The brainchild of the current FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem since its inauguration in 1991, the Marlboro Desert Challenge became a round of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies in 1993 and has been an ever present in the world’s premier off-road series ever since. This year it will again be the second round of the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC).
The 34th Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge has moved its start location to the garden city of Al-Ain for the first time. The Emirates Motorsports Organisation (EMSO) has radically revised the itinerary this year as well. Over half of the desert route through the vast Rub Al-Khali is new and the timetable features a Marathon stage on days three and four through the remote Al-Qua’a region for the first time.
The 2025 edition has attracted 51 entries in the FIA section, with 22 competing in the Ultimate category, 15 in Challenger and 14 in SSV. Of those, 34 are registered for points in the W2RC.
Five-time Dakar Rally winner Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah may top the Ultimate entry with French co-driver Edouard Boulanger in the first of two Dacia Sandriders, but his Saudi rival Yazeed Al-Rajhi and German navigator Timo Gottschalk will take the start with a 15-point lead in the Drivers’ and Co-Drivers’ Championships after last month’s Dakar win.
Toyotas run by Overdrive Racing and Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) dominate the top section of the entry list. Exactly half of the 22 Ultimate cars are derivatives of the bullet-proof Toyota Hilux, with TGR’s Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings holding second in the championship after their runner-up spot at the Dakar.
TGR will also run Hiluxes for Brazilian Lucas Moraes and American Seth Quintero Junior and a second IMT Evo for Saood Variawa. In addition to overseeing Al-Rajhi’s entry and providing full-service support to the TGR entries, Belgium-based Overdrive Racing will also field cars for Argentina’s Juan Cruz Yacopini, talented Lithuanian Rokas Baciuška, Denis Krotov, Hernan Garces and the Polish father and son duo of Eryk and Marek Goczal.
The two Poles graduated from the Challenger category and missed the opening round, while Spaniard Oriol Mena rejoins young Eryk Goczal as his navigator. Only Chilean driver Garces is not registered for the W2RC.
Al-Attiyah finished third at the Dakar and trails Al-Rajhi by 22 points in the Drivers’ Championship. His Dacia team-mate is the nine-time WRC winner Sébastien Loeb, who was dramatically disqualified from round one after an accident damaged the roll cage on his Sandrider. He teams up with Belgian navigator Fabian Lurquin, but Cristina Gutiérrez is not present in the third car on this occasion.
The Ford M-Sport Team has also entered a two-car team. Carlos Sainz and Joan Roma will not make the trip to Abu Dhabi and picking up points for both the W2RC Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ Championships falls to Mattias Ekström and Mitch Guthrie in their Ford Raptors. They both enjoyed strong Dakar outings and hold fourth and joint fifth in the Drivers’ Championship. Emil Bergkvist and Kellon Walch will read the road books for the Swede and the American.
Toyota Gazoo Racing is currently 32 points clear of Ford M-Sport in the W2RC Manufacturers’ Championship with Dacia 49 points adrift in third. Al-Rajhi, Moraes and Quintero will represent the Japanese manufacturer in the UAE, while Al-Attiyah and Loeb will be looking for points for Dacia.
There is strength in depth throughout the Ultimate category: Czech privateer Martin Prokop currently holds 13th in the Drivers’ Championship and again teams up with Viktor Chytka in a Ford Raptor RS Cross-Country.
The X-Raid team fields just two Mini JCW Rally machines on this occasion. Following a serious injury sustained in a freak road accident in France recently, Mathieu Baumel’s place alongside Belgian driver Guillaume de Mévius is taken by Alex Winocq in a petrol-engined version of the Mini.
Last year’s FIA World and European Baja Cup winners, João Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro, use a diesel-engined derivative and an Ultimate class machine for the first time on the driver’s third visit to the event. They currently hold ninth in their respective championships after round one.
W2RC-leading Cavigliasso and Pertegarini head strong Challenger category
Eleven of the 15 Challenger entrants are registered for the W2RC and seven of the top 10 drivers who scored points at the Dakar Rally will be present in Al-Ain.
The Argentinian duo of Nicolas Cavigliasso and Valentina Pertegarini have a 21-point cushion after the opening round and head the field in the first of 10 Taurus T3 Max machines on the entry.
Young Spaniard Pau Navarro teams up with new co-driver Jan Rosa Vinas for his challenge for points in a Taurus. He currently holds third in the rankings, 23 points ahead of joint fifth-placed Saudi driver Yasir Seaidan. Neither Gonçalo Guerreiro nor Corbin Leaverton are present in the UAE.
Pole Adam Kus, Qatar’s Khalifa Saleh Al-Attiyah, Saudi Arabia’s Dania Akeel, Spaniard Eduardo Pons and Emirati Khalid Al-Jafla provide the main competition in Taurus T3 Max machinery. Marco Franco lines up in an X-Raid YXZ 1000 R Proto and Pedro Gonçalves wheels out the new X-Raid Yamaha Fenic. Puck Klaassen and Charan Moore team up in a G Rally Team OT3.
Non-registered drivers include the Brazilian Marcos Baumgart and Frenchman Gregory Lefort in their Taurus entries and the talented young French girl Mathilda Lauwens (OT3).
Portugal’s Pinto and Oliveira head SSV entry
Only five of the 14 entrants in the SSV category are registered for the W2RC and there is an absence of cars from the Can-Am Factory and South Racing Can-Am Teams.
Portugal’s Alexandre Pinto has a 25-point lead in the championship standings after the Dakar Rally and he and Bernardo Oliveira head the field. Enrico Gaspari picked up points for second in Saudi Arabia and teams up with Fausto Moto to provide the closest challenge in their Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR.
With Sara Price, Roger Grouwels and Manuel Andujar all absent, that has opened the door for French veteran Claude Fournier to improve on his sixth place in the current SSV standings. Italy’s Michele Cinotto is also registered for the W2RC in a Polaris and the talented local driver Mansour Al-Helai has entered the event in the first of three Liwa Team UAE Can-Am Maverick Rs, has registered for points and could well be the favourite to claim the win with his considerable local experience of the terrain.
The list of non-registered drivers includes his father Mansour Al-Helai and former WRC driver and MERC champion Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi in a pair of Liwa Team UAE Maverick Rs. The field also includes former quad rider Atif Al-Zarouni and Argentina’s Jeremias Ferioli in a Can-Am Factory Team Maverick R.
The route
The revised route features a new Prologue at the nearby Jebel Hafit Desert Park and then a new start from the oasis city of Al-Ain on February 22nd. The opening selective section then heads from Al-Ain to the bivouac camp at Mzeer’ah on February 23rd and stage two loops through the desert around Mzeer’ah.
Days three and four constitute a new Marathon stage for FIA vehicles between the bivouac in Mzeer’ah and a night stop at the remote Al-Qoua Marathon camp. Competitors will be deprived of service assistance and team support before the return to the bivouac in Mzeer’ah on February 26th.
The final stage on February 27th heads out of Mzeer’ah en route to a finish in Abu Dhabi. Provisionally, there are 1,189 competitive kilometres in a compact route of 1,920km.
The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge is being held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Ruler’s Representative Court in Al-Dhafra Region. Supported by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, it is also backed by ADNOC Distribution, the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi and other governmental entities, in addition to Al Futtaim-Toyota and DHL.
His Excellency Nasser Al-Mansoori, undersecretary of the Ruler’s Representative Court Al- Dhafra Region, said: “His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan is pleased to extend his patronage of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge as the event enters its 34th year. A second consecutive visit to Mezeer’ah, as well as exciting firsts for the event in Al-Ain and Al-Qua’a, highlight the innovative nature of the Desert Challenge as it continues to shine as the second round of the W2RC.”
2025 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge – entry list:
Ultimate
200. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Edouard Boulanger (FRA) Dacia Sandrider
201. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (KSA)/Timo Gottschalk (DEU) Toyota Hilux Overdrive
203. Lucas Moraes (BRA)/Armand Monleón (GER) Toyota GR DKR Hilux
204. Seth Quintero (USA)/Dennis Zenz (GER) Toyota GR DKR Hilux
205. Juan Cruz Yacopini (ARG)/Daniel Oliveras (ESP) Toyota Hilux Overdrive
206. Rokas Baciuška (LTU)/Pablo Moreno (ESP) Toyota Hilux Overdrive
208. Miroslav Zapletal (CZE)/Michal Goleniewski (POL) Ford F-150*
209. Hernan Garces (CHI)/Juan Pablo Latrach (CHI) Toyota Hilux Overdrive*
210. Aliyyah Koloc (SEY)/Sébastien Delaunay (FRA) Red-Lined Revo T1+ Turbo*
211. Henk Lategan (RSA)/Brett Cummings (RSA) Toyota Hilux IMT Evo
213. Eryk Goczal (POL)/Oriol Mena (ESP) Toyota Hilux Overdrive
214. Marek Goczal (POL)/Maciej Marton (POL) Toyota Hilux Overdrive
216. Ahmed El-Shamy (EGY)/Ali Hassan Obaid (UAE) Fast & Speed 2WD*
217. Denis Krotov (KGZ)/Konstantin Zhiltsov (ISR) Toyota Hilux Overdrive
218. Saood Variawa (RSA)/François Cazalet (FRA) Toyota Hilux IMT Evo
219. Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Fabian Lurquin (BEL) Dacia Sandrider
221. Martin Prokop (CZE)/Viktor Chytka (CZE) Ford Raptor RS
222. Guillaume de Mévius (BEL)/Alex Winocq (FRA) Mini JCW Rally 3.0i
226. Mattias Ekström (SWE)/Emil Bergkvist (SWE) Ford Raptor
228. Mitch Guthrie (USA)/Kellon Walch (USA) Ford Raptor
240. João Ferreira (POR)/Filipe Palmeiro (POR) Mini JCW Rally 3.0D
242. Daniel Schröder (GER)/Henry Köhne (RSA) Volkswagen WCT Amarok
Challenger
301. Nicolas Cavigliasso (ARG)/Valentina Pertegarini (ARG) Taurus T3 Max
302. Puck Klaassen (RSA)/Charan Moore (RSA) G Rally Team OT3
303. Gregory Lefort (FRA)/Serge Gounon (FRA) Taurus T3 Max*
304. Pau Navarro (ESP)/Jan Rosa Vinas (ESP) Taurus T3 Max
305. Adam Kus (POL)/Dmytro Tsyro (UKR) Taurus T3 Max
306. Khalifa Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Bruno Jacomy (ITA) Taurus T3 Max
307. Mario Franco (POR)/João Miranda (POR) X-Raid YXZ 1000R Proto
308. Marcos Baumgart (BRA)/Kleber Cincea (BRA) Taurus T3 Max*
309. Yasir Seaidan (KSA)/Michael Metge (FRA) Taurus T3 Max
310. Dania Akeel (KSA)/Stéphane Duplé (FRA) Taurus T3 Max
311. Pedro Gonçalves (POR)/Hugo Maghalães (POR) X-Raid Yamaha Fenic
312. Eduardo Pons (ESP)/Jaume Betriu (ESP) Taurus T3 Max
313. Khalid Al-Jafla (UAE)/Andrei Rutnitski (ANA) Taurus T3 Max
314. Jonathan Hart (GBR)/Ali Mirza (UAE) Can-Am Maverick X3*
315. Mathilda Lauwens (FRA)/Andre Leyh (BEL) G Rally Team OT3*
SSV
401. Alexandre Pinto (POR)/Bernardo Oliveira (POR) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR
402. Enrico Gaspari (ITA)/Fausto Mota (POR) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR
403. Claude Fournier (FRA)/Patrick Jimbert (FRA) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR
404. Michele Cinotto (ITA)/Alberto Bertoldi (ITA) Polaris RZR Pro R Sport
405. Mansour Al-Helai (UAE)/Khalid Al-Kendi (UAE) Can-Am Maverick R
406. Khalid Al-Qassimi (UAE)/Ola Floene (NOR) Can-Am Maverick R*
407. Yahya Al-Helai (UAE)/Mohammed Hamri (UAE) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR*
408. Aleksander Szustkowski (POL)/Jaroslaw Kazberuk (POL) Polaris RZR Pro R Sport*
410. Hedda Hosas (NOR)/Pol Tibau Roura (ESP) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR*
411. Atif Al-Zarouni (UAE)/Mohammed Hassan Innab (UAE) Yamaha YXZ 1000 R*
412. David Mabbs (GBR)/David McBride (UAE) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR*
413. José Nogueira (POR)/Arcelio Couto (POR) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR*
414. Marian Andreev (ROU)/Matei Negulescu (ROU) Polaris RZR Pro R Sport*
415. Jeremias Ferioli (ARG)/José Sebastian Cesana (ARG) Can-Am Maverick R*
*denotes not registered for the W2RC
Timetable of events
Friday, February 21
Administration checks Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, Al-Ain – 07.00hrs-16.00hrs
Scrutineering Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, Al-Ain – 08.00hrs-19.00hrs
Pre-event press conference TBA, 19.00hrs
Saturday, February 22
Prologue – 15km Jebel Hafit Desert Park, Al-Ain – 10.00hrs onwards
Ceremonial start Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium, Al-Ain – 18.00hrs onwards
Sunday, February 23
Stage 1 – 243km Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium bivouac to Mzeer’ah bivouac
Monday, February 24
Stage 2 – 228km Mzeer’ah bivouac to Mzeer’ah bivouac
Tuesday, February 25
Stage 3 – 238km Mzeer’ah bivouac to Al-Qoua Marathon camp
Wednesday, February 26
Stage 4 – 295km Al-Qoua Marathon camp to Mzeer’ah bivouac
Thursday, February 27
Stage 5 – 145km Mzeer’ah to Abu Dhabi
Prize giving ceremony TBA, Abu Dhabi – 19.30hrs
FIA World Rally-Raid Championship
Cross Country
SEASON 2025SportCross-Country1SportFIA World Rally-Raid ChampionshipCross-CountrySEASON 2025Cross Country01Thursday, February 13, 2025 – 5:13pmThursday, February 13, 2025 – 5:13pm
Source : Fia
