Dacia Sandriders Prepares for the Next Rally

After securing a stage win at last month’s Dakar Rally, Dacia Sandriders is set to compete in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, taking place from February 22 to 27. This six-day event features a fast-paced route through the sand dunes of the eastern and southern United Arab Emirates and serves as the second round of the 2025 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC).

Dacia Sandriders will enter the competition with their synthetic fuel-powered race cars, fielding two driver and co-driver pairs: Nasser Al-Attiyah / Édouard Boulanger and Sébastien Loeb / Fabian Lurquin.

Al-Attiyah, from Qatar, is a four-time winner of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, most recently in 2024, when Boulanger navigated him to victory. Loeb, from France, and his Belgian co-driver Lurquin finished eighth overall in 2022.

Race Overview
The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge is scheduled close to the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia, allowing teams to optimize logistics and transportation costs.

The competition starts on February 22 with a 72-kilometer prologue in Al Ain, followed by five main stages:

Stage 1 (Feb 23): A 400-kilometer route from Al Ain to Mezeer’ah.
Stage 2 (Feb 24): A 302-kilometer loop starting and ending in Mezeer’ah.
Stage 3 (Feb 25): The first part of the Marathon Stage—a 388-kilometer stretch where no external mechanical support is allowed until the end of the day.
Stage 4 (Feb 26): The second half of the Marathon Stage, covering 394 kilometers back to Mezeer’ah.
Stage 5 (Feb 27): The final 364-kilometer stage from Mezeer’ah to Abu Dhabi.
Excluding the prologue, the rally consists of 1,175 kilometers of timed racing, determining the final classification.