W2RC

Al Attiyah wins in Abu Dhabi and takes command of the World Rally-Raid Championship

Dania Akeel makes history in Challenger class

Photos : A.S.O
2025/02/27
Abu Dhabi

The 34th edition of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge concluded this Thursday with a fifth stage covering 364 kilometers, 167 of which were special stages. The participants completed their six-day, 1,917-kilometer journey in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

Cars Category

Nasser Al Attiyah secured Dacia’s second victory in three races, surpassing Toyota Gazoo Racing drivers Lucas Moraes and Seth Quintero. With this triumph, the Qatari driver took the championship lead, displacing Yazeed Al Rajhi from Overdrive Racing.

The category’s next event will take place in South Africa, where the third round of the 2025 season will be held with the South African Safari Rally from May 18 to 24.

Al Attiyah regains prominence in FIA

After finishing fourth in the Dakar, Nasser Al Attiyah sought redemption in Abu Dhabi, just as he did last year. The Qatari driver achieved his goal by winning the final stage and the race for the fifth time in his career. He finished ahead of Toyota drivers Lucas Moraes (+2'28") and Seth Quintero (+11'56").

Juan Cruz Yacopini (Overdrive Racing) capitalized on last-minute setbacks for several teams, particularly his teammate Eryk Goczal and Sébastien Loeb (The Dacia Sandriders), who had to retire, to place his Hilux in fourth position (+29'53"). Mitch Guthrie (+31'02") secured a top-five finish for Ford M-Sport, while Joao Ferreira took X-raid Mini JCW to sixth place (+46'40").

This victory allows Al Attiyah to take the championship lead, surpassing Yazeed Al Rajhi, who faced mechanical issues throughout the week. The Qatari driver now leads the Saudi competitor by 23 points, with Moraes in third place, 33 points behind. However, the performance of the Hilux keeps Toyota Gazoo Racing at the top of the manufacturers' standings, holding a 68-point advantage over The Dacia Sandriders and 84 points over Ford M-Sport.

image Al Attiyah wins in Abu Dhabi and takes the lead in the Rally-Raid World Championship

Dania Akeel makes history in Challenger

In the Challenger category, Dania Akeel never finished outside the W2RC top five in the special stages, relying on consistency as her strategy. The Saudi driver secured her first career victory and made history by becoming the first woman to win a championship race. Pau Navarro (+3'28") and Yasir Seaidan (+21'52") completed a podium entirely dominated by BBR Motorsport.

Eduard Pons (5th) helped the Nasser Racing Team break into the top five. The second woman in competition, Puck Klaassen, finished eighth for the G Rally Team, behind Nicolas Cavigliasso. The Argentine driver, despite suffering an accident at the start of the rally, finished seventh but earned stage points to remain at the top of the championship standings.

Italy celebrates with Gaspari in SSV

The SSV category saw Italy celebrate its first championship victory thanks to Enrico Gaspari, who won ahead of his compatriot Michele Cinotto from Xtreme Plus Polaris and Alexandre Pinto of the Old Friends Rally Team. French veteran Claude Fournier, at 73 years old, narrowly missed the podium.

Portuguese driver Pinto retains the championship lead, holding an 11-point advantage over Gaspari and 65 points over Cinotto, who places his Polaris in third position behind the leader's Can-Am.