Baja Greece drivers prefer FIA World, European Baja Cups joint race

Greece is probably not going to be on the World Rally-Raid Championship anytime soon, but that’s not going to stop Baja Greece organisers from exploring double duty on both the FIA World Baja Cup and the European Baja Cup calendars.

Following the inaugural Baja Greece in May, the second round of the World Cup, organisers conducted a survey among competitors to poll their opinions on the race, such as their satisfaction with the event’s quality and input for future editions. The results were released five months later on Tuesday.

71.4 percent of poll takers found the race was “above standard” compared to other rounds on the World and European Baja Cups, while the remaining 28.6% were split between thinking it “complies with standard” or is “below standard”. The former percentage also thought the Selective Sections were exemplary.

When prompted on what series they would prefer it to be on, 42.9% expressed hope that it would support both championships followed by a 28.6%-apiece tie for either. Consequently, nobody felt it should be on the W2RC or as a non-FIA event.

The World and European Cups do not have any combination races in 2024, though half of the former’s dates are also the entire schedule for the FIA Middle East Baja Cup (Saudi Baja, Qatar International Baja, Dubai International Baja, and Jordan Baja). This arrangement was previously done for the European Cup in 2021 when all five of its rounds doubled as the back half of the World Cup.

57.1% of takers put themselves down as fully certain that they would enter the 2025 Baja Greece, compared to 75% likely for 28.6% and fifty-fifty for 14.3%.

The takers were also asked for their preference on total Selective Section length, with a tie of 42.9% each between those who want it to be no more than 350 kilometres and between 450 to 550 km (14.3% were open to it being longer). The race was originally planned to have 559.92 kilometres of Selective Sections (817.36 km including liaison sections) before being slashed to 537.64 km (787.91 km toal). However, current FIA rules stipulate a Championship Baja like Greece and others on the World Cup must be at least 350 km long in SS, effectively making that side’s choice out of the question; if the distance drops below that, it would be reclassified as a Regional Cup Baja like those run on the European and Middle East Cups, which allows a minimum of 200 km.

Drivers were receptive to the Selective Sections themselves as 71.4% felt they were of “excellent” quality, followed by 14.3% apiece who felt it was “very good” or “good”. 71.4 was also the percentage of those who thought the timed legs were above standard compared to other Bajas.

Other questions concerned communication with race officials, documents and the service park, and the organisers as a whole, all of which had a majority say they were above standard. Race procedure such as administrative checks, safety, and equipment quality were mostly deemed to be on par. The entry fee (between €2,900 and €3,500 depending on driver priority ranking and when they registered) was split with 42.9% each between those who thought it was “exceptional” or “very good”.

“We thank everyone who took the time to contribute to this survey,” reads a statement from the organisation. “We assure everyone that we take your opinion seriously.

“See you all at 2025 Baja Greece.”