2025 Abu Dhabi Desert roars towards thrilling finale as penultimate stage tests competitors to the limit across largest dunes yet encountered
- Al-Futtaim Toyota Stage 4 provides intense challenge on some the biggest dunes in the world before reaching finish line at iconic Al Dhafra Fort
- Daniel Sanders win Bikes stage to take commanding overall lead ahead of final stage
- Nasser Al-Attiyah takes retains narrow overall cars lead to set up prospect of first Desert Challenge win and first W2RC victory for Dacia Sandriders
- Erik Goczal takes first Ultimate Class stage win in Overdrive Racing Hilux as six Toyotas finish in the top 10
- No birthday celebrations for Sébastien Loeb, as Frenchman, 51, exits stage early
Abu Dhabi, UAE, 26 February 2025: Competitors were taken to the limit and beyond by some of the largest dunes ever encountered on the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge as the penultimate Al-Futtaim Stage 4 of the 2025 edition provided a supreme test of technical skill and stamina on the way to the finish line at the iconic Al Dhafra Fort.
And the 2025 Desert Challenge is set for a thrilling final charge to the city of Abu Dhabi after third place in today’s gruelling stage earned Dacia Sandriders’ Nasser Al-Attiyah a slim overall lead over the twin Toyota Gazoo Racing cars of Luca Moraes and Seth Quintero. Victory in the penultimate stage of this year’s epic event went to another Toyota driver, Eryk Goczal, with the 20-year-old Overdrive Racing man claiming a first Desert Challenge stage victory and his first in the top Ultimate Class.
In the bikes, Red Bull KTM Factory Team rider Daniel Sanders looks on course to take his first Desert Challenge win as a second stage win of the event has given him a 7min 23s overall advantage over Monster Energy Honda HRC rider Ricky Brabec, with Sanders’ team-mate Luciano Benavides a further minute back in third place.
Technically complex and physically demanding. Al-Futtaim Toyota Stage 4 really mixed things up with a 300 km route from the Marathon Camp at Al Qua’a that featured multiple types of terrain. Equal parts sand, dunes, wadis and tarmac, the stage took competitors across some of the world’s largest dunes, into the area known as White Sands and then to incredible Al Dhafra fort.
Built in 2017 in the style of the traditional defensive structures of the emirate of Abu Dhabi, the spectacular fort acts as the gateway to the Al Dhafra region, which makes up 70% of the emirate’s territory.
Forts such as Al Dhafra provided site of refuge for the population in times of trouble and today it provided sanctuary for Desert Challenge competitors, with many saying the massive dunes of Stag 4 were among the largest and most difficult they had ever encountered.
At the end of the stage, though, Sanders took the bikes win more than three minutes clear of Monster Energy Honda HRC rival Adrien Van Beveren. In doing so the rider known as ‘Chucky’ scored his 15th W2RC stage win, one shy of record holder Van Beveren. Third place went to Hero Motorsports’ José Ignacio Cornejo.
In Rally 2, Dubai-based Michael Docherty is on track to become the first rider in his class to complete a clean sweep of stages in a W2RC round. The SRG Motorsports rider, who hails from South Africa, used his thorough knowledge of the terrain to take his fifth stage win of the event (including the Qualifying Stage) ahead of Duust Rally Team’s Konrad Dąbrowski and Old Friends Rally Team rider Martin Ventura. The win means that going into the final day has extended his advantage over Dąbrowski to a whopping 28 minutes.
In the cars, the fourth stage of the 2025 Desert Challenge was standout success for Toyota, with a 1-2 finish for the company and with six Toyotas in the top 10.
Commenting on the success, Jacques Brent, Managing Director Al Futtaim Motors, said: “At Al-Futtaim Toyota we take pride in being part of EMSO’s 34th edition of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge starting from the beautiful city of Al Ain. Much like this challenge, Toyota’s Motorsport heritage is also about endurance, performance and achievement.”
Goczal’s first Ultimate Class stage win comes just five days into his career in the top class. The Pole was strong from the start and eventually took the victory 41 seconds in hand over Lucas Moraes. The Brazilian spent most of the stage outside the top two but in the closing stage he overhauled Al-Attiyah to take second to close the overall gap to the Dacia driver to a very slim 41 seconds. But while Al-Attiyah retains the overall lead. there were no birthday celebrations for the Qatari driver’s team-mate Sébastien Loeb, however.
The Frenchman, who turned 51 today, began the stage in third place in the overall standings and targeting a charge at the summit. With the fastest time at Km 41 he looked on course to challenge, but soon afterwards the nine-time WRC champion ground to a halt at the foot of a chain of dunes and eventually called in his assistance crew. While he won’t now challenge for overall victory Loeb will be allowed to take part in the final stage tomorrow.
In the Challenger class BBR Motorsport maintained its grip on the top sport with Yasir Seaidan taking the stage win ahead of team-mates Paul Navarro and Dania Akeel. However, it’s Akeel who hold the overall class lead, with four minutes in hand over Navarro ahead of tomorrow’s final stage.
In the SSV category, Jeremías González Ferioli took victory ahead of Emirati driver Mansour Al Helei who recovered from a broken turbo on Stage 3 to take second place.
At the end of the penultimate stage of the 2025 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, Emirates Motor Sports Organisation (EMSO) President, H.E. Khalid Ben Sulayem, said: “We are approaching the climax of this year’s event and once again the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge has delivered excitement, intense competition and innovation. The Desert Challenge is always evolving and this year we introduced several new elements that I believe have added to its competitiveness and appeal. For the first time, cars and bikes were involved in the marathon. For the first time we visited the remote region of Al Qua’a, and overall the route was changed significantly to enhance the competition. I am therefore proud to say that the Desert Challenge goes from strength to strength each year. I would also like to thank Al-Futtaim Toyota. Once again they have played a big part in the success of the event by providing all of the crucial support vehicles that transport key personnel through some truly challenging landscapes. It’s a testament to the Toyota brand that it all worked seamlessly once again.”
The final stage of this year’s event, the Abu Dhabi Sports Council Stage 5, runs from Mezaira’a to Abu Dhabi covering a total of 364 kilometres, with just 167 kilometres of specials on the way to the glittering city of Abu Dhabi for the finish ramp and the prize-giving which this year will be held at beautiful Hudayriyat Island.
The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge is held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Ruler’s Representative Court in Al Dhafra Region. The event is organised by the Emirates Motorsports Organization in cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Sports Council. The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge is hosted with the support of Energy partner ADNOC Distribution; the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, Technology Partner E&, and Official Logistics Partner DHL. The event is also made possible thanks to the support of Automotive partner Al-Futtaim Toyota and Governmental support from the Ministry of Defence & UAE Armed Forces, Abu Dhabi Police, Civil Defence, Abu Dhabi Distribution Co, Al Dhafra Region Municipality, Tadweer, and our media partner Abu Dhabi Sports TV.
