The season has reached the point at which every calculation matters. Some competitors arrive in Abu Dhabi with championship leads to protect. Others have rather less room for caution. By the end of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, the 2026 season will have its answers.
From 22 to 27 November, some of the biggest names in rally raid will gather in Abu Dhabi for the 35th edition of the event and, for the first time in its history, the final round of both the FIA and FIM World Rally Raid Championships.
The provisional entry lists bring together competitors from at least 34 nationalities across six continents, from World Champions and Dakar winners to a new generation already challenging them at the very front.
The result is a field carrying rather more than the usual ambition for victory. For many, Abu Dhabi represents the last opportunity to turn a season’s work into a world title.
H.E. Aref Hamad Al Awani, Secretary General of Abu Dhabi Sports Council, praised the unwavering support and generous patronage extended by the UAE’s wise leadership to the sports sector, and its commitment to strengthening the UAE’s position as a leading global destination for major sporting events and championships. He also expressed his appreciation for the generous patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in the Al Dhafra Region, of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, which has played a significant role in enhancing the rally’s international standing and sustaining its success over 35 editions.
Al Awani emphasised that the exceptional calibre of competitors in this year’s edition reflects Abu Dhabi’s leading position on the global sporting stage. He noted that hosting the decisive final round of both the FIA and FIM World Rally-Raid Championships presents an important opportunity to showcase the emirate’s world-class event-hosting capabilities and introduce international audiences to its diverse landscapes and unique attractions.
Al Awani said: “We are particularly looking forward to the new route connecting the Al Ain and Al Dhafra regions, bringing the rally to different communities and locations while creating additional opportunities for residents and visitors to experience this world-class event up close. Over 35 editions, the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge has firmly established itself as a key fixture on our sporting calendar, and we look forward to delivering another exceptional edition that further strengthens Abu Dhabi’s presence on the global motorsport stage.”
A four way fight for the FIA title
In the cars, the championship battle brings together four drivers arriving in Abu Dhabi from markedly different positions.
Seth Quintero is the man the others must catch. The Toyota Gazoo Racing driver leads the FIA standings with 135 points, but the margin behind him is far from comfortable.
Nine time World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb sits just 14 points back for Dacia, while five time Dakar Rally winner Nasser Al Attiyah is another six points behind.
Toyota’s Henk Lategan also remains mathematically in the fight, ensuring that four drivers entered for Abu Dhabi still have a route to the title.
Quintero therefore arrives with something valuable to protect. Loeb and Al Attiyah, by contrast, have rather less reason for caution. For Lategan, the mathematics are more demanding, but the opportunity remains.
Behind the individual title fight lies another championship battle carrying considerable significance for two of the sport’s biggest manufacturers.
Dacia leads Toyota by 47 points in the Manufacturers’ Championship, meaning every strong result in Abu Dhabi could count twice: once for the driver and again for the team.
Toyota Gazoo Racing brings considerable depth, with Quintero and Lategan joined by Akira Miura. Dacia’s challenge also includes Brazilian Lucas Moraes.
Ford is represented by experienced Czech driver Martin Prokop, Denis Krotov and Polish competitors Eryk and Marek Goczal in Raptor machinery.
The field also brings recent success from elsewhere in international Baja competition.
Oman’s experienced Hamed Al Wahaibi arrives in Abu Dhabi as the newly crowned 2026 FIA World Baja Cup Masters champion, having also finished third overall in the championship and second in Challenger. His strong finish to the season at the Dubai International Baja adds another accomplished regional name to the Abu Dhabi field.
In SSV, Lithuania’s Mindaugas Sidabras arrives second in the championship and remains firmly involved in the title picture.
Thirteen points separate the leading RallyGP contenders
The motorcycle championship arrives in Abu Dhabi with similarly little room for error.
Reigning World Champion Daniel Sanders leads the RallyGP standings on 87 points, but his advantage is anything but secure.
His Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team mate Luciano Benavides and Honda’s Tosha Schareina are tied on 74 points, just 13 behind.
With one final round remaining, that margin leaves little scope for a quiet week in the desert.
Sanders heads a formidable KTM line up that also includes Benavides and Edgar Canet, the young Spaniard who arrives in Abu Dhabi fresh from a breakthrough victory in Morocco and with enough speed to influence how the championship battle unfolds.
Monster Energy Honda HRC answers with Schareina and experienced French contender Adrien Van Beveren, a proven desert specialist who adds another serious threat for stage wins and overall victory.
It leaves the championship contenders with rather more to consider than simply one another. The riders around them, the road order and five days of competition across demanding terrain all have the potential to alter the picture.
The Rally2 category adds another live championship story, with leader Martim Ventura representing Honda and Slovenia’s Toni Mulec among his principal rivals.
Hero MotoSports will be represented by Michael Docherty and David Braceras Martínez, while a substantial group of privateers adds further depth to the motorcycle field.
David Castera, Motorsport Director at Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O., promoter of the FIA-FIM World Rally-Raid Championship): “The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge is an iconic event and a key fixture on the W2RC calendar. The event has a long and prestigious history in our discipline, and Abu Dhabi’s demanding dunes and desert terrain provide a true test for both competitors and their machines.
We are delighted to return to Abu Dhabi for the 2026 season finale, which will bring another world-class season to a close. The battle for the world titles remains wide open, with every stage potentially proving decisive in the fight for the championship.
This edition promises great sporting action and another exciting chapter in the history of the championship. We would like to extend our warmest thanks to the organisers and all their partners for their continued commitment to the W2RC.”
UAE competitors on the world stage
For the UAE field, the final round offers a different sort of opportunity: the chance to compete against the best in the world on familiar terrain.
The SSV field includes Yahya Al Helei and Mansour Al Helei, both driving Can-Am Maverick R machinery, while Nora Al Jassasi adds further UAE representation to the category.
On two wheels, Mohammed Al Balooshi once again takes his place in the premier RallyGP category against the world’s factory teams.
He will be joined by several other Emirati motorcycle competitors, including Sultan Alblooshi, Sultan Alshanqiti, Hamdan Alali and Khalifa Alremeithi.
The Quad category brings another international contest, with Lithuania’s Antanas Kanopkinas and Bolivia’s Leonardo Martínez continuing their World Cup rivalry, while UAE rider Abdulaziz Ahli will be chasing another home victory at an event where he has already enjoyed considerable success.
H.E. Khalid Ben Sulayem, President of the Emirates Motorsports Organization, said: “The strength and depth of this year’s entry list reflects the international standing of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and the importance of the event to the world’s leading competitors and manufacturers. We have championship leaders, major manufacturers, established champions and some of the most exciting emerging talent in rally raid coming to Abu Dhabi with major titles still to be decided.
“We are equally proud to see such strong representation from UAE competitors across the different categories. They will have the opportunity to measure themselves against the very best in the sport on home terrain, and creating that connection between the highest level of international competition and the development of motorsport in the UAE remains extremely important to us.
“As we celebrate our 35th edition, we are proud to provide the stage for the conclusion of both the FIA and FIM World Rally Raid Championships for the first time. It is a significant milestone for the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge and for motorsport in the UAE, and we look forward to welcoming the competitors to what promises to be a memorable finale.”
One final journey across Abu Dhabi
The titles will be settled across a route designed to test far more than outright speed.
For the first time, the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge will start and finish in Al Ain, before travelling west across the emirate into Al Dhafra.
Madinat Zayed will serve as the main rally bivouac, while the competitors will face a constantly changing mix of terrain and conditions across the event before making the long journey back east towards Al Ain.
For some, that final arrival will bring a championship. For others, it will mark the end of a season in which the answer remained uncertain until the final days.
For Abu Dhabi, it will bring together the world’s leading rally raid competitors, the sport’s biggest manufacturers and two World Championship finales in the same place, in the same week, for the first time.
The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge is held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in Al Dhafra Region. The event is organised by the Emirates Motorsports Organization in cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Sports Council.
The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge is hosted with the support of the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, Al Ain Municipality and Al Dhafra Region Municipality, with Energy Partner ADNOC Distribution and Automotive Partner Al-Futtaim Toyota.
The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge is also supported in its delivery by the Ministry of Defence and UAE Armed Forces, Abu Dhabi Police, Civil Defence, Tadweer, and media partner Abu Dhabi Sports TV.
