It’s incredible how far this event has come, Ben Sulayem on Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge

Abu Dhabi: FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem said it was incredible as to to how the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge (ADDC) grown over the years. “If we look at how far this event has come, it is incredible,” said Sulayem, who is also the founder of ADDC. “The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge has grown from a small seed in 1991 to become a globally recognised competition that attracts the world’s best cross country drivers and riders and which forms the spine of the FIA and FIM World Rally-Raid Championship. I thank everyone who supported it,” he added.

The 34th edition of the ADDC has a world class field of over 150 competitors from around the world and kicked off from Al Ain for the first time. The action got under way with an 11km Qualifying Stage on Saturday around the Jebel Hafit Desert Park, and runs until February 27, with competitors powering through an opening stage Mezaira’a before toughing it out on a two-stage marathon camp and finally, a full-throttle Stage 5 blast to ultra-modern Abu Dhabi and the finish line.

Last year’s Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge winner and defending FIA World Rally Raid champion Nasser Al Attiyah of Dacia Sandriders said: “It will be a tough race, but we’ll try to do our best to win again, and if we can it will be really nice. We have a lot of experience, we’ve won four times here, so I’m excited to start here from Al Ain. Absolutely, we’re confident. We’re here to win this race.”

Defending FIM World Rally-Raid bikes champion Ross Branch of Hero Motorsports said: “I’m really glad I’m healthy enough to get on the bike tomorrow, so that’s already a dream come true, and I love coming back to this race. It’s really close to my heart. The organisers put on such a great event and change it up for us as athletes every year. It’s really awesome and we’re all looking forward to an exciting week. It’s something completely different.”

Meanwhile, local legend and four-time Quad category winner Abdulaziz Ahli is taking nothing for granted, saying: “I’m a bit nervous this year because every year it just gets harder and harder. At the moment I just forget about myself. I’m not here representing myself; I’m here representing my country, and I’ll give it all to make sure I reach the finish line and hopefully score another win.”

Saeed Al Dhaheri, Director Al Ain and Al Dhafra Region Development at the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, said: “2025 is special year for Al Ain, having been declared this year’s Gulf Tourism Capital. This prestigious title underscores the unique blend of cultural heritage, world-class hospitality, and excellence in adventure tourism that Al Ain offers. It is with pride that we host the legendary Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, a globally recognised motorsport rally, starting from Al Ain for the very first time. This year, we welcome more than 150 motorsport legends and rising stars from 30 countries worldwide, including 16 Emirati drivers and riders — a number we hope will continue to grow, inspiring a new generation of motorsport across the UAE. Abu Dhabi has proven its ability to host world-class events, and the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge is a shining example of this track record.”

Tobias Maier, DHL’s Chief Financial Officer, MEA said: “For more than 20 years now, we work have worked very closely with Formula 1, we are a founding partner of Formula E, we support MotoGP, the World Endurance Championship and we are very happy and proud to be supporting the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge for the first time. For us it’s amazing. Best of luck to everybody, have a wonderful event, an exciting time and may the best racers win.”

Commenting on the strength of the partnerships, Mahir Badri, CEO, EMSO, said: “It’s not only the pride that we feel for this event. I think we are full of emotions. This even gives us a lot of joy but there is a lot of toughness behind it. It is a really logistically difficult event and it was quite a struggle to keep it going. In that regard, the partners that support us, and we call them partners because without them we cannot run this event. we are really thankful for all of them. We are also thankful to the competitors because they have chosen to come to the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and year after year that the event is growing.”