The opening stages of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge have delivered gloriously unpredictable off-road action. The vast Liwa Desert has shown its teeth and taken a bite out of some leading World Rally-Raid Championship contenders, all of which are planning to fight back on the remaining three stages.
Victory on Stage One has seen 14-time Dakar Rally winner Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA) surge to the front of the car race. The Audi RS Q e-tron driver along with navigator Edouard Boulanger (FRA) holds an advantage of close to eight minutes at the head of the general classification.
« It’s really nice to be back here in Abu Dhabi, I was last here three years ago. We started this rally with big motivation, but also with some doubt because the rally is really difficult. » – Stéphane Peterhansel
It was a tough opening stage for reigning Dakar champions Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) and co-driver Mathieu Baumel (FRA) who were unable to complete the day’s racing. The Toyota Gazoo Racing duo rejoined the rally on Stage Two and set the fastest time, but a 24-hour time penalty picked up Stage One puts them well adrift in the overall rankings.
« The first stage was not a good day for us. It was not a big accident, but we landed very hard. Unluckily we bent the low arm at the front of the car and then it broke. » – Nasser Al-Attiyah
Sébastien Loeb (FRA) and co-driver Fabian Lurquin (BEL) also endured a tough Stage One, ending up with an eighth place finish. A runners-up result on Stage Two puts the BRX Hunter crew sixth overall, still over two hours behind Peterhansel.
« We have secured four points for the championship today and that is the important thing. Now we focus on tomorrow. » – Sébastien Loeb
Kuba Przygonski (POL), racing a MINI JCW Buggy with co-driver Timo Gottschalk (GER), still has the podium in his sights after two stages as he sits fourth overall.
Kevin Benavides (ARG), the newest recruit of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, leads the bike category of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge after two stages.
« It feels good to be leading the race, so I’ll try and keep this momentum going tomorrow. » – Kevin Benavides
Benavides also has his KTM team-mates Toby Price (AUS) and Matthias Walkner (AUT) in the Top 10 overall as the squad push for victory in sands of Abu Dhabi.
« It’s definitely a tough rally – the heat doesn’t help – but I’m pleased with how things are going and I’m ready for day three. » – Toby Price
GasGas Factory Racing’s Sam Sunderland (GBR) is fourth overall – less than six minutes behind Benavides – as he looks to follow up his 2022 Dakar win with victory at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.
« It was a really difficult second stage with lots of dunes. I expected a tough day today with 90% of the first 200 kilometres all in big dunes. » – Sam Sunderland
Victory on Stage Two has put Chaleco López (CHL) on top in the T3 lightweight vehicles class. The South Racing Can-Am driver is competing alongside co-driver Paolo Ceci (ITA) in Abu Dhabi.
« We’ve kept our focus so far because this is a very technical rally with very difficult dunes, much softer sand than at the Dakar. » – Chaleco López
Chasing down López are the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team crews of Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP)/François Cazalet (FRA) and Seth Quintero (USA)/Dennis Zenz (GER). Gutiérrez has placed on the podium on both opening stages, showing the type of consistency that won her last year’s T3 World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies.
« We knew it was going to be a complicated day today because of the amount of kilometres and also because of the heat. We have to keep finishing stages because this is still very long! » – Cristina Gutiérrez
Quintero meanwhile fought back from a broken stabilizer bar on Stage One to finish Stage Two as runner-up. The teenage American is now third overall, 13 minutes behind team-mate Gutiérrez and 34 minutes behind López with three stages remaining.
The two other Off-Road Junior Team crews of Guillaume de Mevius (BEL)/Tom Colsoul (BEL) and Mitch Guthrie Jr. (USA)/Ola Fløene (NOR) suffered time losses on Stage Two. It was particularly tough to take for De Mevius who had led the rally after setting the fastest time on Stage One.
There’s still close to 1,000 kilometres to be raced at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge before the chequered flag flies on Thursday, March 10 and plenty of World Rally-Raid Championship points up for grabs.
Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge Standings
CAR RACE TOP 3 – After Stage Two
1. S. Peterhansel (FRA) – Audi, 8:05:15
2. Y. Al Rajhi (SAU) – Toyota, +7:49
3. M. Prokop (CZE) – Ford, +15:50…
BIKE RACE TOP 3 – After Stage Two
1. K. Benavides (ARG) – KTM, 7:52:48
2. R. Brabec (USA) – Honda, +4:23
3. I. Cornejo (CHL) – Honda, +5:04…
LIGHTWEIGHT PROTOTYPE (T3) TOP 3 – After Stage Two
1. F. Lopez (CHL) – Can-Am, 8:26:56
2. C. Gutierrez (ESP) – OT3, +21:01
3. S. Quintero (USA) – OT3, +33:49…
QUOTES
Stéphane Peterhansel: « It’s really nice to be back here in Abu Dhabi, I was last here three years ago. We started this rally with big motivation, but also with some doubt because the rally is really difficult. But as the kilometres increase it has been a real pleasure to drive so far. »
Nasser Al-Attiyah: « The first stage was not a good day for us. It was not a big accident, but we landed very hard. We’ve landed like this hundreds of times without a problem. Unluckily this time we bent the low arm at the front of the car and then it broke. We quickly accepted what happened and we will enjoy the rest of the days at this rally. »
Sébastien Loeb: « It was really tough today. It was a very difficult stage with really soft sand and tricky dunes making it very slow. However, the car was really good and fast and it ran well in the hot temperatures. We have secured four points for the championship and that is the important thing. Now we focus on tomorrow. »
Kevin Benavides: « Today was a good stage for me and I’m happy with the final result. It was a tough stage both physically and mentally too, because at about kilometre 50 I stopped to help Mike Docherty after he had crashed. I called the helicopter and waited for just over 20 minutes before setting off again. It’s always tough to regain your focus after something like that, but I was able to keep up a good pace and complete the stage safely. It feels good to be leading the race, so I’ll try and keep this momentum going tomorrow. »
Toby Price: « Day two is done now and it went OK. I was making good progress up to around kilometre 140 where I had a bit of a crash. The bike landed on top of me and burned the inside of my arm, which isn’t great, but other than that it was a pretty solid day. It’s definitely a tough rally – the heat doesn’t help – but I’m pleased with how things are going and I’m ready for day three. »
Matthias Walkner: « The second day went well for me, but it was a long and very challenging stage. I caught the leader at around kilometre 15, and after that opened the rest of the special. I think I did a good job navigating and making my way through the dunes, but it was really demanding to be at maximum focus for close to four and a half hours, especially in the heat. I’m pleased with how things are going, no problems so far, so we’ll see what happens tomorrow. »
Sam Sunderland: « It was a really difficult stage with lots of dunes. I expected a tough day today with 90% of the first 200 kilometres all in big dunes. I caught Matthias after the refuelling and he was doing a really good job so we rode together on the last part. »
Chaleco López: « We’ve kept our focus so far because this is a very technical rally with very difficult dunes, much softer sand than at the Dakar. It can be very stressful out there trying to avoid problems. »
Cristina Gutiérrez: « Stage Two went well, without problems for us. We knew it was going to be a complicated day today because of the amount of kilometres and also because of the heat. We have to keep finishing stages because this is still very long! There’s another big stage tomorrow. »
Christine Fial,