ParaBaja Step by Step will have an expanded series in 2023 to provide racing opportunities for those with reduced mobility, appearing as a separate category for such drivers at four of the next five Spanish Cross-Country Rally Championship rounds.
The programme was created in 2014 to compete at the Baja España Aragón, which is the fourth race of the 2023 CERTT calendar. The most recent Baja Aragón in 2022 saw twelve ParaBaja competitors compete in a variety of vehicles ranging from Polaris RZR and Can-Am Maverick SSVs to the Mercedes-Benz ML320 and Toyota 4Runner.
Also in 2022, ParaBaja began appearing at the CERTT’s Rally TT Villa de Zuera and Rally TT Cuenca. At the end of the year, it was nominated for the FIA President’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Award.
For 2023, the programme will support nearly the entire CERTT calendar beginning with the upcoming Baja TT Dehesa de Extremadura on 25/26 April. ParaBaja will also appear at the Baja Lorca Ciudad del Sol (27/28 May), Baja Aragón (22/23 July), and Cierzo Rally Zaragoza (2/3 September). The season began with the Rally TT Jaén Mar de Olivos in March, while organisers did not confirm if they will show up to the finale at the Rally TT Guadalajara on 29/30 September.
According to RFEDA (Real Federación Española de Automovilismo, Spain’s motoring federation) Manuel Avinyó, ParaBaja’s goal is to “eliminate barriers and promote inclusive motoring as a model of social integration, assuming a revolution at international level.”