The paperwork was completed, and with the qualification stage the race itself started in the Várpalota area – the HunGarian Baja field completed a 7.69-kilometre qualifying stage, presenting the essence of the race. Obviously, everyone knew that the final victory would not be decided here, but it was of great importance for the selection of the starting position.
Jazeed Al Rajhi was the fastest, it’s the first time he is racing in Hungary, but lacking of experience at these stages didn't seem to disturb him at all.
"It's my first time racing here, but obviously I want to win. I've seen on Youtube that it's a tough race, especially in the rain, so it would be nice if it didn't rain and we could enjoy the fight. That's the most important thing,"
said Al Rajhi, who has Michael Orr dictating the roadbook. The two have been racing together in rally for eight years, but only recently started working together in Cross Country rally.
Second place went to Poland's Krzysztof Holowczyc, who has not been to our country for a long time, but we're obviously glad to have him back and it seems that his speed hasn't worn off.
World Cup leader Yasir Seaidan had to settle with third place for the time being, but it won't always be like this, as he obviously came here to win.
"It's not going to be an easy race and although everyone is hunting me I don't feel any pressure. A lot of us came here with the intention of winning, so did I, so I don't want to make any mistakes"
said Seaidan, whose co-driver Alexei Kuzmich added that Hungarian tracks were like World Rally Championship stages, but off-road. That means you have to concentrate 100 percent at every moment, otherwise you're in big trouble.
This was confirmed by Zoltán Garamvölgyi, the main organiser of the race, too, at the pre-race press conference. He said,
"The forest stages will be skipped this year, the field will only compete on the shooting range, but that will be quite challenging, as there are plenty of holes and jumps, not to mention the constant changes of pace that will make the riders work hard."
Pál Lónyai and Attila Csató were the fastest in the qualifying stage among the Hungarian competitors - a fourth place they can be really proud of.
"Fifth place was our best result so far at HunGarian Baja, and we'd like to improve on, if we can. We've done everything we can, we're well prepared and we're looking forward to the weekend,"
said Lónyai, whose experienced co-driver added:
"The secret to success at the shooting range is to stay on the road. Because if you go off even a little bit, the range will take its revenge."
The riders also took off right after the cars and they too tackled the terrain full of potholes and jumps. The fastest was Portugal's Joaquim Rodrigues, ahead of Germany's Sebastian Bühler and Slovakia's Stefan Svitko. Rodrigues has competed in the Dakar five times, finishing 11th most recently, but also finished 10th previously. So, anyone, who wants to beat him, has to get ready for a challenge, but Bühler and Svitko, who finished behind him on Friday, both aiming for victory, they'll certainly be going for it.
The evening continued with the official starting ceremony for the competitors, where the Mayor of Várpalota, Márta Talabér Campanari, said that two years ago the first World Cup race here was a great "meeting", and everyone felt that the race had come home. That's why it was so sad to have a year off due to the pandemic, but they were very happy to have the field back.
HUNGARIAN BAJA, World Cup, VÁRPALOTA
Overall classification after qualifying stage.
Cars:
1. Yazeed Al Rajhi, Michael Orr (Saudi Arabian, British, Toyota Hilux) 5:16.1,
2. Holowczyc, Kurzeja (Polish, Mini John Cooper Works) +10.1 sec.,
3. Seaidan, Kuzmich (Saud Arabian, Russian, Mini John Cooper Works) +12.6 sec h.,
4. Lónyai, Csató (Hungarian, LPR Porsche Macan) +15.3 sec.
Bikes:
1. Joaquim Rodrigues (Portuguese, HERO 450) 5:05.1,
2. Bühler (German, HERO 450) +7.4 sec.,
3. Svitko (Slovakian, KTM 450) +30.1 sec.,
