2024 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge: Austin Jones holds off Baciuska in Can-Am Challenger 1–2

The Dakar Rally was a disappointment for Can-Am Factory Team, who went from reigning champion to only winning a single stage. Hoping to put the opener behind them, Rokas Baciuška and Austin Jones bounced back in style at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge as the former finished second in all but one stage while the latter claimed three stages en route to his third World Rally-Raid Championship win and first outside of Dakar.

Jones, now with Oriol Mena as his co-driver following Gustavo Gugelmin‘s exit from the sport, set the tone early by winning the first two stages, then added a third on the penultimate day. They were Jones’ first stage victories since Stage #3 at the 2023 Dakar Rally en route to winning the race’s T3 (now Challenger) overall.

Although his three wins led all Challenger drivers in Abu Dhabi, Jones was never able to build a comfortable lead due to Baciuška’s consistency. While third place was over forty minutes behind Jones by Stage #4, Baciuška’s four consecutive runner-up finishes from Stages #1 to #4 meant he never trailed by more than seven minutes. Nonetheless, Baciuška still faced a tough task entering the final day when he needed to make up 6:37. Although he finished ahead of Jones in the stage, he was only able to shave 1:59 off the gap and finished 4:38 back.

“Isn’t easy to have a good feeling from the first minute inside the car and I think we have had it,” said Mena, who joined Jones’ team after previously working with Eryk Goczał; Mena and Goczał, the 2023 Dakar SSV victors, won five Challenger stages in the 2024 edition prior to being disqualified. “A great experience at your side and a well-deserved victory.”

Hernán Garcés finished third to complete a Can-Am top three sweep, though Dania Akeel joined Jones and Baciuška on the podium for those earning points in the W2RC.

Dakar winner Cristina Gutiérrez won the Prologue and the other pair of stages that Jones did not take, though she is not registered for the championship. She was knocked out of overall contention on the first day when her engine ran out of coolant, forcing her to retire, then received a twenty-hour time penalty for the next stage after changing her engine block.

Baciuška was the highest-finishing W2RC contender in Gutiérrez’s Stage #3 win while Nicolás Cavigliasso had that honour two days later. Despite failing to top any stages, Baciuška still leaves Abu Dhabi with the Challenger points lead thanks to back-to-back seconds among W2RC drivers to start the season; Mitch Guthrie, the highest performing points-earning driver at Dakar, did not enter the ADDC.

Cavigliasso, a Taurus T3 Max ally of Gutiérrez, also suffered early mechanical issues that dropped him to seventh. Jones leapfrogged him in the standings to move from fifth to second, though Cavigliasso remains fourth after passing Marcelo Gastaldi; while Gastaldi finished ahead of him in the overall, Cavigliasso gained the advantage thanks to stage points.

Laia Sanz‘s Challenger début began with a third in Stage #1 before vehicle problems plagued her the rest of the rally, including a broken rear differential at the start of the third stage that forced her to retire. Albeit at the back, she still managed to reach the finish.

Challenger overall results

Challenger stage winners

W2RC Challenger standings

For readability, competitors registered for the championship who have not earned points are excluded.

Drivers’ standings

Co-drivers’ standings