2024 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge: From The Checkered Flag’s Newsroom

After a month off, the World Rally-Raid Championship roared back to life this past week with the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.

Missed The Checkered Flag‘s daily coverage? We’ve got you covered with a nifty archive of our stories below.

Pre-race stories

7 March 2023: TCF‘s 2023 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge newsroom 9 October 2023: Road to Dakar returns for 2024 29 November 2023: 2024 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge to feature “revamped format” 6 December 2023: CFMOTO Thunder Racing Team to run nearly full 2024 W2RC 22 December 2023: Kamil Wiśniewski to miss 2024 Dakar Rally, plans return for W2RC 27 December 2023: CFMOTO Thunder Racing Team skipping Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge amidst Red Sea shipping crisis 26 January: TCF‘s 2024 Dakar Rally newsroom 29 February: Michael Docherty on track to recover for Abu Dhabi 5 February: Gustavo Gugelmin stepping away from racing 8 February: Michaël Metge joins Yasir Seaidan for rest of 2024 W2RC 11 February: Aliyyah Koloc doing triple duty in W2RC, Middle East Baja, 24H Series 13 February: Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel split 13 February: 1,902 km in total from Al Dhannah to Abu Dhabi 14 February: Audi drops out of W2RC, ending rally raid programme early 16 February: 101 on entry list 20 February: Benavides, Van Beveren enter Enduro del Verano over Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge 26 February: Laia Sanz a last-second challenger in Challenger

Mid-race stories

27 February: Audi fined for no-show 28 February: João Ferreira, already retired, disqualified as well 1 March: Juan Cruz Yacopini disqualified for Stage 3 crew assistance

Stage winners

Stage	Date	Overall Cars Winner	Overall Bikes Winner	Recap
Prologue	26 February	Nasser Al-Attiyah	Ross Branch	Recap
Stage #1	27 February	Nasser Al-Attiyah	Michael Docherty	Recap
Stage #2	28 February	Guerlain Chicherit	Aaron Marè	Recap
Stage #3	29 February	Seth Quintero	Ross Branch	Recap
Stage #4	1 March	Nasser Al-Attiyah	Aaron Marè	Recap
Stage #5	2 March	Nasser Al-Attiyah	Ross Branch	Recap

Overall winners

Class	Number	Competitor	Team	Time	Recap
Ultimate	206	Nasser Al-Attiyah	Nasser Racing	16:20:09	Recap
Challenger	304	Austin Jones	Can-Am Factory Team	17:10:50	Recap
SSV	411	Mansour Al-Helei*	R-X Sport	17:42:37	Recap
RallyGP	44	Aaron Marè	Hero MotoSports	16:36:13	Recap
Rally2	26	Konrad Dąbrowski	DUUST Rally Team	16:41:09	Recap
Malle Moto	40	Hamdan Al-Ali*	Hamdan Al-Ali	21:47:30	Recap
Junior Trophy	26	Konrad Dąbrowski	DUUST Rally Team	16:41:09	Recap
Veteran Trophy	92	David Mabbs*	Vendetta Racing UAE	21:10:24	Recap
Quad	174	Abdulaziz Ahli	Abu Dhabi Team	20:14:22	Recap

* – Not competing in World Rally-Raid Championship