Baja Aragon 2019: Teruel hosts Baja Aragón, round three of the FIM Cross-Country Bajas World Cup

The 36th edition of Baja Aragón will be centred around the charming little Spanish town of Teruel, situated 140 km inland from Valencia, this weekend. 
The town will host 32 motorcycles, including five female riders, and 13 quads for the third round of the FIM Cross-Country Bajas World Cup. There is no Prologue at the race this year and the timetable has been shortened to two days - Friday and Saturday. Nevertheless, riders will still tackle 500 kilometres over four timed selective sections.
Michael Metge (Sherco) was the winner of the 2018 Baja Aragón and is keen to retain his title: "Of course, I will give the maximum to win the Baja,” explained the Frenchman. “This year, however, Lorenzo (Santolino), Aravind ( Prabhakar) and I ride with the Sherco team to continue the work we have achieved since the Dakar. It will be less easy than with a small bike, but more agile. In the longer specials we will maybe gain a little bit with the refuelling..."  
Dubai-based Frenchman Benjamin Melot has prepared a KTM 450. "The goal is to win the title,” explained Benjamin. “For this, I will have to earn maximum points and be in front of Jakub Piatek, who is my main opponent for the World Cup, so that I can go to Hungary with a good lead. It will not be an easy race because the leading riders, Metge, Pedrero, Santolino etc, are going to be hard to follow. I have also prepared a KTM for the Chilean, Tomas de Gavardo, who is aiming for the Junior title." 
In addition to the Sherco team, Joan Pedrero (KTM) is a regular at the Baja Aragón and will, undoubtedly, be pushing for the victory, just like Jakub Piatek (Husqvarna), Mario Patrao (KTM), Joachim Rodrigues (Hero) and Mohammed Al-Balooshi (KTM).
In the quad category, 13 will compete to be in front at the chequered flag. The only one who has already scored points in the 2019 FIM Bajas World Cup is the Russian, Aleksandr Maksimov, on a Yamaha. He will have to contend with last year’s winner - young Dani Vila (Yamaha).

FIM Cross-Country Bajas World Cup – current standings (Bikes): 
1. Benjamin Melot 45pts 
2. Jakub Piatek 26pts  
3. Aaron Mare 25pts  
4. Tomas de Gavardo 19pts 
5. Sultan Al Balooshi 18pts

FIM Cross-Country Bajas World Cup – current standings (Quads):  
1. Aleksandr Maksimov 32pts  
2. Luis Engeitado 25pts  
3. Khalifa Al-Raeesi 25pts 

FIM's official press release