racing

february 23, 2024 - Red Bull

Dakar Rally heavyweights head for the dunes of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge

As the dust settles on last month's 2024 Dakar Rally it's already time for rally-raid engines to rev back into life. A world class convoy of competitors have arrived in the UAE for the 33rd edition of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge (ADDC). There's over 2,000 kilometres to cover and plenty of precious points up for grabs at the second stop of the 2024 World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC).

The action gets underway with a Prologue Stage towards Al Dhannah on Monday, February 26. Then come five sandy special stages through the Liwa Desert before the finish line in Abu Dhabi City comes into view on Saturday, March 2.

After missing out on a third consecutive Dakar title earlier this year, expect Nasser Al-Attiyah to be on the charge in Abu Dhabi. The five-time Dakar winner will be back behind the wheel of his Prodrive Hunter, but this time with new co-driver Édouard Boulanger. Al-Attiyah last won the ADDC in 2021 while Boulanger won the rally the following year as Stéphane Peterhansel's co-driver.

Guillaume de Mevius finished as runner-up in the Ultimate class of the 2024 Dakar behind winner Carlos Sainz. With Sainz absent from Abu Dhabi, the second round is a chance for De Mevius to climb to the top of the W2RC rankings. The Belgian will race his Toyota Hilux Overdrive alongside co-driver Xavier Panseri.

There will be another chance for the young guns of Toyota Gazoo Racing to impress. Lucas Moraes and co-driver Armand Monleon finished the 2024 Dakar inside the Top 10 in their GR DKR Hilux. Meanwhile, team-mate Seth Quintero and navigator Dennis Zenz will continue their debut season in the Ultimate class when racing gets going in Abu Dhabi. Quintero won the Challenger class race at last year's ADDC.

"I can't wait to get back to racing, I wish we were racing every weekend. Now Abu Dhabi is coming up quick and I have a love/hate relationship with the sand, beats me to death but I enjoy the burn! Feeling healthy again and mentally ready to go. Bring it on!" – Seth Quintero

Expect a hard-fought battle over all five stages in the Challenger class. 2024 Dakar winner Cristina Gutiérrez will race her Taurus T3 Max wit Team BBR alongside co-driver Pablo Moreno. The Spanish driver made history at the Dakar earlier this year as she became only the second female driver to win the famous rally.

Saudi Arabian speedster Dania Akeel is another driver behind the wheel of a Taurus T3 Max in Abu Dhabi for Team BBR. Akeel will be joined by co-driver Stéphane Duplé as she looks to climb the W2RC rankings.

Completing Team BBR's line-up of three female drivers alongside Gutiérrez and Akeel is Laia Sanz. Sanz finished the latest Dakar in 15th place in the Ultimate Class as she completed the world's toughest rally for the 14th consecutive time. In Abu Dhabi she'll also be behind the wheel of a Taurus T3 Max.

Others looking to get in front in Abu Dhabi will be the Can-Am Mavericks driven by Rokas Baciuška and Austin 'AJ' Jones. Baciuška and co-driver Oriol Vidal are competing in the Challenger class of this year's W2RC after being crowned T4 champions in 2023. Jones won the Challenger category of the 2023 Dakar but is still searching for a W2RC title to add to his collection of honours, Oriol Mena will be his navigator at the ADDC.

"I'm already missing racing so it's good that it won't take long for us to raise our wings to the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge." – Rokas Baciuška

Over 50 bikers are entered into the latest edition of the ADDC and the competition on two wheels is looking tough. Local favourite Mohammed Balooshi would love to give his fans in the region another victory to cheer after winning the Saudi Baja last week.

"I am very happy to come home to race in the UAE after winning the Saudi Baja for the fourth time. I have a perfect record in Saudi, I have never lost the Saudi Baja." – Mohammed Balooshi

A short Prologue Stage gets things going at the 2024 ADDC on Monday, February 26. Then comes 2,140 kilometres spread over five days, with 1,180 kilometres against the clock. As the rally passes through Al Dhannah and Mzeer'ah over 50 percent of the terrain covered will be open desert. The chequered flag flies in Abu Dhabi City on Saturday, March 2 when the winners will be celebrated and the latest batch of W2RC points will be tallied up.

QUOTES

Seth Quintero: "I can't wait to get back to racing, I wish we were racing every weekend. Now Abu Dhabi is coming up quick and I have a love/hate relationship with the sand, beats me to death but I enjoy the burn! Feeling healthy again and mentally ready to go. Bring it on! It's been nice taking a step back and enjoying the moment after Dakar, it got pretty crazy there for a bit. Ended up getting one of the worst sicknesses I've ever had that landed me in the hospital right when I got home, took me a long time to regroup."

Rokas Baciuška: "I'm already missing racing so it's good that it won't take long for us to raise our wings to the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge."

Mohammed Balooshi: "I am very happy to come home to race in the UAE after winning the Saudi Baja for the fourth time. I have a perfect record in Saudi, I have never lost the Saudi Baja."

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