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FIA: Al Rajhi, Al Attiyah and Loeb, a legendary trio amid towering dunes
A few weeks after taking the Dakar, Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive Racing) is going into a round as the championship leader for the first time, with 70 points to his name. The Saudi driver has a special connection with the ADDC, where he clinched his maiden W2RC win in 2023. He has since bagged another three victories, emerging as the main challenger to Nasser Al Attiyah and his Dacia (see Did you know?). A Dakar-ADDC double, an unprecedented feat in the Ultimate class, would earn Al Rajhi an even more special place in the annals of the race and the W2RC as a whole.
As for the four-time winner (2008, 2016, 2021 and 2024) from Qatar, sitting third with 48 points, clinching a fifth victory here would make a big dent in his 22-point deficit in the championship ranking. Meanwhile, his teammate Sébastien Loeb (The Dacia Sandriders) will be out to make amends after leaving the Dakar empty-handed.
Henk Lategan (Toyota Gazoo Racing), second in the standings with 55 points, is poised to discover Abu Dhabi. The South African has never raced outside his national championship and the Dakar before. No fewer than nine Hilux cars will line up alongside him in the W2RC field! Among them are the factory drivers Seth Quintero and Lucas Moraes, as well as Eryk Goczał and his father Marek, who will make their first championship appearance in the Ultimate class with Overdrive Racing. In 2023, Eryk won the Dakar in the SSV class at the tender age of 18 years and 70 days, making him the youngest driver ever to win a championship round. The Pole, now 20, will not be the youngest Hilux driver, though. Saood Variawa (Toyota Gazoo Racing), 19, holds that honour. The South African has been the youngest Dakar stage winner in this class since last January.
Ford M-Sport is bringing two Raptors to soar above the Rub' al Khali, with Mattias Ekström (third in the Dakar, ahead of Al Attiyah, but fourth in the championship with 44 points) and Mitch Guthrie (fifth with 28 points) behind the wheel. Mini X-raid is also fielding a dynamic duo, with Guillaume de Mévius and João Ferreira.
As in the Dakar, Dacia, Ford, Mini and Toyota will all be represented in round 2. When it comes to sheer numbers, Toyota have a clear edge, with ten Hilux drivers versus the two-car squads of their three rivals.
Three former ADDC winners are on the Ultimate entry list: Nasser Al Attiyah, Yazeed Al Rajhi… and Martin Prokop (Orlen Jipocar Team). Like Al Rajhi, Prokop has a special bond with the ADDC. The Czech driver took victory in the Emirates in 2018 and has since secured two runner-up finishes (2022 and 2023). A disappointing ninth in Abu Dhabi last season, Prokop and his Ford pick-up, which he nicknamed "Shrek", are eager to get back to their best and build on their thirteenth place (15 points) in the championship ranking following the Dakar.
Challenger: Cavigliasso grabs the Taurus by the horns
Mirroring Toyota in Ultimate, the BBR squad is heading to Al Ain in full force. Nicolás Cavigliasso, who dominates the leader board with 82 points, and Pau Navarro, third with 50, will be joined by their Saudi teammates Yasir Seaidan, fifth with 37, and Dania Akeel, seventh with 26. Khalifa Al Attiyah (QMMF Team), ninth in the standings with 24 points, could be a formidable opponent for the French outfit if he takes a leaf out of Nasser's book!
SSV: All hail Al Helei
The championship leader and standout rookie Alexandre Pinto (Old Friends Rally Team, 90 points) is set to take on the veterans Enrico Gaspari (TH-Trucks, second with 70 points), Claude Fournier (MMP, sixth with 28 points) and Michele Cinotto (CST Xtreme Plus Polaris Team, seventh with 27 points). However, the main threat to the young Portuguese driver could well turn out to be a fresh face in the class: the local ace Mansour Al Helei (Liwa Team UAE). Seventh overall and top SSV finisher on home turf last season, Al Helei even edged out Yasir Seaidan, who would go on to win the 2024 SSV title. That speaks volumes about his mastery of the dunes!
FIM: A new wave sweeps the ocean of Rub' al Khali
The big winner of the season opener in Saudi Arabia, Daniel Sanders (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), is heading to Abu Dhabi as the overall leader, with 38 points. It will be his sophomore appearance in the Emirates. The Australian, twelfth in his debut in 2021, will have Luciano Benavides by his side as he takes on a field including his closest rivals from Monster Energy Honda HRC, Tosha Schareina (second with 30 points) and Adrien Van Beveren (third with 24 points).
VBA is the only Rally GP rider in the field who has previously won in Abu Dhabi (2023). He also finished second on his first attempt in 2021, but this will be just his third time competing at the ADDC.
For Tosha Schareina, currently second in the championship, the entire rally will be a step into the unknown. Counting Ricky Brabec and Skyler Howes, the Honda factory team is fielding four riders in Rally GP.
Only seven of the twelve Rally GP riders who lined up for the season opener in January made it to the finish in Shubaytah. The eight ADDC entrants consist of those same seven riders, who picked up their first points of the season, plus Ross Branch (Hero MotoSports), whose tally is still at zero (see Did you know?). The reigning world champion is returning to competition after his Dakar was cut short by a crash in stage 6, while running fourth overall. Last year, the Motswana bounced back from an engine problem to take second place in Rally GP, right behind his Hero teammate Aaron Mare, who clinched the race This time round, the reigning world champion will be able to count on Nacho Cornejo.
Rally 2: Canet eager to make a strong first impression in Abu Dhabi
The overall leader, Edgar Canet (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 38 points), is set to make his Abu Dhabi debut, where he will face off against Tobias Ebster (SRG Motorsports, second with 30 points), who claimed the 2023 race on his first try, and the event title holder, Konrad Dąbrowski (Duust Rally Team, seventh with 14 points).
Quads: Ahli hot favourite on home soil
The ADDC is the first round of the season for the quads. Abdulaziz Ahli, the reigning champion and four-time winner of the race, will again enjoy the home advantage against the CFMoto Thunder Racing duo of Antanas Kanopkinas and Gaëtan Martinez, as well as two pairs of amateur riders from Saudi Arabia and Poland.
DID YOU KNOW?
FIA: Al Attiyah + Al Rajhi = 70 %
Between the two of them, Nasser Al Attiyah (with three W2RC championship titles out of three) and Yazeed Al Rajhi (his runner-up in 2023 and 2024) have picked up more than 70% of the W2RC rounds held since 2022: 11 out of 15. Al Attiyah has taken seven and Al Rajhi four. Only Sébastien Loeb (2022 Andalucía Rally), "Chaleco" López (2022 ADDC), Guerlain Chicherit (2023 Rallye du Maroc) and Carlos Sainz (2024 Dakar) have managed to snatch a win from them.
FIM: Eighteenth different winner on the cards
The 2023 champion, Adrien Van Beveren, is the only former winner of the race on the entry list, so the likelihood of seeing a new ADDC winner is at its highest in a decade. Marc Coma (the all-time record holder, with eight triumphs to his name) and Cyril Despres (five) took their final bow in 2015, passing on the torch to a new generation of winners. Toby Price (2016 ADDC winner and 2018 world champion) and Sam Sunderland (a three-time victor in 2017, 2019 and 2022 and a two-time world champion in 2019 and 2022) have moved on to new pastures, while Pablo Quintanilla (2018 ADDC winner and two-time world champion in 2016 and 2017) is still on the mend following his crash at the Dakar, so it should come as no surprise if a new rider adds his name to the honour list.
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