2023 Sonora Rally: 116 on provisional entry list

The World Rally-Raid Championship heads to the Americas for the first time on 23–28 April for the Sonora Rally in Mexico. The provisional entry list features 116 total teams, 62 of whom are eligible to receive W2RC points (28 FIA, 34 FIM) while the remaining are domestic racers in the “National” classes (12 cars, 42 bikes) not competing for a title.

Yazeed Al-Rajhi will hope to go back-to-back after winning the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge in March, while fellow T1 drivers Sébastien Loeb and Nasser Al-Attiyah duke it out for the points lead. Al-Attiyah looks to be the favourite as the reigning champion and Dakar Rally winner, and had been dominating the ADDC before crashing out; the latter, couple with Loeb’s stage wins at Dakar, give him the sixteen-point lead entering Sonora. Eugenio Amos will make his W2RC début for Overdrive Racing, as will brothers Cristian and Marcos Baumgart for X Rally Team. Each party is bringing two of the top T1+ vehicles in rally raid, with Amos in a Toyota Hilux while the Baumgarts unveil their new Prodrive Hunters.

Red Bulls still make up the bulk of the T3 entries and will be at full strength with the return of Francisco López Contardo, who missed Abu Dhabi to focus on raising his newborn. South Racing, Red Bull’s technical partner, brings back David Zille after he raced at Dakar and Mattias Ekström, who is racing for the W2RC in T3 after doing Dakar in T1 for Audi.

In T4, Rebecca Busi has joined FN Speed Team after running Dakar for HRT but missing Abu Dhabi due to logistical troubles.

The top three in RallyGP are separated by just eight points as Toby Price—almost three weeks removed from running the San Felipe 250 in neighbouring Baja California—hopes to keep ADDC winner Adrien Van Beveren at bay. However, third-placed Kevin Benavides arrives with a renewed vigour after missing Abu Dhabi due to a broken femur in testing days before the race. Reigning champion Sam Sunderland and his GasGas team-mate Daniel Sanders return now that they have recovered from injuries that sidelined them at Abu Dhabi. With the healed trio’s entries, every RallyGP regular is in the field. Tosha Schareina is also entered, now a Honda rider after departing KTM earlier in the week.

Skyler Howes, winner of the 2022 Sonora Rally on bikes, hopes to gain some more ground in the championship as he ranks fifth and twelve points behind Price.

The two best Rally2 finishers in Abu Dhabi, Tobias Ebster and Jean-Loup Lepan, are not racing at Sonora which gives points leader Paolo Lucci a chance to extend his advantage (though Rally2 riders may skip a round without it costing them in the championship, so Lepan’s absence ultimately does not cost him as much as it seems). However, Dakar winner Romain Dumontier makes his return after skipping the ADDC and hopes to take advantage himself. Kove Moto returns to the championship with two points-eligible bikes for Sunier and Neels Theric, the latter a new factory rider.

Rally3, a lower class for production-only bikes, will appear at a W2RC round for the first time in 2023 with three entrants including Ardit Kurtaj.

Notable faces in the National Car and UTV classes include defending four-wheel winner Daniel Gonzalez Reina and former Extreme E driver Sara Price. Camelia Liparoti, who raced at Dakar in a T3, will be a National UTV driver for AVID Racing Yamaha.

The Sonora Rally is mainly known for its bike racers, and this continues to be the case for 2023 with forty-two National riders, with almost all in the Enduro subcategory while Ben Howard is the lone Adventure rider. Seven are Malle Moto riders, meaning they will race without outside assistance; Matthew Glade and Matthew Sutherland are attempting the Ultimate Ironman Challenge of racing Sonora then immediately taking part in the Mexican 1000 afterwards.

Virtually every National Enduro rider is eligible for the Road to Dakar, in which those without prior Dakar Rally experience but excel in Sonora can earn free admission to the Rally; this is also available for the W2RC T4 class. Among those hoping to earn the ticket whom The Checkered Flag has covered include South Africa’s Dwain Barnard and Ronald Venter and Ashley Thixton, Canada’s Étienne Gélinas, Diespro riders Jatin Jain and Sebastián Olarte, and the Off Piste Adventure trio of Jordan Dukes, Matthew Ransom, and Luke Stalker.

It is important to note that the published entry list is preliminary and the actual starting grid could look different, especially if last-minute deals or injuries occur during shakedowns as was the case for the aforementioned RallyGP riders. Some names like Martin Prokop, who sits third in T1, are not listed but have confirmed they will race.

The Sonora Rally begins with a Prologue on 23 April and will run for five stages through 28 April.

FIA entry list

T1

Number	Driver	Co-Driver	Team	Vehicle
200	Sébastien Loeb	Fabian Lurquin	Bahrain Raid Xtreme	Prodrive Hunter
201	Nasser Al-Attiyah	Mathieu Baumel	Toyota Gazoo Racing	Toyota GR DKR Hilux T1+
202	Yazeed Al-Rajhi	Timo Gottschalk	Overdrive Racing	Toyota Hilux Overdrive
203	Juan Cruz Yacopini	Dani Oliveiras	Overdrive Racing	Toyota Hilux Overdrive
204	Guerlain Chicherit	Alex Winocq	GCK Motorsport	Prodrive Hunter
205	Sebastian Halpern	Bernardo Graue	X-raid Team	Mini John Cooper Works Rally Plus
206	Guoyu Zhang	Oriol Mena	BAIC ORV	BAIC BJ40
207	Yunglian Zi	He Sha	BAIC ORV	BAIC BJ40
208	Denis Krotov	Konstantin Zhiltsov	X-raid Team	Mini John Cooper Works Rally Plus
209	Eugenio Amos	Paolo Ceci	Overdrive Racing	Toyota Hilux Overdrive
210	Cristian Baumgart	Alberto Andreotti	X Rally Team	Prodrive Hunter
211	Marcos Baumgart	Kleber Cincea	X Rally Team	Prodrive Hunter

T3

Number	Driver	Co-Driver	Team	Vehicle
300	Seth Quintero	Dennis Zenz	Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team	Can-Am Maverick X3
301	Austin Jones	Gustavo Gugelmin	Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team	Can-Am Maverick X3
302	Mitch Guthrie	Kellon Walch	Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team	MCE-5 T3M
303	Francisco López Contardo	Juan Pablo Latrach	Red Bull Can-Am Factory Racing	Can-Am Maverick X3
304	Cristina Gutiérrez	Pablo Moreno Huete	Red Bull Can-Am Factory Racing	Can-Am Maverick X3
305	João Ferreira	Filipe Palmeiro	X-raid Team	Yamaha YXZ1000R Turbo Prototype
306	Claude Fournier	Szymon Gospodarczyk	Team BBR	Can-Am Maverick X3
307	David Zille	Sebastian Cesana	South Racing Can-Am	Can-Am Maverick X3
308	Mattias Ekström	Emil Bergkvist	South Racing Can-Am	CAn-Am Maverick X3
309	Annett Fischer	Lisette Bakker	X-raid Team	Yamaha YXZ1000R Turbo Prototype
311	Diego Martinez	Sergio Lafuente	South Racing Can-Am	Can-Am Maverick X3

T4

Number	Driver	Co-Driver	Team	Vehicle
400	Rokas Baciuška	Oriol Vidal Montijano	Red Bull Can-Am Factory Racing	Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo
401	Shinsuke Umeda	Aku Facundo Jaton	Xtremeplus	Polaris RZR Pro R
402	Rebecca Busi	Sébastien Delaunay	FN Speed Team	Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo
403	Eduardo Pons	Mónica Plaza	South Racing Can-Am	Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo

FIM entry list

RallyGP

Number	Rider	Team	Bike
1	Sam Sunderland	Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing	KTM 450 Rally Factory
2	Ricky Brabec	Monster Energy Honda Rally Team	Honda CRF 450 Rally
7	Pablo Quintanilla	Monster Energy Honda Rally Team	Honda CRF 450 Rally
8	Toby Price	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM 450 Rally Factory
9	Mason Klein	BAS World KTM Racing Team	KTM 450 Rally
10	Skyler Howes	Husqvarna Factory Racing	Husqvarna 450 Rally Factory
11	José Ignacio Cornejo	Monster Energy Honda Rally Team	Honda CRF 450 Rally
14	Sebastian Bühler	Hero MotoSports	Hero 450 Rally
16	Ross Branch	Hero MotoSports	Hero 450 Rally
18	Daniel Sanders	Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing	KTM 450 Rally
42	Adrien Van Beveren	Monster Energy Honda Rally Team	Honda CRF 450 Rally
47	Kevin Benavides	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM 450 Rally Factory
52	Matthias Walkner	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM 450 Rally Factory
68	Tosha Schareina	Honda	Honda CRF 450 Rally
77	Luciano Benavides	Husqvarna Factory Racing	Husqvarna 450 Rally Factory

Rally2

Number	Rider	Team	Bike
17	Romain Dumontiuer	HT Rally Raid Husqvarna Racing	Husqvarna 450 Rally Factory
21	Bradley Cox	BAS World KTM Racing Team	KTM 450 Rally Factory Replica
22	Nathan Rafferty	BAS World KTM Racing Team	KTM 450 Rally Factory Replica
23	Konrad Dąbrowski	DUUST Diverse Racing	KTM 450 Rally Factory Replica
24	Morrison Hart	Mo Industries	KTM 450 Rally Factory Replica
25	Mario Garrido Alonso	Diespro Adventour	Husqvarna FE 450
26	Francisco Arredondo	BAS World KTM Racing Team	KTM 450 Rally Factory Replica
27	Kerim Fitz-Gerald	BAS World KTM Racing Team	KTM 450 Rally Factory Replica
28	Neels Theric	Kove Moto	Kove 450 Rally
29	Sunier	Kove Moto	Kove 450 Rally
30	Jiří Brož	Montáže Brož Racing Team	KTM 450 Rally
32	Petr Vlcek	Montáže Brož Racing Team	KTM 450 Rally Replica
46	Paolo Lucci	BAS World KTM Racing Team	KTM 450 Rally Factory Replica
96	Jacob Argubright	DUUST Diverse Racing	KTM 450 Rally Factory Replica

Rally3

Number	Rider	Team	Bike
34	Massimo Camurri	Freedom Rally Racing	Husqvarna FE 450
35	Alexander Chepurko	DUUST Diverse Racing	KTM 450 EXC-F Six Days
36	Ardit Kurtaj	High Desert Adventures	KTM 450 Rally Factory Replica

Quad

Number	Rider	Team	Quad
162	Laisvydas Kancius	Laisvydas Kancius	Yamaha 700 Raptor
165	Rodolfo Guillioli	Pepitas Racing Team	Yamaha 700 Raptor

National Cars/UTV entry list

Cars

Number	Driver	Co-Driver	Team	Vehicle	Category
601	Erick Pucilek	Mike Shirley	Erick Pucilek	Predator X-18	2WD
602	Luis Perocarpi	Mark Wells	LAP Motorsports	Isuzu VehiCROSS 3500	4WD
603	Bruce Myrehn	Dan Fargo	Bruce Myrehn	Isuzu VehiCROSS 3500	4WD

UTV

Number	Driver	Co-Driver	Team	Vehicle	Category
604	Daniel Gonzalez Reina	Jorge Hernandez Galva	Baja-Son Motorsports/GR UTV Powersports	Polaris RZR	UTV Open
605	Sara Price		Sara Price	Can-Am Maverick X3	UTV Mod
606	Jorge Cano	Abelardo Ruanova	Jorge Cano	Can-Am Maverick X3	UTV
607	Brock Harper	Steven Geist	Brock Harper	Yamaha YXZ1000R	UTV Stock
608	Jim Price	Sienna Price	Price Racing	Arctic Cat Wildcat XX	UTV Open
609	Camelia Liparoti	Anthoiny Albono	AVID Racing Yamaha	Yamaha YXZ1000R	UTV
610	Zach Lumsden	Shannon Moham	TrophyLite	Can-Am Maverick X3	UTV Mod
611	Craig Lumsden	Andrew Farmer	TrophyLite	Can-Am Maverick X3	UTV Mod
612	Carlos Castro	Carlos Sachs	Team BBR		UTV Turbo

National Moto entry list

Enduro

Number	Rider	Team	Bike
502	Billy Trapp	Michael Mayers	KTM 500 XCF-W
503	Matthew Ransom	Off Piste Adventure	Husqvarna FE 450
504	Patrick Reyes	Patrick Reyes	KTM 450
505	Ryan Narino	Ryan Narino	Yamaha WR450F
506	Scott Thornton	Team 150 Racing	KTM 500 XCF
507	Lance Webb	Team 150 Racing	KTM 450 XCF-W
508	Matthew Glade	RallyMotoShop	Husqvarna FE 501
509	Weston Carr	High Desert Adventures	KTM 450 XC-F
511	Mario Mendoza	Mario Mendoza	Husqvarna FE 501
512	John Henson	Henson Factory Racing	KTM 450 XCF-W
513	Brendan Crow	Brendan Crow	KTM 500 EXC-F
515	Digby Norris	Triple F Racing	Husqvarna FE 501S
516	Bryan Pederson	Bryan Pederson	Sherco 450 SEF
517	Devon Mahon	Devon Mahon	KTM 450 XC-F
518	John Suvanto	John Suvanto	KTM 500
519	Douglas Zacaras	Douglas Zacaras	KTM 450 XC-W
522	Tibi Imbuzan	Tibi Imbuzan	Husqvarna FX 450
523	Jatin Jain	Diespro Adventour	Husqvarna FE 501
524	Sebastián Olarte	Diespro Adventour	Husqvarna FE 450
525	Ashley Thixton	Freedom Rally Racing	Husqvarna FE 450
526	Francisco Alvarez	Freedom Rally Racing	Husqvarna FE 501
527	Jorge Escobedo	Freedom Rally Racing	Husqvarna FE 450
529	Gregorio Martos Lopez	Freedom Rally Racing	Husqvarna FE 450
530	Henry David Cubides	Freedom Rally Racing	KTM 500 XCF-W
531	Étienne Gélinas	Freedom Rally Racing	KTM 450 SX-F
532	Ronald Venter	Freedom Rally Racing	KTM 450 Rally Replica
533	Dwain Barnard	Freedom Rally Racing	KTM 450 XCF
534	Andreu Miró	Andreu Miró	Husqvarna FE 501
535	Luke Stalker	Off Piste Adventure	Husqvarna FE 450
536	Jordan Dukes	Off Piste Adventure	Husqvarna FE 450
537	Don Hatton	Freedom Rally Racing	Husqvarna FE 450
538	Miguel Donovan	Geek Racing	Husqvarna FE 501
539	Ben Lauderdale	Diespro Adventour	Husqvarna FE
540	Gavin Ferguson	Michael Mayers	Husqvarna FE 501S
541	Michael Mayers	Michael Mayers	Yamaha YZ450FX

Malle Moto

Number	Rider	Team	Bike
501	Matt Sutherland	Matt Sutherland	KTM 450 Rally Factory Replica
510	Hector Guerrero	Mocedi Racing Team	KTM 450 Rally Replica
514	Vladymir Malyarevich	Vladymir Malyarevich	KTM 500 EXC-F
520	Alexander Kachaev	Alexander Kachaev	KTM 450 EXC-F
521	Benjamin Myers	Benjamin Myers	Husqvarna FE 501
528	Ben Howard	Ben Howard	Ténéré Spirit Experience
542	Paul Munford	Paul Munford	Honda CRF 450 Rally

Underscore – Adventure category