Australian KTM rider Andrew Houlihan has finished runner-up in the FIM Baja World Cup Veteran’s class after an ongoing injury forced him out of the weekend’s final round in Dubai.
Houlihan missed the previous round in Portugal last month after badly injuring his knee in a training accident at Wangaratta in North-East Victoria.
He was hoping to recover in time for the weekend’s Dubai International, but further investigation revealed major damage to the titanium joint in his right knee and another operation was required, leaving him on crutches and with zero recovery time.
The season was originally to finish in Jordan in two weeks’ time, but the ongoing conflict in Israel and Gaza, saw that event cancelled last week, basically hammering the final nail into the Albury rider’s title hopes.
Houlihan maintained a slim lead in the veterans’ class heading into the Dubai event despite missing the last round, but experienced Portuguese rider Pedro Bianchi did “all he needed to do” to clinch his fourth Veterans’ title.
While the Veterans’ championship was always the target, Houlihan’s performances throughout the season had been solid enough to give him a chance of finishing in the top three of the outright championship before his knee issues.
Despite knowing he would not be competing, Houlihan made the trip to Dubai to collect his silver FIM Baja World Cup medal.
By winning both of the 170km Dubai special stages, local hero and Red Bull Yamaha rider Mohammed Al-Balooshi sealed the Dubai International Baja and the outright FIM Bajas World Cup title.
“I am not going to pretend that it was not difficult to watch this weekend’s event from the sidelines and have to settle for second in the championship,” said Houlihan.
“We took everything to the next level this year with the assault on the veterans’ championship and our results were good enough to put us in contention for a medal outright.
“Unfortunately, the last round was cancelled in Jordan, so we always knew we would need a bit of a miracle to come out of the weekend, still in front.
“[Pedro] Bianchi rode conservatively, as you would expect and did what he needed to do to clinch the title and good luck to him.
“I have to thank all my sponsors for their incredible support and my wife Katie who has been there for me whether I was on the bike or on crutches.
“To be in a position to be challenging for the Veterans world championship was only a pipe dream when we started this journey only a few short years ago, so being disappointed finishing second can only be a good thing.
“We have a bit of time to get the knee and the rest of the body right and we look forward to coming back next year and giving the championship a real crack.”
Houlihan, who has been sponsored by Speedcafe.com for the past four years, will return to Australia today and will go into a daily physio and recovery programme.
He is likely to be at the 2024 Dakar event in Saudi Arabia in January in a support role and is looking forward to competing at the world’s toughest endurance event again in 2025.
