FIA-FIM WORLD RALLY-RAID CHAMPIONSHIPS ABU DHABI DESERT CHALLENGE — ROUND 2
3rd overall on Stage 2 for Lucas Moraes and Armand Monleon
5th overall on Stage 2 for Seth Quintero and Dennis Zenz
9th overall on Stage 2 for Guy Botterill and Dennis Murphy
Disappointment for Saood Variawa and Francois Cazalet
Another solid day at the 2025 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge saw TOYOTA GAZOO Racing's (TGR) Lucas Moraes, partnered with Armand Monleon (#203) record the third-fastest time over the 228km-long special stage. The Brazilian driver, with his Spanish co-driver, finished just 1min 42sec behind the winning car, despite opening the road following their Stage 1 victory. Moraes/Monleon are now in 2nd overall, just 41sec behind the lead, with three stages to go.
Seth Quintero and Dennis Zenz, in the #204 GR Hilux EVO, were the next-fastest TGR crew on the day. The American driver reached the end in the 5th-fastest time, having relinquished 4min 54sec to the leaders on the day. This, despite Quintero opting for a more cautious approach in Stage 2. The pair are now in 4th place overall, 6min behind the leading pace, and will be looking to shrink that deficit over the next few days.
A tyre that came off the rim at an inopportune moment cost Guy Botterill and Dennis Murphy (#211) significant time on Stage 2. The South Africans were making good progress in the stage, but fell foul to a de-beaded tyre in the middle of a steep dune field. This forced them to slow their pace and search for a suitable area in which to change the tyre. Botterill estimated that they lost more than three minutes in the process, and as a result they are very happy to have lost only 7min 8sec overall on Stage 2. They were 9th-fastest on the day, and are in 10th position overall.
There was disappointment for TGR's young gun, Saood Variawa and co-driver Francois Cazalet, in the #218 GR Hilux EVO. The pair started their Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge with a solid 5th place on the opening stage, but gearbox issues forced them to a halt in Stage 2. They eventually recovered the car to the bivouac without completing the stage, and will now be aiming to secure as many points as possible towards their World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) tally.
As it stands after two stages, Moraes/Monleon have gained 8pt in the title race; while Quintero/Zenz have scored 4pt. Three stages remain in the 2025 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, which features as Round 2 of the 2025 W2RC. Next up is the first part of the Marathon stage, which will take the crews from the bivouac at Mezeer'ah to a remote marathon camp, where they will have to service and prepare their cars themselves. Stage 3 comprises a timed section of 237km, while the return to Mezeer'ah with Stage 4 will feature 300km. The rally will end in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, following a 167km-long final stage.
Lucas Moraes (#203): "Another great stage for us. We were opening the stage, but of course, with the bike lines, it really helps and you don't lose that much time. We basically led the stage until halfway when we got a puncture. We managed to change quickly, but then I was never really able to get back on the same pace. But still happy, very happy with the car and the performance. We are only 41 seconds behind Loeb overall now and got to keep fighting."
Seth Quintero (#204): "Yes, stage two, done and dusted. It wasn't a good day, it wasn't a bad day for us. I felt some weird things going on, so we kind of backed off the pace and brought it home for a solid fifth. Sitting fourth in the overall, so still a lot of fight left, and still a lot to fight for these next three days. There are some big days coming, but we have a good start position for tomorrow going into the marathon, and we will keep on fighting until the end."
Guy Botterill (#211): "We actually had a good day today. I thought our pace was pretty good. Unfortunately we had a tyre come off the rim, halfway up a huge set of dunes. We struggled to find a spot halfway on the dunes to change a tyre. I think we lost about three minutes there, so otherwise our time was pretty good."
Saood Variawa (#218): "We started off P5 and we were going quite well. Then, 20kms into the second half of the stage, the gearbox failed on us. We drove for 20 or 30kms in second gear, until second gear locked on us. And then we were stuck there. We somehow managed to get it to first gear and we found the tar road and we exited the stage. So not the greatest of days, but we learned a lot."
Source: Toyota
