The 2023 Sonora Rally was a bumpy ride from start to finish for the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) convoy. Reigning champions and category leaders saw their rallies come to a premature end while a mix of multiple Dakar winners and young guns hit the front. The trip to Mexico was the first-ever North American stop for the W2RC and it ended up as prickly as a cactus…
The Sonora Rally is the latest race to be conquered by five-time Dakar champion Nasser Al-Attiyah. The Qatari ace, co-driver Mathieu Baumel and their Toyota Hilux GR DKR T1+ were once again in perfect synchronisation as they powered through the championship terrain unique to Mexico. The result takes Al-Attiyah to the top of the T1 W2RC rankings as he defends the crown he won last year.
« I’m so happy to win the Sonora Rally, the third round of the World Rally-Raid Championship. We’ve had a really amazing week and it was important for us to take the lead of the championship here. » – Nasser Al-Attiyah
It was Sébastien Loeb who had led the W2RC ahead of the Sonora Rally. However, Loeb’s BRX Prodrive Hunter got stuck in a ditch on Stage 3 and a shoulder injury for co-driver Fabian Lurquin saw their rally end prematurely. Loeb has two remaining rounds of the 2023 W2RC season to get back on top.
There were plenty of fireworks in the small dunes of Sonora during the T3 contest. Heading into the fifth stage Mitch Guthrie Jr. of the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team USA presented by BFGoodrich held an overall lead of just over one minute from Mattias Ekström. On the final stage Guthrie Jr., co-driver Kellon Walch and their MCE5 machine put down the hammer to win the Sonora Rally by over six minutes from Ekström who can normally be found driving in the T1 class. It’s fitting that the W2RC’s first trip to this region produced a North American winner.
« Being here in Mexico has been a blast. To be close to home and fighting for the overall win has been awesome. » – Mitch Guthrie Jr.
Ekström and co-driver Emil Bergkvist had to make do with second overall and they were joined on the final podium by Austin Jones/Gustavo Gugelmin.
« We’ve just finished up the Sonora Rally out here in Mexico. We had a really fun time. On the final stage we jumped up from P4 to P3. » – Austin Jones
The crews of Cristina Gutiérrez/Pablo Moreno and Chaleco Lopez/Juan Pablo Latrach came up just short of the final podium in Mexico, finishing in fourth and fifth respectively. Gutiérrez suffered cruel luck on the final stage with two broken belts costing her time and ultimately a place on the overall podium.
« We’re happy with our performance here and we’re grateful to all the people who have helped us out. » – Cristina Gutiérrez
Guthrie Jr. and Jones’s Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team USA presented by BFGoodrich team-mate Seth Quintero kept himself in the hunt for W2RC glory with impressive stage results alongside co-driver Dennis Zenz after the pair lost nearly two hours on Stage 1 due to a mechanical issue. Quintero’s gritty fightback sees him leading the T3 W2RC standings with 152 points, three points ahead of Jones and 11 points ahead of Guthrie Jr.
« We’ve got a podium on the final stage, but we wanted a whole lot more. The championship is still on the line and I’m excited to get to the next round. » – Seth Quintero
Keeping a cool head in the desert heat were Rokas Baciuška and co-driver Oriol Vidal as they bagged a comfortable victory in the T4 class. Baciuška suffered heartbreak on the final stage of the Dakar earlier this year as he saw the T4 win slip through his fingers. However, the Lithuanian has bounced back with W2RC victories in Abu Dhabi and now Mexico to lead the championship.
« Our aim is always P1 so to get it done feels great. It’s been a pleasure to be here. The team has been working hard all week and given me a great buggy to drive every single day. » – Rokas Baciuška
Daniel Sanders claimed his first-ever W2RC victory in convincing style at the Sonora Rally. The Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing biker scored a string of stage wins that had him opening the route for the majority of the rally. Expert navigation allowed Sanders to stay in front and score plenty of precious time bonuses. The win seals a fabulous comeback that goes back to a broken elbow while leading the 2022 Dakar. The Australian was clearly delighted by his work in Mexico.
« It’s good to finally get a win. I’ve been winning stages and opening the day all week. We’ll have a good party tonight! » – Daniel Sanders
Toby Price battled back throughout the week after losing time on Stage 1. Eventually the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider had to settle for fourth overall. The result increases the two-time Dakar winner’s overall lead in the W2RC rankings, putting him seven points clear of his nearest rival.
« For the championship things are still looking good, but I would have liked a better race result here. » – Toby Price
Elsewhere there were encouraging returns from injury for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing pair Matthias Walkner and Kevin Benavides who finished fifth and 12th respectively.
« I’m super happy and stoked that the first race back after my comeback went well. Today’s stage was crazy, I’m not sure what the average speed was but I guess it was 120kph. » – Matthias Walkner
For Benavides the aim was always just to reach the finish line in Mexico, and he covered all 2,000km of the Sonora Rally despite suffering a broken femur just two months ago. Watch a video on his remarkable recovery here.
The Sonora Rally ended early for defending FIM W2RC title holder Sam Sunderland of Red Bull GASGAS Factory Racing. The British rider came off his bike on Stage 2 and was fortunate to escape serious injury.
We’re now past the halfway point of the 2023 W2RC with just two of the total five stops yet to play out. Next up is a trip to Argentina for the Desafío Ruta 40, running from August 26 to September 1 before the season finale at the Rallye du Maroc in October.
2023 Sonora Rally results: Top 3
T1 : 1. N. AL-ATTIYAH (QAT) TOYOTA 10:29:55 ; 2. Y. AL RAJHI (SAU) TOYOTA +6:22 ; 3. S. HALPERN (ARG) MINI +14:18…
T3 : 1. M. GUTHRIE JR. (USA) MCE5 11:17:24 ; 2. M. EKSTROM (SWE) CAN-AM +6:38 ; 3. A. JONES (USA) CAN-AM +10:46…
T4 : 1. R. BACIUSKA (LTU) CAN-AM 11:51:05 ; 2. R. BUSI (ITA) CAN-AM +01:59:11 ; 3. S. UMEDA (JPN) POLARIS +03:32:38…
Bike : 1. D. SANDERS (AUS) GASGAS 11:01:09 ; 2. T. SCHAREINA (ESP) HONDA +8:23 ; 3. L. BENAVIDES (ARG) HUSQVARNA +17:16…
World Rally-Raid Championship: Rankings
T1 : 1. N. AL-ATTIYAH (QAT) TOYOTA 136 points ; 2. Y. AL RAJHI (SAU) TOYOTA 106 pts ; 3. S. LOEB (FRA) PRODRIVE 101 pts…
T3 : 1. S. QUINTERO (USA) CAN-AM 152 points ; 2. A. JONES (USA) CAN-AM 149 pts ; 3. M. GUTHRIE JR. (USA) MCE5 141 pts…
T4 : 1. R. BACIUSKA (LTU) CAN-AM 189 points ; 2. E. GOCZAL (POL) CAN-AM 86 pts ; 3. S. UMEDA (JPN) POLARIS 79 pts…
Bike : 1. T. PRICE (AUS) KTM 62 points ; 2. L. BENAVIDES (ARG) HUSQVARNA 55 pts ; 3. A. VAN BEVEREN (FRA) HONDA 53 pts…
QUOTES
Nasser Al-Attiyah: « I’m feeling good! I’m so happy to win the Sonora Rally, the third round of the World Rally-Raid Championship. We’ve had a really amazing week and it was important for us to take the lead of the championship here. »
Mitch Guthrie Jr.: « It was a fast, short stage to finish the rally. It was a sprint race today. We had Mattias Ekström just a minute and nine seconds behind us at the start of the day for the overall win. We had a good pace during the stage and did absolutely everything we could to win. Being here in Mexico has been a blast. To be close to home and fighting for the overall win has been awesome. »
Mattias Ekström: « I got trapped in the dust of the car in front on the last stage. We also had a slow puncture that we had to stop and change. Today wasn’t too good for us but overall we’ve had a great experience. »
Austin Jones: « We’ve just finished up the Sonora Rally out here in Mexico. We had a really fun time. On the final stage we jumped up from P4 to P3. The whole team did great and I think we all want to come back to do this race again. »
Cristina Gutiérrez: « We had some problems in the last stage. We broke two belts and this cost us time, maybe it costs us a place on the podium as well. We’re happy with our performance here and we’re grateful to all the people who have helped us out. »
Chaleco Lopez: « It was a great final stage to finish off a nice rally. We were able to do a lot of useful preparation here in Mexico that will help us a lot at the next Dakar. »
Seth Quintero: « Today’s stage was fun, kind of like a drag race. We’ve got a podium on the final stage, but we wanted a whole lot more. This rally didn’t go the best for us, unfortunately we’ve been playing catch up since the first five kilometres of the race. The championship is still on the line and I’m excited to get to the next round. »
Rokas Baciuška: « We’ve finished the Sonora Rally in P1. Our aim is always P1 so to get it done feels great. It’s been a pleasure to be here. The team has been working hard all week and given me a great buggy to drive every single day. »
Daniel Sanders: « It’s good to finally get a win. I’ve been winning stages and opening the day all week. I still feeling like I’m learning a lot. I’ve had some bad luck recently and I had to skip the last race in Abu Dhabi to get my body right. Now the fitness and strength is coming back. We’ll have a good party tonight! »
Toby Price: « I made a stupid little mistake just at the end of the last stage and that cost me a place. For the championship, things are still looking good but I would have liked a better race result here. »
Matthias Walkner: « I’m super happy and stoked that the first race back after my comeback went well. I was pushing like hell so it’s great to make it safe to the finish line. Today’s stage was crazy, I’m not sure what the average speed was but I guess it was 120kph. »