/Aleksei Kuzmich will be seeking another podium placing, having finished third in 2018. Regular contenders Miroslav Zapletal and Marek Sykora will be back in action in their F150 Evo, hoping to better their sixth-place finish in 2019.

The T3 category is headed by Conrad Rautenbach and Wouter Rosegaar, the pair having entered in a PH-Sport run Zephyr, and there are six entrants in T4. Claude Fournier, who won the category on the opening round, heads the pack and is back in action in his Can Am Maverick. Saudi Arabian driver Saleh Alsaif finished second in the 2020 FIA World Cup T3 Drivers classification and will be in similar machinery. Spanish motorcycle star, Laia Sanz – a 13-time Trials World Champion and five-time winner of the World Enduro Championship – has made the switch to four-wheels and she too will be competing in a Maverick.
 
RALLY DATA

Total distance   

426.68 km

Selective section distance:

387.18 km

Number of selective sections:

2

 

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL BAJA – TIMETABLE & MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES

Thursday February 18

 

Scrutineering

From 08:00 hrs

 

Friday February  19 – Leg 1

 

Start of SS1 (192.23 km)

08:01 hrs

First car arrives service

10:42 hrs

 

Saturday February 20 – Leg 2

 

Start of SS2 (194.75 km)

09:01 hrs

First car arrives final service

11:44 hrs

Podium and Prize-giving Ceremony

17:15 hrs

World Cup for Cross Country Bajas

Cross-CountryAll fia sportSEASON 2021SportCross-Country1SportWorld Cup for Cross Country BajasCross-CountryAll fia sportSEASON 2021Cross-Country01Thursday, February 18, 2021 – 12:15pmThursday, February 18, 2021 – 12:15pm