Qatar International Baja to witnesss WRC driver Dani Sordo’s Debut

On the Qatar International Baja, which is set to take place from March 24-26, Hyundai World Rally Championship driver Dani Sordo will make his cross-country rallying debut. On a Can-Am Maverick in the T3 Lightweight Prototype class, the three-time WRC event winner will compete in the second round of the FIA World Cup for Bajas.

Nasser Racing, the firm controlled by four-time Dakar Rally champion Nasser Al-Attiyah, will prepare the vehicle. Sordo will be joined in the squad by Kris Meeke, a former WRC driver who will continue his cross-country journey alongside François Cazalet, a French navigator.

Cazalet is the 2021 FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies champion after securing the title at the side of X44 Extreme E driver Cristina Gutiérrez.

Sordo’s Baja navigator has yet to be announced.

Meeke has ridden in a T3 buggy before. Last year, he ran in the Dakar Rally in a PH Sport-built Zephyr, winning two stages but experiencing major delays due to a spare tyre catching fire and compromising his buggy’s electronics.

28 vehicles have initiated to participate in the three-day event, which begins on Thursday at the Qatar International Circuit in Losail.

Al-Attiyah is the overall leader, although fellow cross-country regulars Yazeed Al Rajhi, Yasir Seaidan, and Miroslav Zapletal are all in contention for the win.

The Baja will span a total of 474.8 miles across two legs, 283 of which will be timed, with gravel and dirt tracks serving as the principal surface in front of the participants, which is a regular feature of Baja racing.

Around 15% of the area will be covered in sand, providing a comparable difficulty to the Dakar in Saudi Arabia.

Sordo has competed in several stage rallies outside of the World Rally Championship, most notably the Intercontinental Rally Challenge (IRC) in 2012 and the European Rally Championship in 2018 and last season.