WHAT IS A BAJA?

A Baja is a kind of rally-raid. The main difference of Bajas to traditional marathons and rally-raids lies in their distance. Bajas are generally shorter and are run over a more determined route. The tracks are given in road books more precisely and are often closed for public transport as strictly as in rallies. So, in few words, baja is a sprint rally-raid, more fans-friendly and hence more spectacular.

A competition with the Spanish name Baja (its name origins from a cognominal region in the South part of California - according to one of the versions, it was there where a short rally-raid was held for the first time) is run over 1 to 3 days. As it's the shortest of rally-raids, the length of a route is not more than 1200 kilometres.

The FIA International Cup for Cross-Country Bajas - is a rally-raid series of the world level. It's held in different regions of Earth: in Saudi Arabia, Italy, Spain, Hungary, Great Britain, Portugal, and since 2009 - Russia. The participants of the FIA Cup are the world-famous raid drivers, such as Luc Alphand, Nani Roma, Nasser Al Attiyah, Stephan Peteransel, and Hiroshi Matsuoka. It's pleasant to mention that there's also a Russian driver in the list - the FIA Cup 2007 & 2009 winner Boris Gadasin.