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Season 51 of the SCORE International World Desert Championship will begin with the thirty-seventh San Felipe 250. Luke McMillin is seeking his third straight win for Four-Wheelers while Ciaran Naran hopes to go back-to-back for Moto.

Qualifying for Trophy Truck categories will take place on Thursday, 21 March, followed by race day on Saturday, 23 March.

The Course

As is tradition, the race will begin and end in San Felipe. At 285.59 miles for the Pro classes (284.86 miles for Sportsman), the course is longer than in 2023.

At RM 90, the bikes and quads will go take a bypass that splits them off from the Four-Wheelers. Sportsman categories will also join them on this route at RM 162, and both will eventually merge back on course at RM 178. The physical checkpoint awaits just past the 200-mile mark.

The bikes split off again at general RM 270, taking them further south near El Carrizo and a run north along Highway 5 before rejoining at RM 278. Of course, the actual deviation is much longer than the two points marked, stretching roughly eighty miles.

Although unable to compete domestically for obvious reasons, Ukrainian racers have still found applications for their driving abilities elsewhere. Thanks to a partnership between the Automobile Federation of Ukraine and the Ministry of Defence, drivers are now leading classes for military personnel in how to drive safely in off-road environments during emergencies, such as heading to and from the frontline.

As part of a feature aired Monday, DniproTV joined the Khartia Brigade, a unit in the National Guard of Ukraine, at a course in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast taught by Andriy Yaromeko. Yaromeko leads the PILOT Safe Driving Centre, a Cherkasy-based driving school that, with the help of the FAU, has expanded to include satellites in Poltava and Dnipro.

In 2022, he represented Ukraine at the FIA Motorsport Games in France, competing in Auto Slalom with Tatyana Kaduchenko as his team-mate. The duo ranked fourteenth in the preliminaries to be among the sixteen teams advancing to the knockout stage, where they were defeated by Latvia in the opening round and placed thirteenth of twenty-five overall.

Lessons go beyond simply driving fast and smart on dirt roads. Before going to the test track, Yaromenko puts soldiers-slash-students in the classroom where he teaches them concepts that might seem trivial but go a long way in practice such as hand placement on the steering wheel and how to mitigate back pain from sitting for too long.

The course duration varies but typically lasts four sessions. All troops may attend for free, while costs are covered by sponsors and the FAU.

Frédéric Vasseur, the Team Principal at Scuderia Ferrari, has revealed they opted to put Oliver Bearman in their SF24 during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix weekend rather than Antonio Giovinazzi due to the Italian’s busy schedule outside of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

With Carlos Sainz Jr. unable to race due to illness that ultimately was diagnosed as appendicitis, Ferrari required a last-minute replacement to take over the driving duties ahead of final practice, and FIA Formula 2 racer Bearman was chosen to make his Grand Prix debut at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

Ferrari could have opted to bring in an experienced driver such as Giovinazzi, who is part of their reserve driver roster, but with the Italian competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship, it was decided that neither he, nor Robert Shwartzman, would be considered just a week after competing in their primary series.

“I took the decision in the winter because I found it a bit stupid last year to ask Antonio to do 22 or 24 races when he was doing in parallel the LMH programme,” Vasseur is quoted as saying by PlanetF1.com.

“The LMH is quite important for us – it’s a huge challenge – and I don’t want to ask Antonio or Shwartzman to travel with us and to do F1 the week after Qatar [the WEC season-opener], and a race in between.

The Desafío Ruta 40 returns to the World Rally-Raid Championship in 2024 as the penultimate round, albeit two months earlier than last year as it takes place in June. The race will span roughly 3,213 kilometres total with 2,085 km being Selective Sections.

Córdoba’s Complejo Ferial Córdoba will serve as the rally’s base of operations, marking its first time racing in the eponymous province. The second largest city in Argentina, Córdoba previously hosted legs of the Dakar Rally when it ran through South America, including being the finish in 2018.

After a sixteen-kilometre Prologue, longer than the nine in 2023, the main race begins with a 466-km loop around the city. Stage #2 takes competitors to San Juan, which hosts a loop of its own for Stage #3. San Juan previously welcomed the Dakar from 2010 to 2012 and 2014 to 2018. San Juan’s bivouac will be based at Circuito San Juan Villicum, a race track visited twice annually by Argentina’s Turismo Carretera and formerly by the Superbike World Championship.

Stage #4, the longest with over 500 kilometres in timed sections, heads to La Rioja. Boasting six Dakars to its name, La Rioja was also the site of the opening stage for the 2023 DR 40. The bivouac is at Estadio Superdomo de La Rioja, a basketball arena and concert venue.

The race returns to Córdoba on the final day.

Craig Lowndes has tackled many of Australia’s greatest races from the Bathurst 1000 to the Bathurst 12 Hour. In June, he will add the country’s top off-road event to his résumé when he tackles the Finke Desert Race in a Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 Off-Road Racer with Dale Moscatt as his navigator.

While Lowndes is obviously renowned for his Supercars Championship career as a three-time champion with seven Bathurst 1000 victories, he is not unfamiliar with off-road racing. In 2010, he dabbled in rally raid for the first time when he entered the now-defunct Australasian Safari. Despite being new to to the discipline, he and his Holden Colorado scored the overall win. Lowndes returned to the event in 2011 but retired following an early rollover while leading.

A decade later, he was invited to the Finke Desert Race to participate in the Prologue. Mark Dutton, the manager of Lowndes’ Triple Eight Race Engineering Supercars team, served as his co-driver in an SSV. Of course, 2024 will be his first time racing the Finke in its entirety.

Lowndes has also expressed interest in racing the Dakar Rally, though such an opportunity has yet to come to fruition. In the meantime, Finke will scratch his off-road itch as a race that has long been a bucket list item. This desire escalated when General Motors unveiled the Silverado ZR2 Off-Road Racer as a concept car in December 2022, which he quickly pressed for the company to manifest into an actual competitor.

The Silverado ZR2 is primarily used in American desert racing by Chad Hall, whose team maintains a close factory partnership with Chevrolet that allows him to also test parts that appear on the production vehicles. Former Supercars team Kelly Racing has a similar alliance with Ford Motor Company to field the Ford Ranger Raptor in Australia and America, culminating in Brad Lovell winning the Production 4WD class at the 2023 Finke Desert Race.

For two decades, Karel Loprais was one of the top truck racers at the Paris–Dakar Rally as he won the category six times in his Tatra 815. In his honour, Tatra Trucks announced Tuesday that they have started Projekt T 162 “Karel”, an effort to build the Tatra T 162.

The Tatra T 162 was conceived in 1988, the same year that Loprais won the Dakar for the first time, as a heavy dump truck intended to replace the 815. Naturally, the manufacturer also hoped to bring it to the Dakar Rally with Loprais. Although a prototype was created, it never entered production and was replaced by the T 163 Jamal.

The Karel, named in tribute to Loprais, is a rally raid version of the 162, featuring a twelve-cylinder engine at the rear; this was designed to help Tatra keep pace with other truck powerhouses at the Dakar like the twin-engined DAF. However, it will be modernised to accommodate for technological advances in the four decades since.

While parent Tatra Trucks a.s. is greenlighting the effort, it is still a side project for employees, which the company analogises to Formula Student programmes at universities. The research and development and technical departments will lead the project. Over two dozen employees are involved.

Loprais, who worked for Tatra growing up, won the Paris–Dakar Rally in 1988, 1994 to 1994, 1998 to 1999, and 2001. His final Dakar was in 2006 before retiring, and he passed away in December 2021 at the age of 72. His nephew Aleš Loprais is also a rally raider who finished runner-up in the 2024 Dakar Rally’s Truck class, though he drives a Praga.

Race two of the 2024 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season is in the books, and we had a familiar result at the front of the field as Max Verstappen took a ninth consecutive win, and the nineteenth in the past twenty races.

There were stories up and down the grid, with Oracle Red Bull Racing taking a second consecutive one-two finish, while Oliver Bearman played a starring role on his Grand Prix debut having only been called up from FIA Formula 2 on Friday morning to replace the unwell Carlos Sainz Jr. at Scuderia Ferrari.

There was also an amazing defensive drive from MoneyGram Haas F1 Team’s Kevin Magnussen, who held up four cars for lap after lap to allow team-mate Nico Hülkenberg to score his first point of the season.

Here is what those on the pit wall had to say after the conclusion of Saturday evening’s race under the floodlights at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

Christian Horner – Team Principal, Oracle Red Bull Racing

Race two of the 2024 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season is in the books, and we had a familiar result at the front of the field as Max Verstappen took a ninth consecutive win, and the nineteenth in the past twenty races.

Oracle Red Bull Racing once again dominated, with Sergio Perez overcoming a five-second time penalty for an unsafe release to finish second, while Scuderia Ferrari completed the podium with Charles Leclerc, who also took the bonus point for fastest lap on the final lap.

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit also heralded the debut of a new star as Oliver Bearman took a remarkable seventh place after being drafted in at the last moment to replace the ailing Carlos Sainz Jr., while Kevin Magnussen played a blinding defensive role as he held up the pack to allow team-mate Nico Hülkenberg to score a point.

Here is what those who missed out on points had to say after the conclusion of Saturday evening’s race under the floodlights in Jeddah.

#23 – Alexander Albon – Williams Racing

Race two of the 2024 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season is in the books, and we had a familiar result at the front of the field as Max Verstappen took a ninth consecutive win, and the nineteenth in the past twenty races.

Oracle Red Bull Racing once again dominated, with Sergio Perez overcoming a five-second time penalty for an unsafe release to finish second, while Scuderia Ferrari completed the podium with Charles Leclerc, who also took the bonus point for fastest lap on the final lap.

The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit also heralded the debut of a new star as Oliver Bearman took a remarkable seventh place after being drafted in at the last moment to replace the ailing Carlos Sainz Jr.

Here is what the top ten drivers had to say after the conclusion of Saturday evening’s race under the floodlights in Jeddah.

#1 – Max Verstappen – Oracle Red Bull Racing

After skipping the 2024 Dakar Classic, Ecurie Frères d’Armes will make their return in 2025 with their flagship 1990 Peugeot P4 joined by a new assistance truck piloted by an all-woman crew.

The team specialises in fielding old military vehicles in cross-country rallies driven by members of the French Armed Forces. Mickaël Ranchin and Philippe Robert débuted the team at the 2023 Dakar Classic, where they finished forty-second overall; Ranchin was wounded by an anti-tank mine while serving in Operation Barkhane in Mali, while Robert is a veteran who lost his leg in a motorcycle accident. Team owners Emmanuel and Sandra Rivière also raced the Classic in a 1983 ALM ACMAT TPK truck that finished seventieth.

Although the Dakar Classic is reserved for vehicles built before 1999, both the Peugeot P4 and ACMAT TPK continue to see military use today. The team did not specify what type of truck the all-female team would use, though the ACMAT is of course expected to be an option. Ecurie Frères d’Armes plans to have both veterans and spouses of military personnel on the truck’s crew.

“Building on this success and the experience gained, our volunteers have set themselves the goal of repeating this project in January 2025, opening it to a larger number of beneficiaries,” begins a statement from the team. “Moreover, in order to counterbalance a male crew, it seemed appropriate to give a chance to a female crew. To top it all off, it was necessary to share this extraordinary human adventure with as many people as possible in order to contribute to the recognition of the cause of the wounded.

“In addition, our team has deliberately chosen to focus on three main areas: providing psychological support as early as possible to accompany the wounded from the beginning of the adventure preparation, adopting an eco-responsible approach in the preparation and implementation of the event, and engaging the female crew on a real racing truck.

Ricky Brabec can win on two and four wheels, and this past weekend’s Mint 400 was perhaps one of the finest showcases of his versatility.

Already well established as one of the top American bike racers in rally raid as a two-time Dakar Rally champion, he added both motorcycle and UTV trophies during his weekend in Las Vegas. On Friday, Brabec and Skyler Howes teamed up to claim the Mint 400 Limited Race in the UTV Pro Normally Aspirated class. The following day, he and Preston Campbell dominated the Mint’s Motorcycle Race.

Brabec and Howes are team-mates at Monster Energy Honda Rally Team in the World Rally-Raid Championship. Although they led the RallyGP rider’s and manufacturer’s standings after Brabec won the season-opening Dakar Rally in January, Honda elected not to enter the latest W2RC round, the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge that took place a week before the Mint. With time until the next race in April, the pair decided to head back to America to tackle the Mint.

The two raced the #1991 Honda Talon 1000R prepared by RaceCo-USA, whose owner Jamie Campbell ran the Dakar in a hydrogen-powered UTV developed by Japan’s automotive giants called the HySE-X1. Brabec and navigator Chad Lawson did the first two laps, running what Howes called a “flawless two laps” as Brabec set the third fastest time in class through lap one before improving to second.

Howes and Daylee Holcomb took over for the second half. He suffered a flat tyre during his stint, which he was unable to repair when the jack malfunctioned but managed to save the effort after borrowing a replacement from a competitor whose car also broke down nearby. By the end, the duo’s #1991 finished twenty-sixth overall and beat Honda factory driver Michael McFayden for the class win by seven minutes. His girlfriend Sara Price, who won the same Dakar stage as him in January, finished directly behind him in the overall in twenty-seventh.

Wes Miller arrived in Las Vegas set to run the Mint 400. He left confused and without turning a lap.

Miller was supposed to compete in the Limited race on Friday, racing a Polaris RZR Pro R in the UTV Pro Stock category until the race’s sanctioning body Unlimited Off-Road Racing ruled his car did not comply with class regulations. Although Miller attempted to make contact with officials including series boss Matt Martelli, he explained he never received a proper answer for whether it was actually legal or not.

As the name suggests, the UTV Pro Stock class is intended for UTVs that are mostly to fully in their factory setting save for obvious safety modifications. After concerns were raised that some competitors had non-compliant cars at the series’ season-opening Parker 400 in January, Miller joined a conference call with race director Kilian Hamlin to properly outline the rules so they could be enforced at the Mint. During the discussion, Miller disclosed his car had a steering brace from SANDCRAFT installed, which keeps the steering rack stable and easier to control. While the steering rack must be stock, he noted there was “little bit of a grey area” since some changes could still be made to strengthen the suspension like adding material to the gussets.

“I’ve been running it for quite a few races now and had it on for two or three of the races already, and it was never an issue, so I was under the impression we determined that it was legal,” Miller said in a video released Saturday to explain the situation. “As well as another competitor that was on the call, that was his opinion. I think Killian doesn’t really remember, but you know, he’s got a lot of stuff he’s dealing with.”

Once at the Mint, Miller noticed that many of the stock entries did not appear to be legal and expected “some protest disqualifications” to come. True to his suspicion, four cars ended up being disqualified from the race for illegal exhausts, among other components. Miller approached tech director Bill Savage for a personal inspection of his Polaris, who ruled that the aforementioned steering rack as well as the hood scoop were not allowed. While he complied and swapped out the scoop duct for a stock part, the steering rack ruling contradicted the previous discussion.

Ricky Brabec had a heck of a Mint 400 weekend as he got to win on both four and two wheels. After winning his UTV class in the Limited race on Friday, he teamed up with Preston Campbell to dominate the Motorcycle Race on Saturday.

Racing a Honda for JCR Honda, the duo crushed the race with a nineteen-minute advantage over runner-ups Danny Cooper, Chance Fullterton, and Connor Eddy. The trio of Jesse Canepa, Ryan Marshall, and Clayton Roberts were forty-eight-and-a-half minutes behind the #P03.

Campbell, the son of Baja 1000 legend Johnny Campbell, adds a second straight Unlimited Off-Road Racing Series win after claiming the inaugural California 300 bike race last October.

“I got off to a pretty good start,” said Campbell. “Me and Chance battled a little bit but I was able to get in the lead pretty early. I didn’t have to fight the dust but just fighting the shadows and the cold, cold air but it wasn’t too bad.”

The win was Brabec’s second in the Motorcycle Race after claiming the 2019 edition with Kendall Norman. Brabec, also the defending Dakar Rally champion, took over the bike from Campbell for the second half of the six-lap event.

The Mint 400 is one of the toughest off-road races in America, but Adam Householder was more than up for the challenge. In fact, as many of his rivals dropped out or suffered mechanical issues, Householder’s Unlimited Truck was perfect from start to finish.

After chasing down Ryan Arciero for the first of four laps, he took the lead and never had to look back particularly close. Although Arciero and Christian Sourapas provided the biggest challenges, both were hit by truck problems on the final lap that enabled Householder to pull away. Kyle Jergensen, the 2022 Mint 400 winner, inherited second after Arciero was knocked out by a broken driveline and finished almost eleven minutes back.

The reigning Unlimited Off-Road Racing Series champion, Householder began his title defence on a strong note when he finished won the Unlimited overall at the Parker 400 in January. Now two-for-two in the 2024 season, he can complete the clean sweep by taking the California 300 in October.

“We had a flawless day. No issues, nothing. Never had to get out, had a fantastic day,” said Householder. “We just ran with everyone at the beginning to kind of see what their pace was doing and set it from there. Everyone just kept dropping out like flies and we just proceeded to go to the front.

“It’s not easy out there. By the time you get to the last lap, it is brutal. You’re hitting kerbs, I just tried to keep the truck alive and that’s what we did. There’s a lot of rocks out there, and so he was on it, Trevor (Ellingham) did an incredible job all day telling me what to do, where to go, and we made it happen.”

After a decade of work, Sara Price finally got to race at the Dakar Rally for the first time in January. Even as a rookie, she quickly impressed when she won a stage and just barely missed the overall podium in the SSV category.

On Saturday, Price was invited into the booth for the Mint 400, another prestigious off-road race, to speak about her Dakar experience. She had entered the Mint’s Limited race the day before, where she and Cameron Steele finished twelfth in the UTV Pro category. Many American Dakar competitors including Mitch Guthrie, Skyler Howes, and Price’s boyfriend and 2024 Dakar bike winner Ricky Brabec also ran the Limited event.

Although the Dakar also takes place in a desert, rally raids are a different beast from traditional desert races like the Mint and SCORE International, the latter of which Price won the Trophy Truck Spec championship in 2019.

“Dakar is something I really can’t even describe. It’s just a whole ‘nother animal,” Price recalled. “You’re over there in Saudi Arabia, it’s different country, different terrain, different rules; FIA is a very technical association we’re racing with. To get there is really expensive and not easy. It takes a lot of work because we’re racing in a different way than we do here in America. We’re using a roadbook, we’re using cars that have all these restrictions on them, and it’s just a different game but it’s a dream come true for me.”

Price earned her ticket to the Dakar Rally by winning the National Car/UTV class at the 2023 Sonora Rally, a round of the World Rally-Raid Championship and leg on the Road to Dakar programme; the Road to Dakar rewards racers who have no prior Dakar experience with free registration for the event. As a final dress rehearsal, she entered the 2023 W2RC’s season-ending Rallye du Maroc and quickly impressed as she won two stages and finished second in the SSV category to Can-Am team-mate João Ferreira.