鈥淭he season got off to the best possible start at the FIM Saudi International Baja. It was a perfect weekend for me, winning every stage and leading for almost every kilometre of the race. Everything clicked, and racing on terrain that the Dakar Rally passes through made it ideal preparation. It really helped me improve both my navigation and riding, and I finished with a lead of just under 35 minutes, which was a great confidence boost.”

鈥淔rom there, we headed straight to the FIM Jordan International Baja, which was my first time racing in Jordan. The event was held in the Wadi Rum desert, with some seriously cool terrain and landscapes similar to Petra. I decided early on to focus on winning, qualifying to get the best possible start position for the stages, and that plan paid off.”

鈥淚n Stage 1 I found a good flow and managed to take the stage win with a solid gap. That meant on the final day I could ride smart, manage the race, and bring it home for the overall win. It was also a really valuable experience, opening more kilometres and spending extra time reading the roadbook in proper race conditions.”

鈥淣ext up is the World Championship round in Portugal, where the aim is simple: maximise points and keep the momentum going.鈥�

鈥�The past five weeks have been non-stop, with thousands of kilometres travelled across the Middle East and a packed schedule of back-to-back races. It all began in Abu Dhabi for the opening round of the UAE Rally Championship, where the season kicked off strongly with a third overall, racing on a new bike and with my new team, Sherco UAE.”

鈥淛ust days later, we were in Qassim, Saudi Arabia for Round 2 of the Saudi Championship. The pace was strong from the start, and I built a solid lead in Stage 1, going three minutes faster than anyone through the early checkpoints. Unfortunately, a catastrophic mechanical issue ended the race early with a blown gearbox.”

鈥淔rom there, we moved straight to Qatar for the Qatar International Baja. After an engine change in the pits, things were looking positive. I held second overall through the first two stages with 250km left to race. On the final stage, I was on for a stage win, but after catching the lead rider, a GPS failure caused the bike to pick up an incorrect waypoint too early. The resulting penalty dropped me to 7th overall.”

鈥淭he following week, we were back in Qatar for the penultimate round of the Qatar Off Road Championship, where I delivered a comfortable win and took over the championship lead.”

鈥淔inally, this weekend we wrapped up the run at the Dubai International Baja. Day 1 could not have gone better. I opened a five-minute lead at home in the dunes, enjoying every moment. Day 2 meant the challenge of opening the stage, and I gave it absolutely everything, reaching the finish first. Unfortunately, it was not quite enough, missing out on the overall win by just 35 seconds. So close this year, just out of reach.鈥�

Solid Prologue Sets the Stage

鈥淎lex kicked off the rally with a confident run in the聽prologue, finishing just聽outside the top 10 鈥� an ideal starting position for the first full stage. With momentum on his side and a perfect spot to chase down the leading pack, he was ready to battle it out with the factory riders.鈥�

Stage 1: Speed Meets Setback

鈥淭he opening stage started on a high, with Alex quickly聽catching the rider ahead聽and mixing it up with the sport鈥檚 elite. However, disaster struck when an聽electrical issue聽caused his bike to shut off, costing him over聽35 minutes聽to resolve. Though he pushed hard to recover, the damage to his overall time was done.鈥�

Stage 2: More Misfortune

鈥淒etermined to bounce back, Alex attacked聽Stage 2聽with his usual intensity. Once again, he was off to a strong start 鈥� until a聽heavy impact damaged the chassis听补苍诲听snapped the main axle. Forced to聽limp to the refuel point聽and take the tarmac back to the pits, it was another gut-wrenching setback.鈥�

Stage 3: The Final Blow

鈥淲ith the bike repaired overnight, Stage 3 brought both hope and risk. Alex pushed hard, clocking聽top-10 times聽through the early checkpoints. But the lingering damage to the chassis caught up with him 鈥� another聽hard impact snapped the axle again, ending his rally with a聽DNF.

鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 the result Alex had hoped for, but his pace and determination were clear. With eyes already set on the next race, he’ll be back 鈥撀爏tronger and hungrier than ever.

鈥淥nto the next鈥︹��

鈥淎lex McInnes came close to a clean sweep at the opening round of the FIM Bajas World Cup and Saudi Rally Championship, missing out on the prologue win by just four seconds before delivering a dominant performance in the main stages to take the overall victory.鈥�

Strong Start in Slippery Prologue

鈥淭he rally began with a short but technical qualifying stage, where Alex finished second. The terrain was slick, making it easy to make mistakes, and while disappointed not to take the top spot, he remained focused on the bigger challenge ahead.鈥�

Stage 1: A Statement Win

鈥淥n the first full day of racing, Alex found his rhythm and dominated the stage, winning by a massive 10-minute margin. The fast, open terrain played to his strengths, similar to the conditions he trains in back home in Dubai. This result firmly put him in control of the overall standings.鈥�

Stage 2: Navigating to Victory

鈥淒espite the challenge of opening the road 鈥� meaning every competitor behind him could follow his lines 鈥� Alex still managed to extend his lead, winning the stage by another six minutes. Navigating flawlessly and maintaining a relentless pace, he crossed the finish line as the undisputed overall winner.

鈥淭his victory marks an incredible start to the season, setting the tone for what promises to be a thrilling year of racing at the highest level.鈥�

A Promising Start

The rally opened with a 10-kilometre prologue stage, where Alex鈥檚 smooth riding earned him 5th place, allowing a strong starting position for the first full day of racing. While unfamiliar with the rocky terrain, Alex was eager to take on the challenge and push himself in the demanding conditions.

Stage 1: Navigational Struggles

The first stage began well, with Alex finding his rhythm after a few kilometres. However, trouble arose when the organisation鈥檚 GPS device fell off his bike, leaving him unsure of his waypoints. The issue was resolved at the mid-stage refuel, and Alex rallied to finish the stage feeling good about his performance.

Back at the bivouac, though, he was disheartened to find himself relegated to 48th overall due to a one-hour, fifteen-minute penalty for an apparent road section infraction. Knowing this couldn鈥檛 be correct, Alex appealed but was forced to start the second stage from the back of the pack before receiving a resolution.

Stage 2: Climbing Back

Starting deep in the field meant battling through dust and slower riders in rocky and sandy conditions. By the time Alex reached the refuel point, his tire was completely worn, making the final section through the sand dunes even tougher. Still, he pressed on, passing multiple riders and finishing the stage strong.

Upon returning to the pits, he was relieved to learn that the penalties had been removed, elevating him to 3rd overall in the standings, with 2nd on the stage and 1st in the junior category.

Back-to-Back Racing

After completing the event鈥檚 formalities, including a podium ceremony, Alex packed up and drove overnight back to the UAE to compete in the Abu Dhabi Rally Championship the next morning. Running on just 30 minutes of sleep, he gave it his all on his Husqvarna FC 450 motocross bike equipped with 91传媒, finishing just 20 seconds off the podium while earning valuable championship points.

鈥淲ell, that鈥檚 the end of a successful year: Round 6 of the Fastest40 MX Championship, combined with 2 Stroke Festival at Sellindge MX.

鈥淪ean came away with 6^th overall after the two days鈥� racing, securing 2^nd overall in the championship!

鈥淪ean Frayne rode four solid races over the weekend.鈥�

Saturday

Qualified: 6th

Race 1: 6th

Race 2: 3rd

Sunday

Race 3: 5th

Race 4: 5th

鈥淢assive shoutout to all our sponsors 鈥� you have been a massive help with supporting us and helping us fund the championship, thank you!”

鈥淭ough day at Round 5 of the Fastest40 MX championship at Hawkstone Park MX.

鈥淪ean Frayne rode hard all day, with a couple of crashes and some average starts brings him home in 15th on the day.

鈥淥ne round to go in two weeks鈥� time. We go again and round this championship up. We鈥檙e currently sitting 3rd with a 50-point gap to the top spot.

鈥淏ig thanks to everyone that come to support and all the sponsors made it possible this year.鈥�

Photo credit:

鈥淭his year has seen me only compete in the National Championships with the Bridgestone British Masters and the Nora British Cup 鈥� my main focus after the Nora Pro Championship was cancelled after one round.

鈥淭he third round of the Bridgestone British Masters took place at Hawkstone Park. As always, the track proved to be one of the toughest in the UK, and attracted full gates across all the groups which is great to see.

鈥淚 qualified 22nd, but the 10 places in front of me were covered by less than five seconds and I felt that I could improve in the race. My focus was on trying to minimise mistakes as this track can really catch you out but my main problem over the weekend was trying to get out of the gate well on the concrete start.

鈥淩ace 1 saw probably the best start of the weekend, but then a rider went down in front of me which cost me few places, I worked my way through eventually finishing 20th.

鈥淩ace 2 – didn鈥檛 get a great start which gave me some work to do, not as easy in this group as so many riders are running lap times similar to one another. I kept making time up but then made mistakes undoing the good work which was frustrating, finishing 23rd.

鈥淚n Race 3, I got a start in the top 15, but lost the front end on the first lap tangling with another rider who ended up on top of me, leaving me dead last. I felt I then rode pretty well, making up 11 places to finish 25th.

鈥淩ace 4 – worst start of the weekend, lighting up the rear tyre on the concrete start. My riding got stronger as the race went on, finishing 20th, but closing quickly on the four in front of me. I just needed another two or three laps as my fitness was really good and felt strong at the end of the race.

鈥淥verall, finished 22nd. Although fairly happy with this in a strong field, I felt that if I could have got a bit of better start in each race I could have finished a few places higher. That leaves me currently 15th in championship.

鈥淛une also saw the second round of the Nora British Cup, held at Culham MX following the first round at Landrake in Cornwall. I am competing in the adult Expert Class against a strong line-up, most of who are on 450s. All four races across the weekend produced a number of battles within each race, making for some close racing, apart from race 3 where I lost the front end coming out of a corner and had no chance of making the time back. I finished 11th, 11th, 11th and 10th over the weekend, for 9th overall and took home 拢15!! This has left me 6th in the championship overall and now looking forward to the final round at Marshfield in August.

鈥淢assive thanks to EBC for providing the stopping power for my FC250.鈥�

Summary:

Qualified: P2

Race 1: P3

Race 2: P1

Race 3: P2

鈥淲e had a goal to shave points off the leaders and that鈥檚 what we did. Sean rode well and never gave up, claiming P2 overall.

鈥淪ean now sits joint 2^nd in the championship standings!聽

鈥淏ig thanks to everyone who came to help and show their support, including Kay Frayne for keeping the team fed and hydrated, as well as all sponsors that make this happen and giving us their support week in week out.鈥�

笔颈肠蝉:听

鈥淲e went to sunny Gritthenham on Sunday to race with Corsham for the 3^rd round. As always, track prep was on point even with such hot weather; a well organised day taking in consideration all the youth riders who were put out first due to their GCSE exams.

鈥淭he day consisted of two laps of practice followed by three races.

“The Youth category is mixed 125s and 250s, so it鈥檚 always a bit harder to get a decent start but the boy did well.

鈥淎ll top-six riders were on 250cc, so it was lovely to watch Phillip taking the win on his Gibbs Performance KTM 125SX with our always very reliable EBC brakes on.

鈥淧hillip went P1-P4-P1, for 1^st 辞惫别谤补濒濒.鈥�

Race 1

鈥淢id-pack into the first corner, worked his way up to second chasing the leader who crashed unfortunately. Took the lead and rode steady to take the win.鈥�

Race 2

鈥淣ot the best of the starts but moved quickly into 4^th, wasted too much time trying to find a moment to pass the 3^rd so the two front runners were too far in front, and 5^th too close behind. Made the pass and moved to 3^rd but so did the rider behind him. Wrong line choices and he lost his place finishing 4^th.鈥�

Race 3

鈥淢id-pack again into the first corner, but moved into 2^nd within the first two laps, on lap 4 he got the lead and finished 1^st.鈥�