W2RC – Al-Attiyah/Boulanger earn Dacia first victory on the Abu Dhabi Desert Problem; Akeel/Duplé declare historic Challenger win
Nasser Al-Attiyah and Edouard Boulanger stayed away from hassle on a dramatic closing day of the thirty fourth Abu Dhabi Desert Problem to safe a vital 2min 28sec victory of their bid to defend their FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) titles.
On a final stage the place a number of of his closest rivals within the prime 10 hit hassle, Al-Attiyah claimed the stage win in his Dacia Sandrider to additionally win the Final class. He was capable of fend off the problem from the Toyota Gazoo Racing crews of Lucas Moraes/Armand Monleón and Seth Quintero/Dennis Zenz to earn his fifth victory on the gruelling desert occasion to comply with earlier successes in 2008, 2016, 2021 and 2024. The outcome marked Boulanger’s third triumph after his win with Al-Attiyah final 12 months and his maiden victory with Stéphane Peterhansel in 2022.
Second place for Moraes and third total for Quintero enabled Toyota Gazoo Racing to stay firmly on monitor to retain the W2RC Producers’ title after Yazeed Al-Rajhi’s victory on the Dakar Rally.
The ultimate begin record featured 48 autos within the FIA part, with 21 competing within the Final class, 14 in Challenger and 13 in SSV. Of these, 32 had been registered for factors within the W2RC. Lithuanian Rokas Baciuška was a non-starter within the Overdrive Racing workforce, whereas Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings had been changed within the Toyota Gazoo Racing (TGR) line-up by Man Botterill and Dennis Murphy. The replacements weren’t registered for the W2RC.
Younger Eryk Goczal earned a memorable maiden win on the penultimate stage on his first occasion with Overdrive Racing within the Energylandia Rally Group Toyota. However he and navigator Oriol Mena suffered a fireplace of their Toyota after 37km of stage 5 and misplaced out on a possible fourth total. That misfortune lifted team-mates Juan Cruz Yacopini and Dani Oliveras into that place.
The American duo of Mitch Guthrie and Kellon Walch introduced the sole-surviving Ford M-Sport Raptor to the end in fifth and the alternative Botterill claimed sixth for TGR.
Yazeed Al-Rajhi and his German navigator Timo Gottschalk got here into the occasion as leaders of the W2RC however suffered engine overheating points after 13km of the ultimate stage. They now maintain second within the championship standings.
Technical points additionally value João Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro additional time after a damaged driveshaft on the Prologue and a puncture. However the Portuguese duo survived to take sixth place of their diesel-engined Mini JCW Rally.
Al-Attiyah topped the occasions on the Prologue on the Jebel Hafit Desert Park, close to the beginning in Al-Ain, and picked up the three bonus factors. Moraes and Dacia’s Sébastien Loeb adopted the Qatari with the second and third quickest occasions.
Moraes then hit the entrance on the opening stage between Al-Ain and the bivouac camp at Mzeer’ah and headed into the second loop stage with a lead of 1min 01sec over Loeb. Marek Goczal failed to complete the particular in his Overdrive Racing Toyota and Al-Attiyah picked up a puncture.
Loeb gained stage two from Al-Attiyah and moved forward of Moraes into the lead with Quintero and Guillaume De Mévius holding fourth and fifth. TGR’s Saood Variawa suffered gearbox points after 138km and Martin Prokop’s likelihood of incomes a fifth podium end had been dented when he suffered technical issues. Al-Attiyah and Yacopini had been handed one-minute time penalties for false begins.
Days three and 4 constituted a brand new Marathon stage between Mzeer’ah and the distant Al-Qoua camp. Al-Attiyah gained the opening wind-interrupted part of 237.31km by slightly below 4 minutes from Quintero to grab the general lead from Moraes and Loeb, after the latter picked up a two-minute rushing penalty. Notional occasions had been awarded to the rest of the sphere after sturdy winds prevented motion from persevering with on security grounds.
The Ford M-Sport Group withdrew Mattias Ekström for medical causes. The Swede had been feeling unwell for the reason that begin and his situations worsened because the occasion progressed.
Eryk Goczal then grew to become one of many youngest ever winners of a stage in Abu Dhabi when he beat Moraes by 2min 29sec to assert the quickest time over the 299.61km of stage 4. That success lifted the Pole into fourth within the common classification behind Al-Attiyah, Moraes and Quintero. It was a bitterly disappointing birthday for Loeb, nevertheless: he missed a waypoint by lower than 10 metres and rolled his Dacia out of the occasion.
A mere 41 seconds separated Moraes from Al-Attiyah earlier than the ultimate stage between Mzeer’ah and the end on Hudayriyat Island in Abu Dhabi. However the Qatari held on to seal his fifth victory as Al-Rajhi, Goczal and De Mévius all hit hassle. The latter managed to complete however dropped to twenty ninth total behind Al-Rajhi.
Aliyyah Koloc’s Buggyra ZM Racing Purple-Lined Revo was sidelined after a dune crash hospitalised the driving force for checks on stage 4.
Marek Goczal teamed up with Maciej Marton within the second of the Energylandia Rally Group Toyotas however incurred a most time penalty on the primary stage. The Pole then suffered a again compression harm over a lower dune shortly after the beginning of stage three and was compelled to retire on medical grounds.
Historical past-making Akeel and Duplé safe hard-earned Challenger victory
Saudi Arabia’s Dania Akeel grew to become the primary girl for the reason that launch of the W2RC in 2022 to win a class outright and she or he additionally completed eighth total. Akeel teamed up with French navigator Stéphane Duplé to see off a fierce problem from the younger Spaniard Pau Navarro and his navigator Jan Rosa Vinas within the Challenger class together with her BBR Motorsport Taurus T3 Max.
Saudi rival Yasir Seaidan gained the final stage however delays earlier within the week had value him and Michael Metge dearly. They recovered strongly to complete third of the W2RC crews behind the Brazilian duo of Marcos Baumgart and Kleber Cincea. The outcome gave BBR Motorsport a clear sweep of the highest 4 locations.
Poland’s Adam Kus and his Ukrainian navigator Dmytro Tsyro completed fourth of the registered crews with Spaniard Eduardo Pons coming house in fifth with Jaume Betriu. Emirati Khalid Al-Jafla was sixth and the Argentinian duo of Nicolas Cavigliasso and Valentina Pertegarini – who had gained the class on the opening spherical – had been sixth after a primary stage accident and retain the class lead after two rounds.
Qatar’s Khalifa Saleh Al-Attiyah had been the quickest of a Taurus-dominated Challenger class on the Prologue. He beat Akeel by 13 seconds and Seaidan by 16.
Cavigliasso blotted his copybook on the opening stage with an accident after 83km, though the automotive was repairable and so they had been capable of proceed.
Akeel topped the occasions on the opener from Seaidan and Navarro with Puck Klaassen in fourth and Al-Attiyah in sixth. Seaidan beat Akeel on stage two to seize the benefit to take into the two-day Marathon stage however each Klaassen (engine) and Al-Attiyah (gas pump) floor to a halt with mechanical woes after 180km and 189km, respectively. Mario Franco didn’t begin the stage in his Yamaha and Klaassen was later handed a 20-hour time penalty for an engine block change.
Seaidan stopped close to the beginning of the primary a part of the two-day Marathon, the place Navarro topped the occasions from Cavigliasso and moved as much as second place behind Akeel. The Saudi hit again strongly to win the second a part of the Marathon stage however Akeel took a 4min 45sec lead over Navarro into the ultimate stage and held off the Spaniard to seal victory by 3min 28sec.
SSV class win for Can-Am Manufacturing facility Group’s Ferioli and Cesana; most W2RC factors for Gaspari and Lecourbe
Argentina’s Jeremias Ferioli and José Sebastian Cesana dominated the SSV part of their Can-Am Manufacturing facility Group Maverick R however they weren’t registered for the W2RC. That meant that second-placed Enrico Gaspari, who had picked up factors for second place on the Dakar Rally, claimed the SSV laurels with French co-driver Antoine Lecourbe.
Neither third-placed José Nogueira nor native veteran Yayha Al-Helai had been registered for factors and second place amongst the W2RC crews went to the Italian Michele Cinotto and his navigator Maurizio Dominella within the CST Xtreme Plus Polaris RZR Professional R Sport.
Portugal’s Alexandre Pinto and Bernardo Oliveira led the class after the Dakar Rally and completed third of the registered crews of their Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR to keep up their leads within the title race. French veteran Claude Fournier was fourth however turbo issues hampered Mansour Al-Helai and he was additional delayed on the ultimate stage.
Ferioli topped the SSV occasions on the Prologue, the Can-Am driver ending 21 seconds forward of Sheikh Khalid Al-Qassimi. He then gained the opening stage by 6min 39sec from Mansour Al-Helai, though the Liwa Group UAE driver was the highest-placed of the W2RC-registered males.
The Argentine then topped the occasions once more on SS2 by 13min 47sec from Gaspari with Cinotto the second registered driver house and Al-Helai setting the sixth quickest time after dropping half an hour. Ferioli was awarded the win on the primary half of the wind-affected Marathon stage and retained his lead from Gaspari.
Ferioli narrowly beat Mansour Al-Helai to the win on stage 4 and started the ultimate stage with a large cushion of 1hr 11min 38sec over Gaspari. Al-Helai stopped with turbo points after 111km and that opened the door for Ferioli to seal a cushty victory by 1hr 26min 44sec.
The Abu Dhabi Desert Problem was held beneath the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Ruler’s Consultant Court docket in Al-Dhafra Area. Supported by the Abu Dhabi Sports activities Council, it was additionally backed by ADNOC Distribution, the Division of Tradition and Tourism Abu Dhabi and different governmental entities, along with Al Futtaim-Toyota and DHL.
Spherical three of the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship takes groups to South Africa for the brand new Solar Metropolis-based South African Safari Rally on Might 18th-Twenty fourth.
2025 Abu Dhabi Desert Problem – closing positions: 1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Edouard Boulanger (FRA) Dacia Sandrider14hr 26min 55sec2. Lucas Moraes (BRA)/Armand Monleón (ESP) Toyota GR DKR Hilux14hr 29min 23sec3. Seth Quintero (USA)/Dennis Zenz (GER) Toyota GR DKR Hilux14hr 38min 51sec4. Juan Cruz Yacopini (ARG)/Daniel Oliveras (ESP) Toyota Hilux Overdrive14hr 56min 48sec5. Mitch Guthrie (USA)/Kellon Walch (USA) Ford Raptor14hr 57min 57sec6. Man Botterill (RSA)/Dennis Murphy (RSA) Toyota Hilux IMT Evo15hr 05min 47sec*7. João Ferreira (POR)/Filipe Palmeiro (POR) Mini JCW Rally 3.0D15hr 13min 35sec8. Dania Akeel (KSA)/Stéphane Duplé (FRA) Taurus T3 Max15hr 44min 25sec9. Pau Navarro (ESP)/Jan Rosa Vinas (ESP) Taurus T3 Max15hr 47min 53sec10. Marcus Baumgart (BRA)/Kleber Cincea (BRA) Taurus T3 Max15hr 56min 06sec*11. Jeremias Ferioli (ARG)/José Sebastian Cesana (ARG) Can-Am Maverick R15hr 58min 21sec*12. Yasir Seaidan (KSA)/Michael Metge (FRA) Taurus T3 Max16hr 06min 17sec13. Adam Kus (POL)/Dmytro Tsyro (UKR) Taurus T3 Max16hr 26min 44sec14. Miroslav Zapletal (CZE)/Michal Goleniewski (POL) Ford F-15016hr 57min 38sec*15. Hernan Garces (CHI)/Juan Pablo Latrach (CHI) Toyota Hilux Overdrive17hr 01min 57sec*16. Eduardo Pons (ESP)/Jaume Betriu (ESP) Taurus T3 Max17hr 03min 07sec17. Khalid Al-Jafla (UAE)/Andrei Rutnitski (ANA) Taurus T3 Max17hr 15min 27sec18. David Mabbs (GBR)/Dave McBride (GBR) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR17hr 22min 02sec*19. Enrico Gaspari (ITA)/Antoine Lecourbe (FRA) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR17hr 25min 05sec20. Martin Prokop (CZE)/Viktor Chytka (CZE) Ford Raptor RS 18hr 37min 52sec21. José Nogueira (POR)/Arcelio Couto (POR) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR19hr 23min 00sec*22. Yahya Al-Helai (UAE)/Mohammed Hamri (UAE) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR19hr 32min 27sec*23. Michele Cinotto (ITA)/Maurizio Dominella (ITA) Polaris RZR Professional R Sport 19hr 54min 57sec24. Alexandre Pinto (POR)/Bernardo Oliveira (POR) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR 20hr 39min 11sec25. Claude Fournier (FRA)/Patrick Jimbert (FRA) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR 20hr 40min 06sec26. Atif Al-Zarouni (UAE)/Mohammed Hassan Innab (UAE) Yamaha YXZ 1000 R20hr 42min 35sec*27. Eryk Goczal (POL)/Oriol Mena (ESP) Toyota Hilux Overdrive29hr 01min 36sec28. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (KSA)/Timo Gottschalk (GER) Toyota Hilux Overdrive 29hr 15min 50sec29. Guillaume de Mévius (BEL)/Xavier Panseri (FRA) Mini JCW Rally 3.0i29hr 32min 44sec30. Nicolas Cavigliasso (ARG)/Valentina Pertegarini (ARG) Taurus T3 Max 33hr 46min 27sec31. Saood Variawa (RSA)/François Cazalet (FRA) Toyota Hilux IMT Evo34hr 13min 32sec32. Jonathan Hart (GBR)/Ali Mirza (UAE) Can-Am Maverick X335hr 16min 46sec*33. Denis Krotov (KGZ)/Konstantin Zhiltsov (ISR) Toyota Hilux Overdrive37hr 18min 49sec34. Mansour Al-Helai (UAE)/Khalid Al-Kendi (UAE) Can-Am Maverick R37hr 37min 13sec35. Hedda Hosas (NOR)/Pol Tibau Roura (ESP) Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR39hr 12min 47sec*36. Marian Andreev (ROU)/Matei Negulescu (ROU) Polaris RZR Professional R Sport39hr 20min 12sec*37. Ahmed El-Shamy (EGY)/Ali Hassan Obaid (UAE) Quick & Pace 2WD40hr 51min 54sec*38. Puck Klaassen (RSA)/Charan Moore (RSA) G Rally Group OT355hr 00min 52sec*denotes not registered for the W2RC
Extra data and all outcomes accessible on the 2025 Abu Dhabi Desert Problem and W2RC web sites.
