The organizers of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge have published the list of motorcycle, car and truck entries for the 2022 edition of the event. As the second round of the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship and its FIM equivalent, the event that will take place between March 5 and 10 has a list of first level participants. A total of 50 ‘motards’ meet in Abu Dhabi, while there are 32 cars present at the event. 2 trucks are added to shape a relationship of 90 participants.
Looking first of all at the motorcycle category, some of the ‘motards’ who shone in the past Dakar meet again in Abu Dhabi. The entry list is headed by Kevin Benavides as KTM’s main asset. The Austrian firm will also have Toby Price and Matthias Walkner in this test. Nor is Sam Sunderland, current Dakar winner, missing.. However, the GasGas pilot will do it alone, since Daniel Sanders has recently undergone surgery. For its part, Hero appears with Franco Caimi, Ross Branch and Joaquim Rodrigues.
Although after what was seen in the last Dakar to speak of the eternal duel between KTM and Honda is not the most appropriate, the firm of the golden wing should be the strongest rival of the Austrian brand’s pilots. In Abu Dhabi the Japanese manufacturer will be present with Ricky Brabec, Pablo Quintanilla and Nacho Cornejo. Husqvarna is the penultimate brand with representation thanks to its official project with Skyler Howes and Luciano Benavides, while Sherco will be present with the Spanish Lorenzo Santolino. The great absence is Yamaha after the closure of its factory project.
When it comes to the car category, every large structure has at least one car. For Toyota is Nasser Al-Attiyah, while Prodrive bets on Sébastien Loeb. In the case of Audi it appears Stephane Peterhansel -seven-time winner in Abu Dhabi-, while for MINI X-Raid is Jakub Przygonski. As a link between the favorites and the second group of pilots is the figure of Mathieu Serradori with the buggy Century CR6. However, it will be necessary to closely monitor the performance of Denis Krotov, Sebastian Halpern or Martin Prokop.
Leaving aside the heavyweights of the specialty, the T3 category also has a luxury entry. ‘Chaleco’ López will fight face to face against the Red Bull army made up of Cristina Gutiérrez, Seth Quintero, Mitchell Guthrie and Guillaume De Mevius. To give even more flavor to this duel, pilots such as Saleh Alsaif, Conrad Rautenbach or Diego Martínez will also compete. For its part, in T4 the presence of Austin Jones and the Goczal brothers stands outwhile the two trucks present are the IVECOs of Martin Macik and Kees Koolen.
Photos: ASO