Despite only being the second round of the World Rally-Raid Championship, the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge will be missing some major star power as Dakar Rally overall winners Team Audi Sport and Monster Energy Honda Rally Team are absent. Forty-five drivers and fifty-six riders will hope to step it up in their place.
While Dakar bike winner Honda will return for the BP Ultimate Rally Raid in April, Audi is gone entirely: although Audi finally won the Dakar on the FIA side with Carlos Sainz and had plans of racing for the championship, a lack of suitable parts expedited their intended shutdown at the end of 2024 to Tuesday. Sainz, Mattias Ekström, and Stéphane Peterhansel are permitted to race for other teams and classes, though none are taking part. Peterhansel’s co-driver Édouard Boulanger will still show up to Abu Dhabi as the new navigator for Nasser Al-Attiyah, who parted ways with Mathieu Baumel after a successful decade in rally raid.
After his Dakar defence ended in disaster, Al-Attiyah hopes to make up lost ground with Prodrive. His ally Sébastien Loeb and Bahrain Raid Xtreme, who won five stages at Dakar, are not entered, though brothers Cristian and Marcos Baumgart will fill the void. With Audi and Loeb gone, the eighteen-driver Ultimate class is all the more up for grabs. Sainz’s absence means Toyota will have an opportunity to take the points lead courtesy of Overdrive Racing’s Guillaume de Mévius and Guerlain Chicherit, who respectively trail Sainz by eighteen and twenty points. Fellow Toyota driver Yazeed Al-Rajhi, fresh off winning the FIA Baja World Cup’s Saudi Baja, is aiming to go back-to-back in the ADDC.
A championship lead change is also guaranteed in Challenger as Mitch Guthrie is not racing either, which Rokas Baciuška hopes to capitalise on; Baciuška exited Dakar seventeen points behind Guthrie. Dakar winner Cristina Gutiérrez is entered but not competing for the championship.
Yasir Seaidan finished third in SSV at Dakar, which gave him the category’s points lead as Xavier de Soultrait and Jérôme de Sadeleer were not eligible for points. He will have a new co-driver for Abu Dhabi in Michaël Metge, who replaces his younger brother Adrien.
RallyGP, despite being the top bike class, will feature a paltry four entrants. Honda made up the bulk of the class at Dakar but is skipping Abu Dhabi to give their six riders a rest (except for Tosha Schareina, who is competing in this weekend’s FIM E-Xplorer World Cup), while defending champion Luciano Benavides of Husqvarna as well as the KTM and GasGas factory teams are not racing for points. With so many riders skipping Abu Dhabi, Hero MotoSports has a golden opportunity as Ross Branch is virtually assured to take the points lead, currently trailing Honda’s Ricky Brabec by eight points, and Sebastian Bühler will try to bounce back from his Dakar crash. The only other two RallyGP riders entered, Mohammed Al-Balooshi and Aaron Marè, are not W2RC-eligible; Al-Balooshi is the reigning FIM Bajas World Cup champion who recently won the Saudi Baja, while Marè enters his first W2RC race since the 2022 Dakar Rally, incidentally racing for Hero that time.
Rally2 features forty-seven riders but the top two Romain Dumontier and Bradley Cox are not among them. Third-placed Jean-Loup Lepan will try to leapfrog both, tailing the former by fourteen, while series regular Michael Docherty is seeking to establish a foothold after crashing out of the opener. Lepan is one of just four riders in the top ten standings at Abu Dhabi alongside Tobias Ebster (seventh), Konrad Dąbrowski (ninth), and Jan Brabec (tenth). Although outside the top ten, David McBride and Oran O’Kelly have a chance to make significant leaps as well.
Ebster won both the ADDC in Rally2 and the Road to Dakar challenge in 2023, the latter granting him free registration for the Dakar. Justin Gerlach and Jonathan Savel hopes to do the same for Dakar 2025 through the RtD after coming up short last year, while Willem Avenant is striving for it in his first major step towards ‘decoding’ Dakar.
Saulius Klevinskas, a former goalkeeper who played for the Lithuanian national team, enters his first W2RC race after mainly competing in amateur rallies like the Breslau Rallye and Fenix Rally. Another series newcomer is Christoph Lischka, the head of development for BMW Motorrad.
Although all Quad riders at Dakar are registered for the W2RC, Hani Al-Noumesi is the only one taking part at Abu Dhabi. Abdulaziz Ahli will be going for his fourth consecutive ADDC win in the class. Kamil Wiśniewski returns to the championship after missing Dakar with a knee injury.
The 2024 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge begins with the Prologue stage on 26 February and runs through 2 March.
FIA entry list
Ultimate
| Number | Driver | Co-Driver | Team | Vehicle | Class |
| 201 | Guillaume de Mévius | Xavier Panseri | Overdrive Racing | Toyota Hilux Overdrive | T1+ |
| 202 | Guerlain Chicherit | Alex Winocq | Overdrive Racing | Toyota Hilux Overdrive | T1+ |
| 203 | Lucas Moraes | Armand Monleón | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Toyota GR DKR Hilux | T1+ |
| 204 | Martin Prokop | Viktor Chytka | ORLEN Jipocar Team | Ford Raptor | T1+ |
| 205 | Denis Krotov | Konstantin Zhiltsov | Overdrive Racing | Toyota Hilux Overdrive | T1+ |
| 206 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Édouard Boulanger | Nasser Racing | Prodrive Hunter | T1+ |
| 207 | Cristian Baumgart | Alberto Andreotti | X Rally Team | Prodrive Hunter | T1+ |
| 208 | Saood Variawa | François Cazalet | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Toyota GR DKR Hilux | T1+ |
| 209 | Yazeed Al-Rajhi | Timo Gottschalk | Overdrive Racing | Toyota Hilux Overdrive | T1+ |
| 210 | Juan Cruz Yacopini | Daniel Oliveiras | Overdrive Racing | Toyota Hilux Overdrive | T1+ |
| 211 | Seth Quintero | Dennis Zenz | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Toyota GR DKR Hilux | T1+ |
| 212 | Marcos Baumgart | Kleber Cincea | X Rally Team | Prodrive Hunter | T1+ |
| 213 | Pau Navarro | Andreas Schulz | X-raid Mini JCW Team | Mini John Cooper Works Rally Plus | T1+ |
| 214 | Aliyyah Koloc | Sébastien Delaunay | Buggyra ZM Racing | Red-Lined REVO | T1+ |
| 215 | Lionel Baud | Lucie Baud | Overdrive Racing | Toyota Hilux Overdrive | T1+ |
| 216 | Yahya Al-Helei* | Khalid Al-Kendi | Yahya Al-Helei | Nissan Pick-Up | T1.1 |
| 217 | Ahmed El Shamy* | Hassan Obaid | Ahmed El Shamy | Fast & Speed 2WD | T1.2 |
| 218 | Roman Starikovich* | Bert Heskes | Roman Starikovich | Toyota Hilux | T1.1 |
Challenger
| Number | Driver | Co-Driver | Team | Vehicle |
| 301 | Rokas Baciuška | Oriol Vidal | Can-Am Factory Team | Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo |
| 302 | Marcelo Gastaldi | Carlos Sachs | BBR Motorsport | MCE-5 Taurus T3 Max |
| 303 | Nicolás Cavigliasso | Valentina Pertegarini | Wevers Sport | MCE-5 Taurus T3 Max |
| 304 | Austin Jones | Oriol Mena | Can-Am Factory Team | Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo |
| 305 | Dania Akeel | Stéphane Duple | Wevers Sport | MCE-5 Taurus T3 Max |
| 306 | Cristina Gutiérrez* | Pablo Moreno Huete | Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team | MCE-5 Taurus T3 Max |
| 307 | Annett Quandt* | Annie Seel | X-raid Yamaha Supported Team | Yamaha YXZ1000R Turbo Prototype |
| 308 | Hernán Garcés* | Juan Pablo Latrach | South Racing Can-Am | Can-Am Maverick |
| 309 | Khalid Aljafla* | Andrei Rudnitski | Aljafla Racing | Can-Am Maverick R |
| 310 | Pál Lónyai* | Filippo Ippolito | X-raid Yamaha Supported Team | Yamaha YXZ1000R Turbo Prototype |
| 311 | Gunter Hinkelmann* | Fabrizio Bianchini | BBR Motorsport | MCE-5 Taurus T3 Max |
| 312 | Puck Klaassen* | Augusto Sanz | Wevers Sport | MCE-5 Taurus T3 Max |
SSV
| Number | Driver | Co-Driver | Team | Vehicle |
| 400 | Yasir Seaidan | Michaël Metge | MMP Compétition | Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo |
| 401 | Sara Price | Jeremy Gray | South Racing Can-Am | Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo |
| 402 | João Ferreira | Filipe Palmeiro | South Racing Can-Am | Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo |
| 403 | Sebastián Guayasamín | Fernando Matias Acosta | FN Speed Team | Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo |
| 404 | Enrico Gaspari | Alberto Marcon | TH-Trucks Team | Polaris RZR Pro R |
| 405 | Ricardo Ramilo | Fausto Mota | Scuderia Ramilo Rodamoto | Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo |
| 406 | Rebecca Busi | Sergio Lafuente | OnlyFans Racing | Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo |
| 407 | Michele Cinotto | Maurizio Dominella | Xtremeplus | Polaris RZR Pro R |
| 408 | Claude Fournier | Serge Gounon | MMP Compétition | Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo |
| 409 | Robert Szustkowski* | Albert Gryszcuk | Robert Szustkowski | Polaris RZR Pro R |
| 410 | Piotr Beaupre* | Jarosław Kazberuk | Piotr Beaupre | Polaris RZR Pro R |
| 411 | Mansour Al-Helei* | Mohammed Hamri | Mansour Al-Helei | Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo |
| 412 | Atif Alzarouni* | Mohammed Hasan Innab | Atif Alzarouni | Yamaha YXZ1000R SS |
| 413 | Justas Grendelis* | Simonas Ramanauskas | Justas Grendelis | Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo |
| 414 | Pietro Cinotto* | Alberto Bertoldi | Xtremeplus | Polaris RZR Pro R |
FIM entry list
RallyGP
| Number | Rider | Team | Bike |
| 14 | Sebastian Bühler | Hero MotoSports | Hero 450 Rally |
| 25 | Mohammed Al-Balooshi* | MX Ride Dubai | KTM 450 Rally |
| 44 | Aaron Marè* | SRG Motorsports | KTM 450 Rally Replica |
| 46 | Ross Branch | Hero MotoSports | Hero 450 Rally |
Rally2
| Number | Rider | Team | Bike |
| 22 | Michael Docherty | SRG Motorsports | Husqvarna FC 450 Rally |
| 26 | Konrad Dąbrowski | DUUST Rally Team | KTM 450 Rally Replica |
| 33 | Jan Brabec | Strojrent Racing | KTM 450 Rally Replica |
| 34 | Jonathan Savel* # | Jonathan Savel | KTM 450 Rally Replica |
| 35 | Damien Bataller* # | Team DB Racing | KTM 450 Rally |
| 36 | Jean-Philippe Revolte* # | JBS Moto | KTM 450 Rally |
| 37 | Jiří Brož | SRG Motorsports | KTM 450 Rally Replica |
| 38 | Sarath Mohan* | SRG Motorsports | Husqvarna FE 450 |
| 40 | Hamdan Al-Ali* # | Hamdan Al-Ali | Husqvarna FE 450 |
| 41 | Badr Al-Hamdan* # | Badr Al-Hamdan | Yamaha WR450F Rally |
| 43 | Happy Verma* | SRG Motorsports | KTM 450 EXC-F |
| 45 | Jatin Jain* | SRG Motorsports | Kove 450 Rally |
| 47 | Blas Zapag Peralta* | HT Rally Raid Husqvarna | Husqvarna FR 450 Rally |
| 48 | Axel Mustad* | HT Rally Raid Husqvarna | Husqvarna FR 450 Rally |
| 49 | Nerimantas Jucius* | HT Rally Raid Husqvarna | Husqvarna FR 450 Rally |
| 50 | Willem Avenant* | HT Rally Raid Husqvarna | Husqvarna FR 450 Rally |
| 51 | Cornelus Koolen* | HT Rally Raid Husqvarna | Husqvarna FR 450 Rally |
| 53 | Filip Grot* | DUUST Rally Team | KTM 450 Rally Replica |
| 55 | Ehab Al-Hakeem* # | Ehab Al-Hakeem | Yamaha WR450F Rally |
| 56 | Gediminas Satkus* | AG Dakar School | KTM 450 Rally |
| 57 | Saulius Klevinskas* | AG Dakar School | KTM 450 Rally |
| 58 | Abdulhaim Al-Mogeera* | Abdulhaim Al-Mogeera | KTM 450 Rally |
| 59 | Martin Chalmers* # | Martin Chalmers | GasGas 450 Rally |
| 60 | Stephan Preuss* # | Stephan Preuss | KTM 450 Rally |
| 61 | Floridan Dietrich* # | Floridan Dietrich* | KTM 450 Rally |
| 62 | Christoph Lischka* | Christoph Lischka | KTM 450 Rally |
| 63 | Stephan Breisach* | Stephan Breisach | KTM 450 Rally |
| 64 | Lothar Hartmann | Lothar Hartmann* | KTM 450 Rally |
| 65 | Justin Gerlach* | Justin Gerlach | KTM 450 Rally |
| 66 | Iván Merichal Resina* | Xraids Experience | KTM 450 Rally Factory Replica |
| 67 | Rolando Martinez* | Xraids Experience | KTM 450 Rally Factory Replica |
| 68 | Murun Purevdorj* | Murun Purevdorj | KTM 450 EXC |
| 69 | Marwan Al-Rahmani* | ADNOC | KTM 450 Rally |
| 70 | Mykolas Paulavičius* | DUUST Rally Team | KTM 450 Rally Replica |
| 71 | Edvard Sokolovskij* | AG Dakar School | KTM 450 Rally |
| 76 | Jean-Loup Lepan | DUUST Rally Team | KTM 450 Rally Replica |
| 77 | Oran O’Kelly | Vendetta Racing UAE | KTM 450 Rally |
| 80 | Jack Murray* | Jack Murray | Husqvarna 450 Rally |
| 81 | Jacek Bartoszek* | MX Ride Dubai | Husqvarna 450 Rally |
| 82 | Sultan Al-Blooshi | MX Ride Dubai | Husqvarna 450 Rally |
| 90 | William McBride* | Vendetta Racing UAE | KTM 450 Rally Replica |
| 91 | Thomas Childs* | Vendetta Racing UAE | KTM 450 Rally |
| 92 | David Mabbs* | Vendetta Racing UAE | Husqvarna FR 450 Rally |
| 93 | David McBride | Vendetta Racing UAE | Husqvarna FR 450 Rally |
| 94 | Abdulla Lanjawi* | SRG Motorsports | Kove 450 Rally |
| 95 | Leo Conaboy* | Leo Conaboy | KTM 450 Rally |
| 96 | Tobias Ebster | SRG Motorsports | GasGas 450 Rally |
Italics – Veteran Trophy
# – Malle Moto
Quad
| Number | Rider | Team | Quad |
| 172 | Kamil Wiśniewski* | ORLEN Team | Yamaha Raptor 700 |
| 173 | Paweł Otwinowski* | DUUST Rally Team | Yamaha Raptor 700 |
| 174 | Abdulaziz Ahli | Abu Dhabi Team | Yamaha Raptor 700 |
| 179 | Hani Al-Noumesi | Hani Al-Noumesi | Yamaha Raptor 700 |
| 180 | Hans Brehmer* | Hans Brehmer | Yamaha Raptor 700 |