In cars, 12 teams were announced in T1. Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota Gazoo Racing), which overturned in Abu Dhabi, is second in the championship standings (85 points). The current world champion is 16 points behind leader Sébastien Loeb (Bahrain Raid Xtreme – 101 pts).
Martin Prokop (Orlen Benzina Team – 64 pts) closed the podium with a points advantage over fourth place, Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive Racing). Guerlain Chicherit (GCK Motorsport), who withdrew from Abu Dhabi due to discomfort in the sands, will also return. He is tied with Juan Cruz Yacopini (Overdrive Racing) with 49 pts in 5th and 6th position. Sebastian Halpern (7th with 43 pts) and Denis Krotov will make the 3rd official start in the X-raid Mini JCW T1+. Guoyo Zhang and Zi Yunglian will continue to defend the Chinese colors of BAIC ORV.
Among the 12 entries in the T3 category, the presence of Mattias Ekström is expected, again at the wheel of a South Racing Can-Am team vehicle, with David Zille. Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team USA has three Americans on the podium in the general classification: Seth Quintero (127 pts) ahead of Austin Jones (122 pts) and Mitch Guthrie Jr (81 pts).
“Chaleco” López (4th with 55 pts), not in Abu Dhabi to be with his newborn son, will compete with Cristina Gutiérrez (5th with 52 pts) in Red Bull Can-Am Factory Racing team. At X-raid Yamaha, there is no rider change, but we have to get used to seeing a new name in the standings. We are not talking about Joao Ferreira (6th with 51 pts), but about Annett Quandt.
The 2nd ranking girl changed her maiden name, Fischer, to the name of the boss of the X-raid team. Three cars are in T4. Championship leader Rokas Baciuska (Red Bull Can-Am Factory Racing – 134 pts) will be up against Shinsuke Umeda’s Polaris (Xtreme Plus – 44 pts) and driver Rebecca Busi (FN Speed).
Bikes: Benavides, Walkner, Sunderland and Sanders return
14 RallyGP drivers will be presented in the motorcycle category. The 13 official riders from the 2023 championship are all entered, with the return of Kevin Benavides, Matthias Walkner (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Sam Sunderland and Daniel Sanders (Red Bull GasGas Factory Racing).out of Abu Dhabi due to injuries.
Toby Price (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 46 points) leads the championship ahead of Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge winner Adrien Van Beveren (Monster Energy Honda – 42 points). Despite his absence in the second race, Dakar winner Kevin Benavides was third (38 pts). Of the four returning drivers, the Argentine suffered the most damage at the end of February, when he broke his femur.
There are 7 competitors in Rally2. Classification leader Paolo Lucci (BAS World KTM Racing – 50 pts) will battle Dakar winner Romain Dumontier (Husqvarna HT Rally Raid – 38 pts). The Frenchman is third in the standings despite never competing in Abu Dhabi. Bradley Cox will also return with BAS World KTM Racing and Duust Diverse Racing will field three riders. Following their Dakar debut, Chinese team Kove entered two drivers for the first time in W2RC: Niels Theric and Sunier Sunier. The Sonora Rally will also be the first date for the Rally3 category. Three competitors will participate on enduro motorcycles with increased autonomy. Two riders are registered in the quads: Laisvydas Kancius (AG Dakar School), leader of the classification (44 pts), will face Rodolfo Guillioli.
The Journey: Sonora Far and Wide
The route of the 5 stages of the 9th edition of the Sonora Rally was announced a few days ago by Darren Skilton’s team. Competitors have to travel almost 2,300 kilometers (1,200 km of specials).
After the prologue, the first stage in the center of the state of Sonora, north of Hermosillo, begins with flat and fast paths as far as the eye can see, typical of the landscape of the countryside that surrounds the capital of Sonora.
As in a mirage, competitors can see shadows rising from the dust among piles of rock and sand on some surrounding mountains. They will be the first giant and ancestral cacti, one of the postcards of the race.
The 2nd will take the competitors west along the coast of the Gulf of Cortez, where they will travel north for the rest of the day, to Puerto Peñasco. In the morning, the land will be looser than the previous day, until you reach the place where the land touches the water.
Under the heat of the Mexican sun, the beaches offer a disturbing scene with the same blue color, from the feet to the sky. Competitors have to push themselves to focus on the road book. The caravan will spend three nights in a bivouac that resembles a beach camp.
Stages 3 and 4 revolve around the fishing port and its famous beaches. But there will be no break in the programme, as the stage 3 special, which will mark the halfway point of the race, will also be the longest of the week, with almost 350km of timed stages.
Each of these stages will descend southeast to explore this part of the State in all its extent. The 5th and final stage will continue the route to the northwest that started in stage 2 to reach the finish line in San Luis Río Colorado, the “home” of the Sonora Rally and a border city with the state of Arizona in North America.
April 23 – Prologue – 10 km: Hermosillo – Hermosillo: Then the starting order of stage 1 will be chosen.
April 24 – Stage 1: Hermosillo – Hermosillo (total distance / special: 333 km / 168 km)
· April 25 – Stage 2: Hermosillo – Puerto Peñasco (total / special distance: 541 km / 286 km).
· April 26 – Stage 3: Puerto Peñasco – Puerto Peñasco (total / special distance: 466 km / 350 km).
· April 27 – Stage 4: Puerto Peñasco – Puerto Peñasco (total / special distance: 485 km / 248 km).
· April 28 – Stage 5: Puerto Peñasco – San Luis Río Colorado (total / special distance: 398 km / 139 km).
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
