While fifty-five entrants for the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge compete for the World Rally-Raid Championship, there are plenty of others just there to fight for the race win.
Twenty-one of the non-championship entrants are competing in FIA classes while thirty-three are on bikes or quads.
Some previously entered the W2RC season opener in the Dakar Rally, most notably the T1 of Henk Lategan whose Toyota Gazoo Racing team-mate Nasser Al-Attiyah won the overall.
GRallyTeam‘s owner Guillaume de Mevius will not race at Abu Dhabi, but his team will still be present with a pair of T3 entries for Lionel Baud and Yungang Zi. Baud competed at Dakar in T1 but will trade his Overdrive Hilux T1+ for an Overdrive OT3, while Zi’s entry is fielded in conjunction with the Chinese team BAIC ORV.
Anja van Loon is competing in T3 like she did at Dakar, but this time will get to race against her husabnd Erik van Loon, who ran Dakar in T1 but will switch to T3 for Abu Dhabi. Both van Loons will be part of South Racing, though Erik is eligible for the W2RC.
Also racing for South is Tim Marklund, a snowmobile racer from Sweden who finished second in the 2022/23 SXS Nordic championship. 2015 ADDC T2 winner Mansour Al-Helei will celebrate his birthday on the first day of the rally with South; his father Yahya Al-Helei is competing in a Nissan Pickup T1. The elder Al-Helei has run every edition of the ADDC since its inception in 1991.
Mohammed Al-Balooshi highlights the thirty bikes as the current FIM Baja World Cup points leader after winning the opener in Saudi Arabia. Others are newcomers to the world championship like German amateur rider Justin Gerlach.
FIA classes
T1
| Number | Driver | Co-Driver | Team | Vehicle |
| 211 | Henk Lategan | Brett Cummings | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Toyota GR DKR Hilux |
| 214 | Khalid Al Qassimi | Ola Floene | Abu Dhabi Racing | Mini John Cooper Works Rally Plus |
| 215 | Yahya Al-Helei | Khalid Alkendi | Yahya Al-Helei | Nissan Pickup |
| 216 | Abdullah Al-Zubair | Faisal Al-Raisi | Abdullah Al-Zubair | Jeep Wrangler |
| 217 | Roman Starikovich | Bert Heskes | Roman Starikovich | Toyota Hilux |
T3
| Number | Driver | Co-Driver | Team | Vehicle |
| 314 | Hernan Garces Echeverria | Juan Pablo Latrach | South Racing Can-Am | Can-Am Maverick X3 |
| 315 | Eduardo Pons | Mónica Plaza | South Racing Can-Am | Can-Am Maverick X3 |
| 316 | Tom Bell | Gerhardus Johannes Schutte | Tom Bell Racing | Can-Am Maverick X3 |
| 317 | Khalid Aljafla | Bruno Jacomy | Khalid Aljafla | Toyota |
| 318 | Nazar Al-Shanfari | Ali Mirza | R-X Sport | Can-Am Maverick X3 |
| 319 | Lionel Baud | Lucie Baud | GRallyTeam | Overdrive OT3 |
| 320 | Anja van Loon | Floor Maten | South Racing Can-Am | Can-Am Maverick X3 |
| 321 | Glenn Brinkman | Dale Moscatt | Glenn Brinkman | PH Sport Zephyr |
| 322 | Tim Marklund | Oskar Andersson | South Racing Can-Am | Can-Am Maverick X3 |
| 323 | Yungang Zi | Zengrong Wang | GRallyTeam/BAIC ORV | Overdrive OT3 |
| 324 | Hassan Al-Sadadi | Bader Al-Ajmi | R-X Sport | Can-Am Maverick X3 |
T4
| Number | Driver | Co-Driver | Team | Vehicle |
| 404 | Eugenio Amos | Paolo Ceci | South Racing Can-Am | Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo |
| 405 | Mansour Al-Helei | Mohamed Al-Hamri | Abu Dhabi Racing | Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo |
| 406 | Enrico Gaspari | Loic Minaudier | Enrico Gaspari | Polaris RZR Pro R |
| 407 | Ricardo Ramilo | Andrei Rudnitski | Ricardo Ramilo | Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo |
| 408 | Abdullah Al-Rawahi | Nasser Saadon Al-Kuwari | R-X Sport | Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo |
FIM classes
Rally2
| Number | Rider | Team | Bike |
| 21 | Alex McInnes | MotoZone Racing | Husqvarna 450 FE |
| 25 | Mohammed Al-Balooshi | Abu Dhabi Team | KTM 450 Rally |
| 26 | Sultan Al-Balooshi | MX Ride Dubai | Husqvarna 450 Rally |
| 27 | Marwan Al-Rahmani | MX Ride Dubai | KTM 450 Rally |
| 28 | Hamdan Al-Ali | Hamdan Al-Ali | Husqvarna 450 FE |
| 29 | Alissa Harkin | HT Rally Raid Husqvarna Racing | Husqvarna 450 FR |
| 30 | Jiri Broz | SGR Motorsports | KTM 450 Rally |
| 31 | Weston Carr | HT Rally Raid Husqvarna Racing | Husqvarna 450 Rally |
| 32 | Ganzorig Chulun | HT Rally Raid Husqvarna Racing | Husqvarna 450 Rally |
| 33 | Pierre Saeys | HT Rally Raid Husqvarna Racing | Husqvarna 450 Rally |
| 34 | Ashish Raorane | Ashish Raorane | KTM 450 Rally Factory Replica |
| 35 | Dominique Cizeau Girault | Xraids Experience | KTM 450 Rally Factory Replica |
| 36 | Alberto Piñol Curto | Xraids Experience | KTM 450 Rally Replica |
| 37 | Martin Chalmers | Martin Chalmers | Honda CRF450RX |
| 38 | Justin Gerlach | Justin Gerlach | KTM 450 EXC-F |
| 39 | Benjamin Melot | Benjamin Melot | KTM 450 Rally Replica |
| 40 | Mark Davidson | Mark Davidson | Husqvarna 450 FE |
| 43 | Darren Goodman | Darren Goodman | Honda CRF450 Rally |
| 44 | Vincent Biau | Vincent Biau | Husqvarna 450 Rally |
| 45 | Yoshi Ikemachi | BAS World KTM Racing Team | KTM 450 Rally Factory Replica |
| 54 | Bruno Santos | Bruno Santos | Husqvarna 450 Rally |
| 55 | Muhamed Plicanic | Muhamed Plicanic | Yamaha WR450F |
| 56 | Leo Conaboy | Leo Conaboy | KTM 450 Rally Replica |
| 57 | Jack Murray | Jack Murray | Husqvarna 450 RAlly |
| 58 | Gediminas Satkus | AG Dakar School | KTM 450 Rally Replica |
| 67 | Oran O’Kelly | Vendetta Racing UAE | KTM 450 Rally |
| 68 | David McBride | Vendetta Racing UAE | Husqvarna 450 Rally |
| 69 | David Mabbs | Vendetta Racing UAE | KTM 450 Rally Replica |
| 88 | Modestas Siliunas | AG Dakar School | KTM 450 Rally Replica |
| 96 | Tobias Ebster | SRG Motorsports | GasGas 450 Rally |
Quad
| Number | Rider | Team | Quad |
| 163 | Jacobus Visser | Jacobus Visser | Yamaha Raptor 700R SE |
| 164 | Pawel Otwinowski | DUUST Diverse Racing | Quaddy |
| 175 | Hans Brehmer | Hans Brehmer | Yamaha Raptor 700R |