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 |