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00:14Welcome to the 34th edition of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.
00:18It's the second round of the World Rally Raid Championship
00:21and one of the most eagerly anticipated rally raid events on the calendar.
00:27This year, for the very first time, we start in the ancient city of El Aene.
00:38The Desert Challenge has once again attracted the top teams and riders
00:42from far and wide to the desert dunes for a week-long onslaught into the sand.
00:47The best of the best from Hero, Honda and KTM have all rolled into town,
00:52including the current star and leader of the W2RC, Daniel Sanders.
00:58For sure, we're in a really good position right now with the team and the World Championship.
01:03So, yeah, we try to keep the streak running. That's going to be the goal.
01:07But I feel good and the bike's good, so we'll be ready to go full send here in the dunes.
01:12The Aussie won't have it all his own way, though.
01:15Honda boasts a very strong line-up indeed, featuring San Supremo Adrian van Beveren,
01:21who won this event in 2023.
01:24I love this kind of terrain. I think I can do really good.
01:27It will depend also on the starting order and stuff.
01:31But yeah, I know I can go fast, so we'll try that.
01:36Hero are putting their faith in Ross Branch and Nacho Cornejo,
01:39though world champion Branch is still recovering from a crash at the Dakar
01:43and says he'll be riding in support of his Chilean team-mates.
01:49There is also a star-studded line-up in the Rally 2 class,
01:53with Michael Doherty, Edgar Canet and Tobias Ebster among the favourites.
01:57Last year's winner, Konrad Dabrowski, is also a man to watch.
02:03But it's not just two wheels tackling the soft sand in 2025.
02:08The quad category makes a welcome return to the running order.
02:12Abdulaziz Akhli is back and chasing his fifth consecutive victory.
02:22There's also a stellar start list in the ultimate class,
02:25with the 21 entries including four-time winner Nasser Alatiyah,
02:302023 champion and this year's Dakar victor Yazeed Al-Rajji,
02:34and some of the other biggest names in Rally Raid.
02:37Title holder Alatiyah is here with his new team,
02:40the Dacia Sand Riders, alongside nine-time world rally champion Sebastian Loeb.
02:45And the Qatari has some ground to make up in the championship.
02:50I have a good feeling, you know, for Abu Dhabi Rally,
02:52and we win a lot of time here and we have really good experience.
02:57Abu Dhabi Rally, it's totally different from any race.
03:01So we are ready for this challenge.
03:03Al-Rajji, in one of six overdrive Toyotas, has a solid lead in the W2RC.
03:08The Saudi says he's here to consolidate that advantage
03:12and leave the rest of the field to attack.
03:15Every year when we come here, we know it's a tough race
03:18and easy to make mistakes, easy to come out of this race.
03:22But we try our best and try to make it a clever race
03:26and take maximum what we can and go back home with a nice trophy.
03:32That's our target.
03:33With Henk Lathaken absent, Al-Rajji's closest challenger in the championship
03:38is Matthias Ekstrom in one of two Ford M Sport Raptors.
03:42The Swede and his team-mate Mitch Guthrie
03:44are both making their first Desert Challenge appearance in the Ultimates.
03:49Well, of the flagship brands, that leaves X-Raid Mini.
03:53But Belgium's Guillaume de Mevius is without his usual co-driver Mathieu Bommel,
03:56who recently lost his right leg following a roadside accident.
04:00Polish wonder kid Eric Gokshal is also back
04:03and making his W2RC debut in this class.
04:08Over in the Challengers, all eyes are on Nicolas Kavigliasso
04:11and wife Valentina Pertigarini.
04:13They lead the championship after victory in Saudi.
04:16While in the SSVs,
04:172024 Desert Challenge winner Mansoor Bill Hilly
04:20goes head-to-head with the W2RC frontrunner, Alexander Pinto.
04:32The founder of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge
04:34and current FIA president, Mohamed Ben Salayem,
04:37was joined by other VIP guests
04:39to give the riders and drivers a spectacular send-off in El Aene.
04:44A total of 103 vehicles, from rally raid first-timers
04:48to the sport's biggest stars,
04:50preparing to embark on a fantastic five-day adventure
04:53in some of the world's toughest dunes.
05:12The two-wheeled heroes of the rally GP class
05:15made their way down to the start of the first full stage,
05:18each with their own set-ups and strategies,
05:20but all with an eye on the same goal,
05:22victory at this year's Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.
05:29The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge starts now.
05:32There were question marks over Ross Branch's form
05:35coming into Abu Dhabi,
05:36as he only jumped back on the bike a week before it started,
05:39but a man known as the Kalahari Ferrari made a decent start.
05:43Fourth fastest in rally GP in this 243k opener,
05:47although he was more than five minutes off the pace.
05:57Ahead of him came Argentina's Luciano Benavides.
06:01The Argentinian put in a stellar performance
06:03to lead the charge for KTM,
06:05while teammate Daniel Sanders limped through with clutch issues.
06:08Benavides third fastest on the day.
06:15Ricky Brabeck said he was happy to be back in the dunes,
06:18which are a little easier on the body than the rough open desert.
06:21The American roaring through the opening special
06:23to take second place in a Honda 1-2.
06:26Some significant changes to the bike over the winter period
06:29are clearly paying off.
06:34We made a big change of direction with suspension last week.
06:38Much happier with the motorcycle now,
06:40so we're in the good direction
06:42and definitely looking forward to four more days.
06:44Hopefully we can keep the momentum going forward and finish strong.
06:48But the early leader was Tosha Shireina.
06:51The Spaniard fastest through the prologue
06:53and doubling up on stage one.
06:55Not a bad start to his first Abu Dhabi desert challenge.
07:01I knew that the rest of the riders didn't want to open tomorrow,
07:06but we won today.
07:08So, yeah, tomorrow we have that difficult mission to open the station.
07:12We will see.
07:16So Shireina would be first into stage two,
07:19with overcast conditions the following morning
07:21prompting some concerns about visibility.
07:28And now I think we have another difficult mission,
07:31is choose which one lens we are going to use,
07:34because today is so close the weather at the time,
07:38so we will see.
07:40With his lens chosen, but no lines to follow in the sand,
07:43Shireina was relying solely on his own navigational skills,
07:47and while he felt he did a very good job opening,
07:49he inevitably lost time.
07:51The Spaniard eventually finishing the stage over nine minutes down.
08:02Well, meanwhile, Ross Branch's rally ground to a halt.
08:05The happy-go-lucky man from Botswana began stage two
08:08in fourth overall, but after just 107 kilometres,
08:12he was forced to stop as a result of a burnt-out clutch,
08:15and his rally was over.
08:24It was a tough race.
08:24You know, this is the toughest race on the body and on the bike as well,
08:27so you can kind of expect it, you know,
08:29so it's one of the things that's happened.
08:32We're in one piece, we're safe and we're healthy,
08:34and we've just got to shift our thoughts to South Africa the next round,
08:38you know.
08:40Luciano Benavides started the day in third position,
08:42and he was looking to gain some time on the two Hondas in front of him,
08:46Sharayna and Brebeck.
08:47Despite banging his knee on the handlebars at one point,
08:50he did exactly that, going fourth quickest and moving up to second overall.
08:58I didn't feel so, so comfortable on the bike with the setting today,
09:02but I tried to still push and catch the guys in front,
09:07and we are still in the fight for the rest.
09:13Adrian van Beveren was playing catch-up in the early days of the rally
09:16after what he described as a silly mistake in the qualifying stage.
09:20The only former winner in this year's rally GP field,
09:23he led the charge for Honda on stage two, coming third fastest.
09:33With Ross Branch out,
09:35the hero effort fell on the shoulders of Nacho Cornejo,
09:38and the Chilean didn't disappoint on stage two,
09:40powering to second place.
09:42The 30-year-old has settled into the team nicely
09:45after six years with Honda.
09:46He now wants to be fighting up at the business end of the stand.
09:52I enjoyed the riding since the beginning,
09:55fell a lot more loose,
09:56did some touches to the suspension from yesterday to today,
09:59and it worked.
10:00Overall, a good day.
10:01Solid day, I think, around the top spot,
10:05so happy for that.
10:06It will be a battle every day.
10:08The guys are pushing hard,
10:09so we will see how it goes.
10:11But after a steady start,
10:13Daniel Sanders, with those clutch issues from day one now solved,
10:17was showing his real pace.
10:19The undoubted star of stage two,
10:21he took the win by four minutes and jumped into the overall lead.
10:25But had he moved too soon,
10:27the Aussie would face big navigational challenges opening stage three.
10:31Much better day.
10:33We changed a few things on the bike from last night,
10:35just to get a little bit more comfortable.
10:36We came into the race with a new setting.
10:39Yeah, I got back into the rhythm a little bit today.
10:41It was good.
10:42And, yeah, I think we made some time,
10:45but, yeah, happy with the riding today
10:48and hopefully can improve tomorrow a little bit more.
10:52Stage three marked the midway point of the rally,
10:54and it was the big one, the marathon stage.
10:57The riders prepping for a night in the desert,
10:59and with tyre marking complete,
11:02they were ready for a full onslaught into the sand.
11:05It was slated as the most physical day of the week,
11:08with non-stop dunes seeking any weakness in man or machine
11:11and exploiting it.
11:14After his win, Sanders was charged with opening on stage three
11:18and did a fantastic job.
11:20The Aussie taking care of his KTM
11:22and avoiding any crashes or big navigation mistakes.
11:25He was sixth but only dropped four minutes,
11:27slipping to second overall
11:29and putting himself in an excellent position
11:31to attack on stage four.
11:41Well, this desert challenge was turning into a scrap
11:43between KTM and Honda
11:45with Ricky Brabeck playing a clever game for the Red Armada.
11:49No stage wins for the American
11:51but always nibbling at the heels of the fastest riders
11:54and within three minutes of the overall lead.
11:57By the end of the day,
11:58Skyler Howes was over ten minutes down,
12:01the lowest ranked of the rally GP riders.
12:03The American occasionally found his flow
12:05but will have been hoping for better.
12:07He says he needs to minimise mistakes
12:09and just keep putting the work in.
12:13Shiraina's strategy was all-out attack.
12:16Even if he had some issues with his electronic road book,
12:19he blasted his way to the stage win
12:20by almost two and a half minutes.
12:22A spectacular effort to put the Spaniard back on top
12:26ahead of Sanders
12:27but he would now be opening on stage four
12:29with very little margin for error.
12:34Benavides was still very much part of the overall conversation as well.
12:38Second on stage three and third overall,
12:40only two minutes behind Shiraina.
12:42Could KTM get their two riders on the podium
12:45like in Morocco last year?
12:51It's really close now in the overall
12:53but ready for the marathon now to sleep in the
12:56in the middle of the desert.
13:01Well the marathon camp was set up in Al Gore,
13:04officially the darkest place in the UAE
13:06but strong winds and a nasty sandstorm
13:09meant there would be no stargazing.
13:12The rally GP riders had just 30 minutes to work on their bikes
13:15then it was time to set up the tents,
13:17easier said than done in these conditions
13:19and prepare for a night in the deserts.
13:48Well stage four was an absolute disaster for the opener.
13:51Tosha Shiraina.
13:53Not for the first time this week
13:54he struggled manfully with navigation
13:56and shipped over 10 minutes.
13:58The Spaniard dropping to fifth overall
14:01and surely saying goodbye to his hopes of victory.
14:04Today definitely was the worst day to open the stage.
14:08It was so tricky.
14:09I did a mistake of navigation, kilometer 50.
14:13But yeah, it's part of the game
14:14and we will try tomorrow again.
14:16Nacho Corneica was flying under the radar
14:18for much of the week
14:19but the Chilean was right on it
14:21in this penultimate stage going third quickest.
14:23That left him with a slim chance
14:25of snatching the final overall podium spot for Hero.
14:30Well Shiraina wasn't the only one who had a day to forget.
14:34Luciano Benavides followed him into the stage
14:36and also suffered significant time losses
14:38coming in eight minutes down
14:40but Faster 77 did hold on to third place overall.
14:46The battle for that final podium spot would go down to the wire
14:49with Van Beveren trailing Benavides by just 21 seconds
14:53at the end of the day in fourth overall.
14:56The French sound specialist was second fastest on the stage.
15:02It was a tricky day but yeah, I gave my best.
15:05I pushed as much as I could.
15:07I catch up with the guys at the end of the stage.
15:11So overall it's a good day.
15:12But scorching his way to another stage win was the irrepressible Daniel Sanders.
15:18The Australian nailing his strategy to go into the final day with a huge lead
15:22nearly seven and a half minutes clear of Ricky Brabeck.
15:27I'll be out the front tomorrow.
15:29So yeah, I've got to try and push as much as I can opening the road book
15:33and hopefully not lose a lot of time.
15:37One final spin from Mazira to Abu Dhabi to conclude this 34th edition in Rally GP
15:43and there was still plenty to be settled.
15:53Adrian van Beveren was the winner when the Honda factory team last came to this rally in 2023
15:58but a poor prologue put the French star on the back foot
16:01and in the end he had to be satisfied with fifth place overall.
16:08For the second time this year, Luciano Benavides finished just off the podium in fourth.
16:13The Argentine says he feels in the best shape of his life
16:16but his results in 2025 haven't reflected that.
16:20He'll be aiming higher in South Africa.
16:25I struggled a little bit to get the rhythm
16:28and happy with the result here in one piece, healthy and ready for the next one.
16:35Tosha Sharayna went all in on the final day, grabbing his fourth win of the rally
16:39and rescuing a podium spot in third overall.
16:42Had he got his tactics right, there is no doubt the Spaniards could have won on his Abu Dhabi debut.
16:50It was not an easy rally for us outside of my comfort zone here in the dunes.
16:55But yeah, if you want to be world champion in a world championship, you have to be fast in all
17:01kinds of terrain.
17:02So we have to adapt and improve.
17:04While making it two Hondas on the podium and going one better than Sharayna was Ricky Braybeck.
17:10Consistency the name of the game for the American.
17:13No stage wins, but he was always up there and he finished as the highest placed of the four Hondas.
17:23But this was another KTM and Daniel Sanders masterclass.
17:27That's now three overall wins in a row for Chucky after Morocco and the Dakar.
17:31He also has a commanding lead in the W2RC.
17:35Could 2025 be his year?
17:39It's good to go three in a row and feeling good.
17:42We're enjoying riding and the KTM is on fire.
17:51Sanders winning by five minutes 47 from Braybeck with Sharayna only 17 seconds further back in third.
17:57Cornejo and Howes rounded out the class in sixth and seventh.
18:01And here's how the championship stacks up after two rounds.
18:05Sanders leading Sharayna by 17 points.
18:09KTM are reigning supreme, but Honda have strength in depth.
18:13Six points separate them in the manufacturer's standings, with Hero a long way back.
18:21How much fuel did you put in?
18:25I mean, almost full in like ten here.
18:29Yeah, me too.
18:34The refueling out in the middle of the desert means we don't have to go into a city to refuel
18:38at a gas station.
18:39So, super thankful for the team here for bringing the fuel truck out to the middle of the dune so
18:44we can continue racing out here.
18:53Agnok is the UAE's largest mobility champion.
18:58We are providing fuel for the cars and for the competition, for the organizers, for the filming crew, the two
19:05helicopters, as well as the two rescue helicopters.
19:08We are also providing the jet fuel, nearly 36,000 liters of fuel.
19:15We are in the desert and at the starting point and at the finishing point.
19:20We are all along the 1920 kilometers.
19:27The dunes are sometimes soft, so you spin a lot and you use a lot of fuel, but luckily we
19:35have Agnok here to support us and give us fuel in the middle of nowhere.
19:38Good luck.
19:42Today I kept going until the reserve light went off and then I switched to the rear tank.
19:52It's cool to have the refuel out here so we can refresh, give the bikes what it needs to go
19:58full gas through the dunes.
20:02We've been always also renovating the way we provide the service and we're quite happy that we'll be doing so
20:07with highest degree of safety and the highest degree of quality of fuel that fuels this competition.
20:21The Rally 2 class was once again packed with talent, from ambitious newcomers to guys who are already mixing it
20:29up with the big boys.
20:34On paper the favorite was Michael Doherty, who's based in Dubai and loves the dunes.
20:40Fresh from a couple of stage wins at the Dakar, the South African lived up to his billing by topping
20:45the timesheets on the prologue and the first stage.
20:51The first part, that new section was awesome. It was like the most fun I've had on a rally bike,
20:59so it was really enjoyable.
21:03We were expecting a showdown between Doherty and Spain's rising star Edgar Canet, who at just 19 is already a
21:11fully fledged factory rider.
21:13However, the championship front runner suffered a big crash towards the end of the first full stage.
21:22I have a crash in one drop and yeah, I lost a little bit of time in the last part.
21:29Let's see if I can stay ready for tomorrow.
21:33Well, Canet was forced to withdraw with an injured left elbow, but he'll be back.
21:40Elsewhere, Roy Barbosa made a splash in his very first rally raid, coming fourth in rally two.
21:46The Chilean, who won the junior Enduro world title in 2018, is clearly a man to watch.
21:51And the country that gave us Chaleco Lopez, Pablo Quintanilla and Nacho Cornejo may well have a new star on
21:58their hands.
22:01Third place in the category went to Tobias Ebster, who keeps going from strength to strength.
22:06The Austrian was forced to change his engine on stage one. That meant a 15 minute penalty.
22:12And he also had some gearbox and suspension issues.
22:15Still, he was satisfied with the week's performance and now leads the rally two World Cup.
22:27I'm really, really getting that step closer to the factory guys, let's say.
22:31So I hope I can be one of them in the next Dakar and this definitely gave me a great
22:37experience for navigation and out there in the dunes.
22:41I love Abu Dhabi.
22:43Another man who loves Abu Dhabi is Konrad Dabrowski.
22:46The Pole lives in the UAE on a part-time basis and always performs well here.
22:51After winning the rally two class last year, he was second this year and ninth quickest of all bikers.
22:56That was all the more impressive given that he only came to the desert challenge to put his new KTM
23:02through its paces.
23:10First of all, when I came to the race, it was my race to test the new bike.
23:14It was my first time on the new model.
23:16So we thought in the beginning that I would be sort of an underdog, you know, like trying different stuff
23:24and maybe not racing to my full potential from the start.
23:28But yeah, I'm really, really surprised and happy about how I rode.
23:33In the end though, rally two was all about one man.
23:41Michael Doherty was absolutely unstoppable from start to finish, winning every single stage.
23:47The 30 year olds had some tough recent years in Abu Dhabi with crashes and injuries.
23:52But he finally put the pieces of the puzzle together to complete this rally for the first time since 2021
23:57when he also topped this class.
23:59The South African taking his first overall victory in the W2RC and showing that he will be in the thick
24:06of the fight for this year's rally two crown.
24:12It's been an incredible week.
24:15I've really enjoyed this rally.
24:17Yeah, I'm proud with my progress and yeah, taking my base, my first W2RC overalls, which is awesome, unbelievable.
24:26And yeah, just so happy.
24:30Doherty over half an hour clear of his nearest challenger, Dabrowski, with new boy Barbosa in fourth and Martin Ventura
24:37rounding out the top five.
24:40Doherty saw off all comers in Abu Dhabi, but it's Ebster who now leads the World Cup by just four
24:45points from the South African.
24:47And Kanit and Dabrowski aren't far behind.
24:50In the team standings, Bass World KTM are still top of the pile.
24:58Eleven of this year's rally two riders were taking part in the Malimoto class assistance free.
25:04And victory went to local star Hamdan al-Ali, the Emirati holding on to beat Great Britain's Tom Childs by
25:10just over eight minutes.
25:15It was really nice. The last four days was really tough. We got a lot of punishment and finally I
25:23did it.
25:30Over in the quads, there was a simple recipe for success.
25:35This year in the quad category, the winner will be who will have less problems.
25:40Antanas Kanokkinas was right on the money.
25:43The overwhelming favourite was Abdulaziz Ahli, going for his fifth consecutive title in Abu Dhabi.
25:49He started well with victory on his birthday on stage one, but a succession of technical problems sent him tumbling
25:55down the leaderboard.
25:57Ali eventually retired, finishing his desert challenge on the roadside, but at least he was still smiling.
26:05That opened the door for a new champion and the four remaining riders enjoyed a superb fight over the dunes.
26:12Poland's Marcin Wilkolek had to deal with his fair share of mechanical gremlins as well and finished a long way
26:18back in fourth.
26:20His compatriot, Marek Woj, was on course to take victory until the marathon stage,
26:25but he was forced to get outside assistance to change a flat tyre and incurred a six hour penalty.
26:31The pole still came third and said he exceeded his own expectations.
26:35He's already eyeing up a better result at the next round in South Africa.
26:40So in the end it was a 1-2 for the CFMoto Thunder Racing team, with Kanopkinas claiming victory ahead
26:47of his team-mate Gaeton Martinez.
26:49It was very much a team effort though, with Frenchman Martinez coming to the Lithuanian's rescue when he ran out
26:55of fuel on stage three.
26:59If you want to win, you need to have a very good team, only then you can achieve the success.
27:04And the success with the CFMoto Thunder Racing team is very huge.
27:10So one more podium and a very nice job for both of us.
27:15Kanopkinas picking up where he left off after victory in Morocco last year, with Martinez second on his Abu Dhabi
27:21debut.
27:24Well, this was the first round in the World Cup for quad in 2025, so Kanopkinas is our early pace
27:31-setter.
27:33Bigger dudes.
27:34Five, four, three, two, one, ready.
27:42Well, before we dive into the FIA classes, let's enjoy some of the most epic on-board shots from this
27:48year's Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.
28:20On to the car categories then, starting with the side-by-side vehicles or SSVs.
28:26Jeremias Gonzalez Ferrioli quickly showed he wasn't in Abu Dhabi to make up the numbers.
28:30The Argentine taking out the prologue and the first two stages to build a 30-minute overall lead.
28:38It was rough going, on the other hand, for the world championship leaders, Alexander Pinto and Bernardo Oliveira.
28:44Turbo trouble on the first two stages cost them over four and a half hours, but things would improve for
28:50the Portuguese pair.
28:51Once they fixed their power issues, they picked up some valuable points and held on to their championship lead.
28:59Meanwhile, the LIWA team were flying the flag for the UAE with two top desert drivers.
29:04Sheikh Khalid Al Qasimi needs no introduction, having won the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge in the cars in 2017.
29:10Though it's been a few years since he raced in cross country and he had to adapt to a car
29:15that's limited to 125 kilometers an hour.
29:19Al Qasimi showed flashes of his potential with a couple of early podiums, but ultimately technical issues meant he was
29:25forced to retire the car on the final stage.
29:32His teammate, Mansoor Bill Hilly, was the defending champion in the SSVs, but the young Emirati also ran into trouble.
29:39Suspension problems, a broken turbo and a broken prop shaft.
29:43Mansoor was nevertheless the top ranked W2RC driver on a couple of stages as he entered the championship for the
29:49first time.
29:50He was certainly hoping for better.
29:58We came with a mission of defending our position for last year and we tried our fully best.
30:06I promise you guys next year we will keep the fight on.
30:11As some of the more fancied contenders faded, others came to the fore.
30:16Jose Nogueira and Arcelio Couto, teammates of Pinto and Oliveira, ended up on the overall podium in third, thanks to
30:23their steady approach.
30:25Enrico Gasparri was second overall and top dog in the W2RC.
30:29Even more impressive considering that his usual co-driver, Fausto Mota, got stuck in Istanbul airport en route to Abu
30:37Dhabi.
30:37So mechanic Antoine Le Corbe had to jump into the car.
30:41During the day navigate and in the night working on the car.
30:46A fantastic guy.
30:49But like rally 2, the SSV class was absolutely dominated by one man, or two men in fact.
30:55Jeremia Gonzalez Ferrioli and Jose Sebastian Cezana.
30:59The new Can-Am Maverick R was running like a dream as they won the qualifier in all five stages
31:05to claim victory by almost an hour and a half.
31:10We enjoyed Abu Dhabi the SSR Challenge from the beginning to the end.
31:14We loved the dunes, the car was built for the dunes, so we really had fun.
31:20Gonzalez winning comfortably from Gasparri and Nogueira, while Monsoor's father Yaya Bilhili, who's done every single edition of this event,
31:28just missed out on a podium.
31:30Pinto still leads the championship, but Gasparri has closed the gap to 11 points.
31:42There was also a high quality start list in the challenger category, with BBR Motorsport set to dominate.
31:51Nicolas Cavigliasso and his wife Valentina Pertigarini were the crew to beat after their Dakar victory, but the Argentine duo
31:58dropped out of contention on the very first stage after rolling their tour as T3 Max.
32:03They retired from the special and incurred some hefty penalties, but still took enough points later in the week to
32:09keep their championship lead.
32:11The early stages saw Saudi teammates Dania Akil and Yasir Sayadan going head-to-head, often separated by just a
32:18few seconds at the top of the standings.
32:21Sayadan was given a one-minute penalty on stage one, handing the honours to Akil.
32:26She had originally finished just one second behind.
32:29Sayadan then forged ahead on stage two, winning by almost five minutes, but his hopes of overall victory were essentially
32:36ruined by a slow puncture on stage three.
32:40The margins in this class were so tight that when Yasir dropped almost 45 minutes, there would be no way
32:46back.
32:52On the refuel we found a tyre lost some air, so in the second part we slowed down the rhythm
33:01to not have more problems.
33:05Well, to his credit, the Saudi kept fighting and finished on a high, winning the final two stages.
33:10He ended up 22 minutes back in fourth overall, and pocketed 39 points in the W2RC.
33:21Now we've got used to seeing Marcos Baumgart in the Ultimates in recent years, but the Brazilian showed he can
33:27also handle himself in the challenges.
33:29In his familiar yellow colours, Baumgart swept to third place overall, picking up three stage podiums along the way.
33:36He was the only driver in the top five not taking part in the championship, so it'll be interesting to
33:41see if he decides to stick with BBR Motorsports at the upcoming rounds.
33:47Like Baumgart, Pao Navarro also did last year's Desert Challenge in the Ultimates, before finishing on the Challenger podium in
33:542025.
33:56The 20-year-old Spaniard took the honours on stage three, and was chasing Akil all the way with the
34:01help of his rookie co-driver, Llan Rosa y Vinas.
34:05Ultimately, they had to be satisfied with second place overall.
34:11We came here in the search of good points, and I think that we did a good job. We were
34:17going to save all the race. Happy to be second.
34:22And so, all hail the Queen of Abu Dhabi, Dania Akil, who powered her way to a first overall victory
34:29in the World Championship.
34:30The Saudi had a lot of issues on home soil in January, but this result puts her right back in
34:36the W2RC fight, and underlines the fact that she just keeps getting better.
34:43My first W2RC win feels fantastic. It comes with a lot of intention, a lot of work, a lot of
34:50focus, and a lot of effort.
34:51It doesn't just arrive. It was a strong team, strong car, and I hope we'll be stronger drivers every race.
35:01BBR Motorsport doing a remarkable one, two, three, four, with Adam Kush completing the top five, just like he did
35:08at the Dakar.
35:11Akil's win lifts her to fourth in the W2RC standings, but it's still Cavigliasso who leads from Navarro.
35:26Now, ahead of this 34th edition, the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge organized a visit to the Tawam Hospital in El
35:33Ayn.
35:36The paediatric oncology wing is home to children of all ages suffering with cancer.
35:41And a few days after International Childhood Cancer Day, this was an opportunity to put a smile back on their
35:48faces.
35:52Having all the champions here from the rally, actually, they are giving the patients the encouragement to continue their treatment.
36:00They are giving us the encouragement also to continue.
36:03It's not only about giving chemotherapy or medication, it's about psychosurgical support for patients and their families.
36:15It's ready, huh? It's ready.
36:21My thoughts and prayers are with everybody here, and the opportunity to give back is incredible.
36:26So, keep smiling, keep happy, and let's make every day count.
36:39We are not only coming to do the race, we are coming to share many things, you know, here in
36:45El Ayn.
36:46The new location for us is really amazing, and thanks for everyone who support, you know, the hospital, who support
36:54the kids.
37:00It's sometimes hard to see, but on the other side, we can bring them a little bit of a smile,
37:06so that's why we are here.
37:17Finally, the ultimate class, with the ultimate cars and the ultimate cast.
37:22Ford, Dacia, Toyota and Mini, all ready to rumble.
37:30The last two winners of this event, Yazid Al-Rajji and Nasser Al-Atiyah, were expecting to be duking it
37:36out for victory, but Al-Rajji got off to a bad start.
37:40The Saudi had engine problems on stage one, affecting his top speed and costing him over eight minutes.
37:46The world championship leader would be playing catch up for the rest of the week.
37:56No such issues for Al-Atiyah, who was fastest in the prologue and chose to start stage one as far
38:02back as possible in 16th place.
38:04He measured his effort to come fourth, only a couple of minutes off the pace.
38:11Well, Nasser's teammate, Sebastian Loeb, was determined to bounce back after a disappointing Dakar, and he also made a positive
38:18start in Abu Dhabi.
38:19The Frenchman with a nice clean run on the opening stage to go second fastest.
38:24The nine-time world rally champion looking in good shape.
38:38SETH QUINTERO
38:39Seth Quintero finished the first full day in a Sand Rider sandwich, third between Loeb and Al-Atiyah.
38:44Toyota looking to build on their stellar start to the campaign.
38:50And the Japanese manufacturer had the early pace-setter in Lucas Marais.
38:54He took the stage one win by just over a minute from Loeb.
38:58He took the stage one win by just over a minute from Loeb.
39:02In 200 metres, 90 left with danger two.
39:09We are really working super hard with the car. The car was performing amazing.
39:13So, yeah, really happy to deliver this win for them and we are leading the race. Let's keep going.
39:19Marais would be first into stage two then.
39:23And it was set to be a bumpy ride in the empty quarter.
39:28So we don't get motion sickness in the dunes.
39:32This is perfect for first day, second day, third, fourth and fifth day.
39:37The whole package.
39:39Marais unleashing the power of his Toyota Gazoo Racing Hilux.
39:43And despite opening, he would only drop a minute and 42 seconds on this second stage.
39:49Others faced much bigger problems.
39:52Daniel Schroeder, who briefly led the rankings on stage one, was forced to retire and incurred some massive penalties.
40:00A tough day too for Martin Prokop, who's a desert challenge specialist, having won in 2018 and come second on
40:06three occasions.
40:08The Czech lost more than two hours due to a broken drive shaft and problems with the hydraulic system, which
40:13meant they couldn't deploy the jack properly.
40:15It ended his hopes of a fifth podium finish.
40:20In the absence of co-driver Mathieu Bommel, to whom he paid tribute at the start of the rally, Guillaume
40:25de Mevius had linked back up with Xavier Ponseri and they sat fifth after stage two.
40:32The Ford M Sport team had entered two cars in Abu Dhabi, but they didn't get off to the best
40:36start.
40:37Mitch Guthrie admitted he's still learning what the Raptor is capable of and finished outside the top ten on the
40:43first two days, although he would improve.
40:50And sadly, this desert challenge was short lived for Matthias Ekstrom, who'd been hoping to build on his third place
40:55at the Dakar.
40:56The Swede forced to abandon with illness before stage three.
41:01Well, it looks set to be a Dacia double on stage two, but Aletier was given a one minute penalty
41:06for a false start and that dropped him to third behind Moraes.
41:10The Qatari also had some trouble with a broken rear spring.
41:15Loeb, on the other hand, had a nice smooth outing and his reward was a first ever W2RC victory in
41:21the Dacia Sand Rider.
41:23The French rally legend also moving into the overall lead.
41:31We tried to push hard in this stage, so we did a good day. No mistake, the car was very
41:37good, so no problem.
41:47On to part one of the marathon stage, which was all about keeping the car in one piece.
41:53The drivers are well aware of the importance of these two days.
42:00Today will be more of a survival day and we know this area pretty well. We've raced it for quite
42:05a few years and this is where all the big drops are, so just kind of watch out for that
42:10and bring the car back in one piece so we have too much work tonight.
42:13Well, Seth Quintero enjoying his best day of the rally so far, speeding into second place.
42:19The Americans said he's been trying not to overthink things because he usually performs better when he can get out
42:24of his own head.
42:28There was a brilliant stage three skirmish between Moraes and Alatia, who set off in second and third.
42:35With the Brazilian suffering an early puncture, Alatia soon muscled his way in front and was really pushing that Dacia
42:41to its limit over the dunes.
42:47Moraes spent much of the day in Alatia's rear view mirror and ended up losing four minutes to him.
42:52But with Loeb getting a two minute speeding penalty, the Toyota Gazoo racing driver was still second overall at the
42:58end of the stage, only 49 seconds down.
43:05Well, that of course meant the win went to Nasser, the man who first raced here in the early 1990s,
43:11surging into the overall lead.
43:16This was very difficult because a lot of wind and, you know, the track sometimes disappeared, but OK, we did
43:24a really good job.
43:25A little further down the pecking order, Joao Ferreira was flying the flag for the X-Raid mini-team.
43:31The Portuguese driver just trying to minimise mistakes on this marathon, but in the end, he was only 29 seconds
43:38down on Moraes in fourth place.
43:40Very solid indeed.
43:44And what about Eric Goxiao on his World Championship debut in the T1 Plus?
43:49Well, the young Pole was acquitting himself very nicely indeed.
43:52A big impact at the start calmed him down a bit, but he still ripped through to come fifth.
43:57The 20-year-old is certainly a fast learner.
44:03Well, the wind had picked up by the time the cars reached the marathon bivouac in Algoa,
44:08so ski masks on in the service park before setting up for a night in the desert.
44:22Good morning.
44:29Good morning.
44:39Good morning.
44:41Good morning.
44:41Good morning.
44:45Very good night.
44:46Sleep good.
44:48Wake up early, breakfast, now ready.
44:52Well, stage four just so happened to coincide with Sebastian Loeb's birthday, but would it be a happy birthday?
44:58He started strongly, leading after 51K on the day he turned 51.
45:05You think it's not that high, but then between the dune and what you can see, there's a hole.
45:12Well, Loeb dreams of conquering Rally Raid, but his luck seems to run out whenever he gets close.
45:18A crash and another DNF.
45:21We were coming down those dunes, there was a waypoint to get here, and we went just next to it.
45:27So we did a quick 360 to get it, we were only 10 metres away.
45:31And I went back into my own dust, and in the three seconds that I was in the dust,
45:36there was a little dune in the riverbed, so we hit it and rolled, end over end.
45:42Game over.
45:43You can't get more unlucky than that.
45:47Well, if it was bad for Loeb, it was even worse for Alia Kolloch.
45:53Luckily, both she and her co-driver, Sebastian Delaunay, were OK.
46:04In fifth place on the stage was Mitch Guthrie, carrying the hopes of the Ford M Sport team now
46:09after Ekstrom's withdrawal, and in the absence of Carlos Sainz and Nanny Roma.
46:13The American still a bit off the pace, but always improving.
46:18Well, earlier, NASA was telling us about his breakfast at the marathon camp,
46:21and his co-driver, Edouard Boulanger, was struggling to keep that breakfast down in these massive dunes.
46:27Not the easiest day in the Dacia Sand Rider, but they were still third,
46:31only losing a handful of seconds to their nearest rivals, Maraiche and Monleon.
46:37Maraiche praised his amazing machine as he managed to sneak that Toyota ahead of Alatia in the final part of
46:43the stage.
46:45The Brazilian would head into the last day with a deficit of just 41 seconds in the overall standings.
46:52This race has been really crazy. The fight with NASA is unbelievable.
46:57Hey, now we are 40 seconds out of the lead, or 39.
47:00Tomorrow will be an insane day.
47:03The stage four victory went to Erik Gokshal, who was thrust into pole position after Loeb's early withdrawal.
47:09Another milestone ticked off for the supremely talented youngster, and he dedicated this one to his father Marek,
47:16who had a nasty crash on stage three.
47:21Yesterday, my father had a big accident.
47:24There was a big choice if I should go back to Poland with him to help him,
47:27but we decided together that I should stay and represent the family.
47:31This stage one I want to dedicate to him.
47:33We did a really good job today with Oriole as well.
47:36No mistakes in the navigation. I think this is where we gain.
47:39We push like hell, and it was really worth it.
47:43Well, what a difference a day makes.
47:45From Erik's first win in the Ultimates to a big fire on stage five.
47:49Luckily, with help from Marek, they were able to save the car.
47:55The sun rising on the final showdown of this Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.
48:00Marek versus Alatia.
48:0212 and a half hours of racing, over a thousand kilometers of special, and there were just 41 seconds between
48:09them.
48:12Away from the fight for victory, though, stage five turned into a disaster for Yazid Al-Rajji.
48:18Sixth in the morning, he was forced to abandon with the mechanical issues, dealing a major blow to his world
48:24championship hopes.
48:27With Al-Rajji, Agokxau and Joao Ferreira all hitting trouble on the last day, Juan Cruz Iacopini leapt up from
48:34seventh to fourth place overall.
48:36The Argentine had been keeping a fairly low profile, but finished his desert challenge on a high.
48:45The strategy was not to push too hard and not to take risks in this race.
48:49I was really happy with what we made with Danny and the team, so I'm happy and let's see how
48:55we continue this year.
48:58Well, Seth Quintero therefore found himself in a bit of a no-man's land.
49:02Too far behind the two frontrunners to have any realistic chance of overall victory, but comfortably clear of the rest.
49:08The American matching his result from last year in third place overall, but we all know he's aiming higher.
49:19And so to the fight for the trophy.
49:22Marais heading into the stage with 41 seconds to make up, but that wasn't going to be easy with Alatia
49:28starting just behind him.
49:31The Qatari isn't a four-time winner here for no reason, and he seems to thrive most when the pressure
49:37is really on.
49:40It was a phenomenally close contest, but in the end Marais came up just short, missing out on the win
49:46by two minutes and 28 seconds.
49:48In his relatively short rally-weight career, the Brazilians come close to some big wins, and you could see just
49:55how devastated he was to miss out again here.
49:57Surely, his time will come.
50:07I really want to win, but Nasser is one of the greatest of all time, so it's hard, but I'm
50:16dedicating 110% of this.
50:18We are so close, but again, it's hard to beat that guy, and we've got to keep finding South Africa
50:24next.
50:25One of the greatest of all time, and claiming his fifth Abu Dhabi crown, Nasser Alatia very much living up
50:32to his nickname as the Prince of the Dunes.
50:38We managed last three days, we push a lot, and we are really quite happy to win fifth times here
50:45in Abu Dhabi.
50:46It's really a big thing, you know, and now to lead the world champion, this is really amazing.
50:56Alatia leading in the Toyota Gazoo Racing pair of Maraish and Quintero, with Jacopini and Guthrie completing the top five
51:03after a dramatic final day.
51:06And as Nasser said, he's back on top in the W2RC, having picked up 48 points here in Abu Dhabi,
51:13compared to a MISD 3 for Al-Rajji.
51:17Toyota Gazoo Racing still lead the manufacturer's standings ahead of Dacia.
51:24What a race, what a rally. Abu Dhabi has been everything that we could have expected and more, and this
51:31desert certainly provided an enormous challenge.
51:35It has been a memorable 34th edition.
51:50Congratulations to all of our finishers and prize winners.
51:53The W2RC season continues in South Africa in May, while the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge will be back in 2026.
52:02Join us then, and thanks for watching.
52:08.
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