Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge 2023
Prologue
Pablo Quintanilla won the 2023 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge 7-km prologue at Al Dannah overnight, where the top ten fastest riders won their starting order positions for Monday’s Stage 1. Runner up for the prologue was another Monster Energy Honda Team rider – Adrien Van Beveren, Toby Price was the leading KTM in third.
Mason Klein and Ross Branch rounded out the top-five, followed by Ricky Brabec, Sebastian Buhler, Luciano Benavides, followed by Rally2’s T. Ebster and Jose Cornejo.
Notable riders missing from the line-up included KTM’s Kevin Benavides after suffering a broken right femur during a crash in the pre-race shakedown tests. Sam Sunderland was ruled out for GASGAS after breaking his lower tibia and right leg in training a week out from the Desert Challenge thus the field was missing a couple of the big stars of rally racing. Sunderland hopes to return for round three in Mexico, where Australia’s Daniel Sanders is also expected to rejoin competition.
Taking place just over one month after the Dakar Rally, the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge looks set to test all riders once again with its mixture of technical navigation and long days racing through the dunes of the Liwa Desert.
Made up of a short, six-kilometer prologue, followed by five tough days in the saddle, this year’s ADDC will see competitors cover over 2,000 kilometers in total, with close to 1,300 kilometers raced against the clock.
Pablo Quintanilla – P1
“Prologue went really well, it was a short one but a very technical track. The feeling was good. We started from behind and there were a lot of lines in the curves. Sometimes it was quite tricky to go, but I managed to do a good prologue. Now I have a good position for tomorrow so we will keep pushing to keep our lead.”
Adrien Van Beveren – P2
“Today I felt good on my Honda CRF 450 Rally and I am happy with my prologue. This was just a short warmup so now we have five more days of racing and I am looking forward to it.”
Toby Price – P3
“After a really strong start to the year, things are looking pretty good for Abu Dhabi. It’s been about four weeks since Dakar so I’m really keen to get back on the bike and back racing. It’s not much of a break after what was such a long and intense opening round to the season, but I’m feeling good and looking forward to getting started. I’ve had a little time to get reacquainted with the KTM 450 RALLY, and we know we’ve got a good motorcycle. We just need things to fall into place now and see what the race will bring.”
Ross Branch – P5
“The prologue today was good, and I had a lot of fun! It was a short 6 km prologue, but a good start to the desert conditions that start tomorrow. It’s good to be back on the bike and with the team, and I’m looking forward to a good week ahead in the desert.”
Ricky Brabec – P6
“Prologue is done and it feels really nice to be back on my Honda CRF 450 Rally! There were a lot of straight lines out there so it was a fast track. Anyway this is just day one of five more, so let’s see how things shake up. One thing is for sure – I am very happy to be back!”
Sebastian Buhler – P7
“We enjoyed a first good stage here with a quite fast prologue today. It was not so easy because of the soft sand, but I’m happy with my result, and I think we are in a good position to start the main race tomorrow.”
Luciano Benavides – P8
“I’ve had a really great preparation for this race and I have good memories of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge as I picked up a stage win here last year. I had three stage wins at the Dakar too so, the next step is to get onto an overall podium. Since the Dakar I had four or five days off but then it was straight back into training for this race and the rest of the season. I’ve been putting in a lot of hard work and I’m hopeful that this will show in my results next week.”
José Ignacio Cornejo – P10
“I have concluded the prologue and that was good to me since I did better than other times. I really enjoyed riding in the soft sand and felt I was starting to get a loose rhythm. I feel quite ready and prepared for the competition, knowing we will face a lot of difficult dunes. The idea is go out there, do our best and also have a good time!”
After this warm up, the real competition starts tomorrow with the first stage connecting the city of Al Dhannah and Qasr Al Sarab – with a total of 404 km. There will be first a 59 km liaison to reach the start of the Special Stage. The 242 km on the chronograph will be composed of 43% of dunes, 52% of sandy tracks, 4% of chott and 1% of tarmac. The first bike will start at 8am local time (+4h GMT).
Provisional Standings after Prologue (Top 10)
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time |
| 1 | QUINTANILLA Pablo | CHI | Monster Energy Honda Team | 5:00 |
| 2 | VAN BEVEREN Adrien | FRA | Monster Energy Honda Team | 5:02 |
| 3 | PRICE Toby | AUS | Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team | 5:05 |
| 4 | KLEIN Mason | USA | BAS DAKAR KTM RACING TEAM | 5:08 |
| 5 | EVAN BRANCH Ross | BWA | Hero Motorsports Team Rally | 5:16 |
| 6 | BRABEC Ricky | USA | Monster Energy Honda Team | 5:16 |
| 7 | BÜHLER Sebastian | POR | Hero Motorsports Team Rally | 5:18 |
| 8 | BENAVIDES Luciano | ARG | Husqvarna Factory Racing | 5:18 |
| 9 | EBSTER T. (Rally 2) | AUT | SRG Motorsports | 5:22 |
| 10 | CORNEJO José Ignacio | CHI | Monster Energy Honda Team | 5:25 |
