W2RC 2025 result after Round 2: Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge

From the sand dunes of Saudi Arabia in the infamous W2RC 2025 opener to… the equally challenging next-door dunes of the United Arab Emirates for round two. This second event in the five-round 2025 World Rally-Raid Championship saw Toyota Gazoo Racing take on the challenge with a four-car line-up that offered a mix of youthful energy and decades of experience.

Read how the team’s double podium finish brought more good results for Toyota – not only in terms of the final stage’s results, but also in the overall standings.

The climax of the five-day event saw Lucas Moraes (below) and Armand Monleón post the second-fastest time over the 103-mile-long special stage in their #203 GR Hilux Evo. The pair were just 41 seconds behind the leaders when they started the final stage, but relinquished 01m 47s to the winners on the day, safely securing second place overall, with a deficit of just 02m 28s.

TGR’s Seth Quintero and Dennis Zenz in the #204 GR Hilux Evo were third on the final stage, finishing 04m 34s behind the winners. The Californian driver and German co-driver had driven a solid race to secure third in the overall standings as well, finishing 11m 56s off the lead.

Their young teammate, Saood Variawa, who is partnered with Francois Cazalet (#218), finished fifth on the final stage, showing excellent pace to finish 05min 3sec behind the stage winners. While Variawa and Cazalet finished well down the order after not completing stage two of the event, the young driver again proved that he has the pace to drive at the head of the field and may well become a force to be reckoned with as his experience grows.

The final TGR crew of Guy Botterill and Dennis Murphy (#211) were happy to complete the rally, which Botterill described as “possibly even more technical than the Dakar Rally.” The South African duo finished the final stage as the seventh-fastest crew, which was good enough to seal sixth place for them in the overall standings. The pair are not entered for the W2RC, and as such did not score points towards the championship, but concentrated on expanding their own dune-racing experience.

Overall, Moraes and Monleon are in third place in the drivers and co-drivers championship after two rounds, 33 points behind the leader, while Quintero and Zenz are three points further back. Variawa is in 13th place. In terms of the manufacturers’ championship, Toyota is well clear of the competition, with a total of 221 points.

There are five rounds in the W2RC 2025 programme. All six Toyota Gazoo Racing teams competed in the Dakar Rally launch event. And while rounds two, four and five are scheduled to be tackled by a reduced number of cars, a full complement will again compete in round three in South Africa.

Round one: Dakar Rally, Saudi Arabia, 3-17 January
Round two: Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, United Arab Emirates, 21-27 February
Round three: Safari Rally, South Africa, 18-24 May
Round four: BP Ultimate Rally Raid, Portugal, 22-28 September
Round five: Rallye du Maroc, Morocco, 10-17 October

Learn more: How did Toyota end the W2RC 2024 season?