The short 10.66km prologue, run near Lusail, set the starting order for the three-day desert battle.

Houlihan, who has support from Speedcafe.com and Velcro The Brand, was third in the veterans class which has 15 entrants and 13th outright in the 57-bike field.

Polish rider Konrad Dąbrowski topped the timesheets on his KTM with a 7m02.8sec run, while Houlihan produced a clean, composed effort to lock in a strong starting spot for Friday’s longer competitive stages.

Houlihan, who had some recent treatments to prepare his wounded body for his Baja return, spent a couple of days on the bike in the Riverina area before jetting off to the Middle East.

The event is the seventh round of the FIA World Baja Cup, round three of the FIA Middle East Baja Cup and the sixth and penultimate round of the FIM Bajas World Cup.

With a reputation as being one of the most demanding Baja events on the international calendar, the event offers tricky navigation, varied desert terrain and a mixture of gravel, rocks, sand and sand dunes.

The event runs to a traditional Baja-type format with a short Prologue determining the starting order for the first of two stages in a total route of 773.83km through the Qatar desert.

Its a world-class field with reigning World Champion Mohamed Al Balooshi and recently crowned W2RC junior World Champion Dubrovski two of the favourites.

“Obviously it is always hot here, but the bike felt good and I feel like we are in a good place,” said Houlihan after the session.

“With a reputation as being one of the most demanding Baja events on the international calendar, the event offers tricky navigation, varied desert terrain and a mixture of gravel, rocks, sand and sand dunes.

“It’s always good to get a feel for the terrain early — there’s a bit of everything in Qatar.

“The dunes are tricky, the rocks are sharp, and you’ve got to be smart. It’s about building pace over the weekend rather than throwing everything at it early.”

Across Saturday and Sunday, competitors will tackle three timed sections covering almost 220 kilometres through a mix of sand, gravel and rocky terrain, with temperatures expected to push into the high 30s.

Strategy and consistency will be critical, something Houlihan has built his recent success on.

He arrives in Qatar in good form, having impressed throughout the 2024 and 2025 Bajas seasons. He finished second in the Veterans class and sixth overall in the 450cc category during last year’s championship, following a breakout campaign that included class wins and several top-five outright finishes.

This weekend Houlihan will be riding a Husqvarna FR 450 rally replica supplied by 10-time Dakar legend Simon Maric from Slovenia.

Houlihan also made headlines at the 2023 Qatar Baja, where he won the Veterans category and finished fourth outright, describing it as one of the toughest but most rewarding races of his career.