The Sand Races World Cup will be the newest world championship sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), running a three-race inaugural season in 2023. The FIM Cross-Country Commission, who oversees cross-country bike and quad rallying such as the Bajas World Cup and the World Rally-Raid Championship, will take the new series under its wing.
Sand racing, not to be confused with desert racing as seen in Baja or traditional rally raid, is an enduro discipline that runs along beaches. True to the name, sand races mandate the course must be at least ninety percent sand, and it also features elements like jumps similar to motocross.
While bikes and quads are the emphasis as they are usually under FIM jurisdiction in other series, the FIM has not ruled out SSVs as a future class (which are generally overseen by the FIA).
“The launch of the FIM Sand Races World Cup marks the start of a new competition,” said Cross-Country Commission director Jean-François Wulvérick. “With all the stakeholders, we look forward to building and developing together the competition on sand, which is very popular with riders, teams, manufacturers and the public. We are going to optimise the sporting and technical rules to make it evolve at the World Championship level in the future.”
The 2023 season begins with the Enduropale du Touquet in France, the largest and oldest sand race in the world, on 3–5 February. The Enduro del Verano in Argentina follows three weeks later. After a ten-month silence, the season resumes and ends with the Monte Gordo Beach Algarve in Portugal.
The three events’ sanctioning authories—the Fédération Française de Motocyclisme (FFM), Confederacion Argentina de Motociclismo Deportivo (CAMOD), and Portuguese Motorcycling Federation—are collaborating with the FIM on the World Cup.
2023 Sand Races World Cup schedule
| # | Race | Location | Country | Date |
| 1 | Enduropale du Touquet | Le Touquet-Paris-Plage and Stella Beach | France | 3–5 February |
| 2 | Enduro del Verano | Villa Gesell | Argentina | 24–26 February |
| 3 | Monte Gordo Beach Algarve | Monte Gordo | Portugal | December |