The 34th edition of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge (ADDC) is due to start tomorrow. Administrative and technical scrutineering took place today in Al Ain, in the eastern reaches of the Emirate.
103 vehicles have been cleared to take the start. 87 of them are world championship entrants: 32 in the FIA classes (16 in Ultimate, 11 in Challenger and 5 in SSV) and all 55 vehicles in the FIM field (8 in Rally GP, 42 in Rally 2 and 5 in quads).
IM entrants will get to grips with the prologue tomorrow at 11 am (GMT+4), while the first FIA car will hit the road at 12:20 pm. Access the Race Center and follow the race live
FIA: Challenger aces take the fight to Ultimate drivers in the Middle East
On four wheels, the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge stands out on the calendar for at least two reasons. On one hand, it is the preserve of the dune specialists. The reigning champion, Nasser Al Attiyah (The Dacia Sandriders), has claimed four victories since 2008, while Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive Racing) took his first W2RC round here in 2023. A Saudi and an Emirati lead the charge in the Challenger and SSV classes, with Yasir Seaidan (BBR Team) and Helei El Mansour (Liwa Team UAE) tipped as the men to beat. On the other hand, the Challenger vehicles and SSVs have crashed the Ultimate party time and again at this event. On average, Challenger and SSV entrants have occupied half of the top 10 at the ADDC since the inception of the W2RC in 2022 (4/10 in 2024, 5/10 in 2023 and 6/10 in 2022). "Chaleco" López and Seth Quintero, third in 2022 and 2023, respectively, have delivered the best T3 (now Challenger) performances in the short history of the championship. Who can do better?
Quotes:
Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive Racing), championship leader: "It would be a bad idea to throw caution to the wind here. We don't want to lose everything. We have to play it smart. What we need is not to win the race, but to score as many points as we can. We're targeting a podium finish. They're all ready to attack and move closer to us in the ranking. We'll see what the state of play is at the next rally. That's when we'll go on the offensive, if need be."
Nasser Al Attiyah (The Dacia Sandriders), four-time winner and title holder: "I have loads of experience. I've won four times. If you look closely, I've always set a high pace in the dunes, year after year. But we also need to be smart at this event because my goal is a fourth world championship title. The way we see it, a narrow victory would still be a victory."
Édouard Boulanger (The Dacia Sandriders), navigator, two-time winner and title holder: "I was fortunate to enter twice with exceptional drivers. We used to come here with Stéphane [Peterhansel] to prepare for the rest of the season. We won because the others had mechanical troubles and we didn't. Truth be told, we weren't the fastest crew, just the most consistent one. It was a different story with Nasser last season, when he trounced the opposition from A to Z. His pace in the dunes is quite something. We had no mechanical problems, and when that happens, Nasser is nigh unbeatable. I reckon Séb [Loeb] might be able to match him in terms of raw speed, but it takes a heavier toll on him than on Nasser, who's in his element. Imagine putting Nasser on the roads of the Rallye Monte-Carlo; he might be able to hang on in certain specials, but he would be at the limit."
Sébastien Loeb (The Dacia Sandriders): "Improving on my best performance in two starts so far —eighth— is a reasonable prospect. I've always had a torrid start to the rally. We once had to change three gimbals in the same special, and another time we had a damaged water pipe after 50 km. But I like this rally and, if you look at the big picture, I've been rather fast here. Even so, I know winning it is going to be hard because Nasser and Yazeed are absolute specialists, but the field as a whole has also got stronger in recent years, with impressive young drivers. The competition will be stiff, but we'll try and put up a fight. We've often had bad luck, it would be nice to have a smooth drive for a change."
Yasir Seaidan (BBR Team), 2024 SSV rally-raid champion, eighth overall and second in SSV here in 2024: "What I like about Abu Dhabi is that it's nothing but dunes. If you're good in the dunes, you're bound to finish high, both in your class and overall. You need to be good in the dunes, there's no more to it. From a technical point of view, raw power is not what makes the difference. Suspensions and balancing are more important. Last January, I found myself leading the first special in the Empty Quarter after 55 kilometres despite facing the 350 hp T1+ vehicles in my 165 hp car. Driving skills make all the difference. I think I'm good
in the dunes, and this year I'm driving a Taurus, which is the gold standard on this terrain." Mansour El Helei (Liwa Team UAE), SSV title holder in the rally, championship rookie: "I won the SSV race last year, but I wasn't a world championship entrant, so I didn't get a W2RC medal. I've signed up this time round, so I hope to get my hands on one on 25 February to mark my 33rd birthday! The first time I entered the Desert Challenge was when I was 18, just old enough to obtain a licence. I've taken part eleven times since 2011, first in T2, where I won in 2015, and then in SSV, where I won last year. I hope I can do the same in Challenger and Ultimate at some point in the future! Liwa Team UAE can count on the backing of our government, which wants to nurture the stars of tomorrow. I'm fortunate to team up with Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi, who clinched the overall in 2017 and has loads of experience in the WRC and the Dakar. He's a legend, and I hope to follow in his footsteps and, who knows, become the first Emirati to take the FIA World Rally-raid Championship."
FIM: Green light for the greenhorns
Of the eight Rally GP riders cleared to start, only two fit the "veteran" label —a term Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy Honda HRC) used with a hint of irony in the high-tech football stadium hosting the scrutineering. Both the American and Nacho Cornejo (Hero MotoSports) first started the race in 2015. For the Californian, it was the very first rally raid of his career. He has since lined up here another four times, with a runner-up finish in 2022 as his best result. For the Chilean, it was his debut on the international rally scene. The Hero factory rider has six ADDC starts under his belt, along with a podium spot in 2019 and a fourth-place finish in 2023. Luciano Benavides (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Ross Branch (Hero MotoSports) each have three ADDC appearances to their name. The reigning world champion stands out as the only Rally GP rider in the field to have already raced here in 2024, when he came in fourth. Behind them, the rest of the grid has even fewer ADDC starts, yet this less experienced quartet holds both the favourites for the rally and the top three spots in the championship. Skyler Howes (Monster Energy Honda HRC) and his teammate Adrien Van Beveren have tackled these dunes twice. VBA, third in the championship, boasts the strongest track record: runner-up in 2021 and outright winner in 2023. Daniel Sanders, the orange-clad W2RC leader, has only raced here once, in 2021. He was in the mix for a podium finish until stage 4, when he ran out of fuel and slipped to twelfth at the finish the following day. Tosha Schareina, the fourth Honda factory rider, second in the championship standings, is about to get his first taste of the Abu Dhabi dunes. In Rally 2, Edgar Canet, the third Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider, is also making his event debut. As he did at the Dakar, the Spaniard arrives with a humble mindset —at least if you take his word for it. Eighth overall and top Rally 2 finisher in Saudi Arabia, he faces a serious challenge here from Michael Docherty (SRG Motorsports). The South African is a specialist on this terrain and won two specials outright at the Dakar, beating the Rally GP riders in the Empty Quarter. In the quad class, the four-time winner and reigning champion Abdulaziz Ahli is already gearing up for the prologue, the only timed section that he missed out on last year! Meanwhile, Antanas Kanopkinas (CFMoto Thunder Racing) showed up for scrutineering with the third-generation CForce 1000, a lighter and more powerful machine. The Lithuanian confirmed that his new quad is already registered for the next round in South Africa. With the Chinese manufacturer committing to a full championship series, its gamble could pay off by the end of the season.
Quotes:
Daniel Sanders (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), championship leader: "This is my second time in Abu Dhabi. The last was back in 2021, when I was in a strong position with Mathias [Walkner] before running out of fuel. I was close to taking my first win in the championship. It was disappointing, but this race is still one of my favourites. It's taken me a long time to get back here because of injuries, but I'm stoked to be back in the dunes. The plan is to do exactly what I did in the Dakar! The riding, the physical demands… It's all the same. I haven't spent much time on the bike since the Dakar, like everyone else, but we need to be on the pace from day one because the rally is shorter. My focus will be on the terrain and road book reading, and I'll try not to think too much about leading the championship. We'll see where we stand at the end."
Adrien Van Beveren (Monster Energy Honda HRC): "It's all dunes here. What you see is what you get. I love it. The only real challenge is strategy, which plays a big role. Starting up front in the dunes means losing time, so you have to be smart about it. But, aside from that, this terrain fits me like a glove. Being comfortable in the sand means you can read it well, put the power down efficiently, and that's even more important on sand than anywhere else. In this kind of rac, those extra seconds or even minutes you gain by managing that can make all the difference. I expect Docherty to be fast. In the last stage of the Dakar, we managed to break away together for a bit."
Tosha Schareina (Monster Energy Honda HRC): "It's my first time in Abu Dhabi and I have a shot at the championship, so I need to stay grounded and keep both feet on the ground. This rally is tougher, very different from the other rounds. It's nothing but sand and dunes. I want to respect the race and learn from it, but of course, I also want to fight at the front. Since the Dakar, I've focused entirely on recovering from my broken collarbone. The timing worked out, so there was no need to go under the knife. I'm not at one hundred percent, obviously, but I'm ready to fight."
Nacho Cornejo (Hero MotoSports): "You always have to be careful at the Desert Challenge. In my last two appearances, I didn't have the best run. I damaged my bike both times in the dunes. You have to be smart and make it to the finish to score as many championship points as possible. That's my goal, even though I'll be pushing to stay up front. But my main focus is to ride the cleanest race I can."
