Nasser Al Attiyah secures his fifth Desert Challenge win

Abu Dhabi: Nasser Al Attiyah won the high-speed final stage of the 2025 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge to seal a second consecutive win and a remarkable fifth overall as the 34th edition of the gruelling reached came to a thrilling conclusion on the shores of Hudayriyat Island in Abu Dhabi.

The Qatari driver’s win is also the first in the FIA World Rally Raid Championship and at the Desert Challenge for the Dacia Sandriders team.

“I’m really so happy to win this Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge,” said Al Attiyah of his victory. “It was a really a tough week. It’s not easy, but over the last three days we pushed a lot, and we are quite happy. To win five times in Abu Dhabi is a big thing as we know this race is a hard one. Thanks to the team, we put everything and it’s really amazing. Lucas did a good job. He tried very well, and Toyota are still fast, but we are coming with our new car.”

In the bikes category, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team rider Daniel Sanders delivered a solid ride to fourth place on the final Stage 5 to wrap up a convincing overall win, the Australian’s second of the season after he triumphed as the season opening Rally Dakar last month. The final Rally GP stage win of the 2025 edition went to Monster Energy Honda’s Tosha Schareina, who finished ahead of teammate Ricky Brabec and Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team’s Luciano Benavides.

“This one is a really good one to tick off,” said Sanders. “Last time I was here I had a really bad last day. I had a shot at winning it, but I ran out of fuel. So that was preying on my mind a little bit, but I finally got to the finish line in first. I’m feeling good, I’m enjoying riding and the KTM is on fire!”

The final stage of the 2025 Desert Challenge encompassed 364 km (including 167 km against the clock) between Mezaira’a and the finish line. The special stage maintains the challenge for the competitors with a tough blend of 65 per cent sand, 19 per cent dunes, 9 per cent chotts, 7 per cent dirt and no tarmac at all before a 136 km road section at the end. A It was a tactically challenging mix, and Sanders had the tough job of leading the riders out. The KTM rider played it cool, however, and though he wasn’t quickest, strong pace, especially ahead of the second time check, was enough to earn him P4 on the day and the rally win.

For Al Attiyah, the strategy was simple, follow in the wheel tracks of Stage 4 runner-up and closest challenger Lucas Moraes, and do enough to maintain or boost the slender advantage he took into the final stage. And the Qatari driver did just that. He aced the stage and widened the overall gap to Moraes to a solid 2m 28s.

Al Attiyah’s Ultimate class win vaults him to the top of the FIA World Rally Raid Championship standings. The Qatari driver Al Attiyah scooped up 48 points this week to take his total to 96 points, while Rally Dakar winner Yazeed Al Rajhi collected a single point in Abu Dhabi and sits on 73 for the season. Lucas Moraes and Seth Quintero (both Toyota Gazoo Racing), also rocket up the standings. The Brazilian moves onto the championship podium, with 63 points to the American’s 60. With two drivers on the Desert Challenge podium Toyota has reinforced its lead in manufacturers’ competition, with 221 points versus 158 for Dacia, and 139 for Ford M-Sport.

Sanders’ first Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge victory, allied to his Dakar win, means the Australian maintains his grip on top spot in the FIM World Rally Raid Championship standings. He now has 63 points, with Schareina second on 46 points and with Brabec a further nine back in third.

In the Rally 2 bikes category Michael Docherty took the final stage win to complete an unprecedented clean sweep of a W2RC round in Rally 2. The South African won a championship round outright for the first time, 34m 26s ahead of the title holder, Konrad Dąbrowski, and 51m 25s clear of the 2023 winner, Tobias Ebster.

More history was made in the Challenger car class as Saudi Arabia’s Dania Akeel claimed her first event win in W2RC and also the first by a woman since the launch of the world championship in 2022. The final stage win in Challengers went to Akeel’s compatriot and BBR Motorsport teammate Yasir Seaidan. BBR once again dominated the stage with Pau Navarro taking second ahead of Nicolás Cavigliasso.

Quads made their first championship appearance of 2025 in Abu Dhabi, and it was Antanas Kanopkinas who took overall victory, 26 minutes and 18 seconds clear of Gaëtan Martinez. In the SSV class, Jeremias Gonzalez Ferioli reigned supreme taking the stage win and overall victory.

It was a tough event for Emirati competitors with several favourite succumbing to mechanical problems, including four-time quad winner, Abdulaziz Ahli and reigning SSV champion, Mansour Al Helei, whose final stage was hampered by a broken prop shaft.

“I would like to congratulate the organisers of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, it has been a beautiful edition,” said Al Helei. “We came with a mission to defend our position of last year and we tried our best with stage wins and we were leading the SSVs, but this is racing and it can happen to everyone. We faced a lot of issues. It seems small but it can dramatically slow you down. However, thanks to Liwa Team, they did a great job, they are always here representing us.”

In Rally 2, Hamdan Alali was the last major hope for a strong result and while he finished the final stage in seventh place to take eighth overall in that category, the local hero topped the Malle Moto class for riders who complete the event from start to finish without any assistance at all. It’s the ultimate challenge of the Abu Dhabi and Alali proved more than capable of mastering the arduous task.

Emirates Motor Sports Organisation (EMSO) President, Khalid Ben Sulayem, said: “The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge is one of the most prestigious rally raid events in the world, with a heritage that stretches back to the formative years of the discipline, and which attracts the very best competitors from the world of cross country competition. However, maintaining that legendary status requires constant evolution and for this 34th we wanted to take the event to the next level, both in terms of spectacle and the challenge it poses to competitors. With a first start from the ‘Garden City’ of Al Ain, to an extremely challenging marathon camp in the wonderful, remote location of Al Qua’a, and new routes that tested the riders and drivers on some of the world’s biggest dunes, I think the event has achieved this goal. Of course, none of it would have been possible without the support of our incredible partners, the Ruler’s Representative Court — Al Dhafra Region and the Abu Dhabi Sports Council with whom we have been closely co-operating, as well as ADNOC Distribution, and many government agencies and partners from private sector who have come together to produce another spectacular edition of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. Finally, I would like to thank our exceptional competitors. Their skill, courage and indomitable resilience are what make this event truly special and I congratulate every one of them for taking on and overcoming what has become one of rally raid’s great challenges.”