Goczal wins in Ultimate in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge of the World Rally-Raid Championship

The fourth stage of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge brought the participants back to Mezaira'a after a night at the Marathon Camp. The route, covering 394 kilometers with 300 kilometers of timed section, was the longest of the competition and posed an additional challenge for the competitors, who had to handle the maintenance of their vehicles without external assistance in the previous stage.

Goczal wins while Al Attiyah and Moraes fight for the lead

Eryk Goczal secured his first victory in the Ultimate category with Overdrive Racing, becoming one of the few drivers to win in Ultimate, Challenger, and SSV. The Polish driver completed the stage with a 2-minute and 29-second lead over Lucas Moraes and 2 minutes and 37 seconds over Nasser Al Attiyah. Meanwhile, Seth Quintero brought his official Hilux home in fourth place, 3 minutes and 52 seconds behind, followed by Mitch Guthrie, who achieved the best stage result of the week for Ford M-Sport, finishing fifth at 8 minutes and 19 seconds.

In the overall standings, Al Attiyah remains in the lead, but Moraes is closing in, just 41 seconds behind. The Qatari driver will aim to maintain his advantage in the final stage to secure his fifth victory in the event. Meanwhile, Sébastien Loeb, who was leading the stage and held third overall, suffered an accident that took him out of contention. Quintero moves up to third place overall, 7 minutes and 22 seconds behind, while Goczal is fourth at 9 minutes and 6 seconds. Yazeed Al Rajhi, the world championship leader, gained two positions and is now sixth.

Seaidan repeats victory in Challenger as Akeel stays ahead

Yasir Seaidan claimed his second win of the event, strengthening BBR Motorsport's dominance. His teammate Dania Akeel finished second, 7 minutes and 52 seconds behind, followed by Pau Navarro and Nicolas Cavigliasso. Akeel retains the overall lead with a 4-minute and 45-second advantage over Navarro, while Seaidan moves up to the podium among W2RC entrants, 28 minutes and 54 seconds behind.

Al Helei takes the SSV win after setbacks in the previous stage

Mansour Al Helei, after losing the previous stage due to a turbo issue, won the fourth stage with his Can-Am. The Emirati driver finished 3 minutes and 3 seconds ahead of championship leader Alexandre Pinto, while Enrico Gaspari completed the stage podium, 14 minutes and 14 seconds behind. Gaspari remains atop the overall standings with a lead of over two hours over Michele Cinotto.

The competition will conclude on Thursday in Abu Dhabi with a 364-kilometer route, 167 of which will be timed. The first bike will start at 07:30 (GMT+4), with the first car set to depart at 09:50.

Overall Standings