Nasser Al-Attiyah and Edouard Boulanger kept their cool during an intense final day at the 34th Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, clinching an impressive victory by a narrow margin of 2 minutes and 28 seconds. This win not only adds to their streak in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) but also marks Dacia’s maiden victory at this iconic event.
In the last stage, amid chaos for many in the top 10, Al-Attiyah expertly navigated his Dacia Sandrider to finish first, overcoming fierce competition from the Toyota Gazoo Racing teams of Lucas Moraes/Armand Monleón and Seth Quintero/Dennis Zenz. This triumph marked Nasser’s fifth victory here, having previously conquered the desert in 2008, 2016, 2021, and 2024. For Boulanger, it was a third win, following last year’s victory with Al-Attiyah and his first with Stéphane Peterhansel in 2022.
Thanks to a solid second-place for Moraes and a third for Quintero, Toyota Gazoo Racing remains on track to defend their W2RC Manufacturers’ title, buoyed by Yazeed Al-Rajhi’s previous win at the Dakar Rally.
Out of the 48 vehicles in the FIA lineup, with 21 in the Ultimate category and others split among Challenger and SSV, 32 were registered for W2RC points. Unfortunately, Rokas Baciuška couldn’t start for Overdrive Racing, and Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings were replaced by Guy Botterill and Dennis Murphy in the Toyota Gazoo lineup, though they weren’t competing for W2RC standings.
Rising star Eryk Goczal secured a thrilling first win on the second-to-last stage during his debut event with Overdrive Racing and the Energylandia Rally Team Toyota. Unfortunately, a fire on stage five cost him a potential fourth place overall but paved the way for Juan Cruz Yacopini and Dani Oliveras to climb the ranks.
Behind them, the American duo Mitch Guthrie and Kellon Walch brought their Ford M-Sport Raptor across the line in fifth, just ahead of TGR’s Botterill in sixth place. Al-Rajhi, despite coming into the event leading the W2RC, faced engine issues early in the final stage, dropping him to second in the championship standings.
Technical gremlins also plagued João Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro, dealing with a broken driveshaft and a puncture, ultimately ending with a respectable sixth place in their Mini JCW Rally.
Al-Attiyah kicked off the event with a bang, setting the fastest time in the Prologue at the Jebel Hafit Desert Park, securing three bonus points. Hot on his heels were Moraes and Dacia’s Sébastien Loeb. The opening stage saw Moraes take the lead, but by stage two, it was Loeb who emerged victorious, inching ahead of Moraes, while Al-Attiyah and Yacopini incurred time penalties for early starts.
The event rolled into a two-part Marathon stage, taking competitors from Mzeer’ah to the distant Al-Qoua camp amid challenging weather conditions. Al-Attiyah claimed the first section, taking the overall lead, as others, including Loeb, faced penalties and obstacles.
Drama filled the air as Eryk Goczal claimed the fourth stage, one of the youngest ever to do so in this competition, thrusting him into fourth place overall. Sadly, Loeb’s birthday was marred by a mishap that led to his Dacia rolling out of the event.
As the final leg began, only 41 seconds separated Al-Attiyah and Moraes. But Nasser held firm, securing his fifth win as rivals grappled with their own setbacks.
In a significant breakthrough, Saudi Arabia’s Dania Akeel became the first woman to win a W2RC category outright, finishing eighth overall alongside Stéphane Duplé. Their victory in the Challenger category with the BBR Motorsport Taurus T3 Max was marked by strategic driving and resistance to the young Spaniard Pau Navarro’s challenges.
In the SSV race, Argentina’s Jeremias Ferioli and José Sebastian Cesana were unstoppable in their Can-Am Maverick R but didn’t register for W2RC points. This left the door open for Enrico Gaspari and Antoine Lecourbe to notch maximum points in their pursuit of the championship.
The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge wrapped under the aegis of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Supported by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and several corporate sponsors, it set the stage for the next W2RC round, the South African Safari Rally, scheduled for May 18-24.
For complete results and details on the 2025 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, enthusiasts can visit the event’s official websites.
