Stage 1 Highlights
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FIA: Moraes opens his account
Last season, Lucas Moraes had won specials at each round except for the ADDC, where his hopes had —quite literally— gone up in smoke. In 2025, he is turning his luck around in no time, claiming stage 1. The Dacia duo of Sébastien Loeb (second at 1′01″) and Nasser Al Attiyah (fourth at 2′16″) piled the pressure on him all the way to the finish, as did his Toyota Gazoo Racing teammate Seth Quintero (third at 2′07″) in a Hilux, but the Brazilian held firm to finally take a win in the United Arab Emirates, securing his eighth W2RC stage victory. Saood Variawa (Toyota Gazoo Racing) rounded out the top 5 at 3′07″, ahead of the X-raid Mini JCWs of Guillaume de Mévius (+4′16″) and João Ferreira (+4′24″). The overall standings mirror the stage classification.
CHALLENGER: Akeel takes her turn
Just a month after becoming a W2RC winner at the Dakar, Dania Akeel is back on top in Mezaira’a. Locked in a ferocious battle with Yasir Seaidan, she finished just one second behind her fellow Saudi driver. However, Seaidan was hit with a one-minute penalty for a false start, handing the former rider the win by 59 seconds. Pau Navarro completed a BBR Motorsport podium sweep at 4′20″. The only dark cloud for the French team was the rollover of Nicolás Cavigliasso, who will be slapped with a heavy penalty after withdrawing from the stage. The recent Dakar winner will not be making it two victories in a row.
SSVs: Al Helei settles the score
Mansour Al Helei saw his first W2RC victory slip away yesterday after missing a waypoint. However, the local hero succeeded in his second attempt and finished as the top-ranked championship entrant. Two Italians trailed the Emirati: Enrico Gaspari (MMP) at 7′41″ and Michele Cinotto (CST Xtreme Plus Polaris) at 11′37″.
FIM: Schareina on point
Winning both the prologue and stage 1 set Tosha Schareina on course for overall victory in Portugal in April 2024. Now, he is looking to execute the same game plan here. Setting out tenth this morning thanks to his win yesterday, the Honda rider capitalised on the tracks left by the men ahead of him, allowing him to focus on his riding. He claimed the stage with 1′54″ to spare over his teammate Ricky Brabec and 3′18″ over Luciano Benavides and his KTM. The overall looks pretty much the same, although with different gaps: Schareina is 2′07″ ahead of the American and 3′22″ clear of the Argentinian.
The 2025 Dakar champion, Daniel Sanders (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), conceded 6′17″ to avoid pushing his machine too far after it showed signs of weakness. Adrien Van Beveren (Monster Energy Honda HRC) opened the road for part of the special and dropped 7′13″. Tomorrow, this arduous task will fall upon Schareina, while the Australian and the Frenchman will be chasing from behind —an opportunity for them to claw back some time.
RALLY2: Docherty by a nose, Canet out due to an elbow
A single second separated Michael Docherty and Edgar Canet (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) at the end of the special on Sunday! The South African secured his nineteenth Rally2 victory, thanks in no small part to 16 seconds in bonuses for opening the race. Tobias Ebster (SRG Motorsports) rounded out the podium at 10′12″. Docherty held on to the Rally2 reins by half a minute over Canet and 10′36″ over Konrad Dąbrowski (Duust Rally Team). However, the Spaniard will no longer be a factor tomorrow, as he fractured his elbow in a crash near the end and had to withdraw.
QUADS: Ahli gets his own back
Abdulaziz Ahli has set the record straight after a navigation blunder in the prologue that had relegated to 3′55″ from the leader. The Emirati secured a comfortable win and soared to the lead by 13′20″ over Antanas Kanopkinas (CFMoto Thunder Racing) and 16′35″ over Marek Łój (Poland National Team). The favourite is back on track for a fifth victory!
Quelle / Source / Bilder / Pictures: WR2C
