2023 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge: Heat intensifies in Stage 2

The Abu Dhabi Desert Problem is named that for a motive. Whereas deserts are naturally highly regarded environments, temperatures within the United Arab Emirates have run particularly excessive because the begin of the rally and didn’t decline for Stage #2 because it climaxed at 40° C.

Nasser Al-Attiyah didn’t appear fazed by the warmth within the slightest as he continued to dominate the T1 class together with his third straight stage win and in much more convincing style than Monday, beating fellow Toyota Hilux Yazeed Al-Rajhi by over twelve minutes. Whereas out of competition resulting from his Stage #1 retirement and subsequent fifty-hour time penalty for altering his engine between legs, Sébastien Loeb clocked within the second finest time in a powerful rebound as he hopes to salvage stage wins for the World Championship.

Whereas Hiluxes occupied the highest two for the second day in a row, Henk Lategan was unable to finish one other podium sweep as an issue together with his increase knocked him out.

After a curler coaster Sunday and Monday, Mattias Ekström lastly hit his stride to win T3 for his second stage win of 2023 however first outdoors of a preliminary leg (he gained the Prologue in T1 on the Dakar Rally). Ekström needed to maintain off the Pink Bull Can-Ams of Seth Quintero and Austin Jones, the previous of whom stays the general chief within the class.

The Pink Bulls had gained T3 and T4 within the Prologue and Stage #1, however got here up brief on Tuesday. In T4, Rokas Baciuška was defeated by Mansour Al-Helei by almost six minutes; Al-Helei is the second non-W2RC competitor to win a stage in Abu Dhabi after Tobias Ebster claimed the Rally2 Prologue.

The scorching climate took its toll on each two- and four-wheelers, with some reporting extreme overheating of their autos. Though a lot of the sphere had raced within the desert on the Dakar Rally, the climate in Saudi Arabia in January was a lot colder and wetter than the UAE in the mean time.

To additional crank up the problem past the warmth, the FIM classes had been in marathon circumstances for Phases #2 and #3, which means riders weren’t allowed to obtain outdoors assist and should lean on their friends; RallyGP riders are granted thirty minutes to make changes between levels, whereas Rally2 will get an hour. This was rapidly obvious for Skyler Howes, who completed runner-up in RallyGP to Husqvarna team-mate Luciano Benavides: a rubber seal in his rear gasoline pump broke after refuelling midway via the stage, forcing him to trip to the end conservatively, after which Benavides and Toby Value got here to assist him change the broken part. Benavides, whose first profession World Championship leg victory got here in Abu Dhabi (Stage #4) in 2022, and Howes additionally completed 1–2 in Stage #6 at Dakar.

The mix of the excessive temperatures, marathon levels, and the Empty Quarter desert’s dunes meant errors gathered rapidly. For instance, Ebster positioned second to Paolo Lucci in Stage #2 after shedding time when he missed a flip and drove off a three-meter drop. Jon Florea retired after misjudging a damaged dune and crashing headfirst, tearing a ligament in his left shoulder and ending his race. Pablo Quintanilla misplaced the general RallyGP lead after ending ninth, which Honda team-mate Adrien Van Beveren capitalised as his fifth propelled him forward by 1:30.

“Beginning in entrance and opening the stage is all the time a troublesome problem and we knew right this moment wouldn’t be totally different,” commented Quintanilla. “The principle purpose was to be in entrance to have the bonus, so ultimately it was not so dangerous. I used to be driving in entrance till kilometre 80 after which Adrien arrived and we had been driving collectively. Total, I feel this was a very good stage, a very good efficiency within the first a part of the marathon stage. It’s all the time very laborious to handle nowadays since we’re on our personal with none help from the group.”

Laisvydas Kancius edged out Abdulaziz Ahli by lower than two minutes to snap his win streak within the Quads, although the latter stays first total by 42:45.

Stage #2 winners

Leaders after Stage #2