Months after winning his first ever race in a side-by-side, Manuel Andújar nearly repeated the feat in his début as the driver of one when he finished second in class at the Rally Raid San Rafael to his team-mate Jeremías Gonzalez Ferioli. It might not have been a victory, but the run is still a good start as he prepares for life in a new discipline.
Andújar raced a Can-Am Maverick R prepared by Ferioli Racing Team but emblazoned with his 7240 Team branding, while Sergio Lafuente served as navigator. He set the fastest time in the Prologue, beating Nazareno López by forty seconds, before Ferioli took the lead the next day after he lost fifteen minutes due to the navigation tablet malfunctioning.
Ferioli continued to hold the advantage when he beat Andújar by 2:49 in the first Selective Section of the third and final day, then delivered the killing blow of 1:18 in SS2. By the end, Andújar settled for second and 16:45 behind Ferioli in a 1–2 finish for the team.
“I’m very happy with the results of our debut—P2 with a stage win included,” he wrote. “Despite some issues with the tablet on day 2, we were able to maintain a good race pace and keep it until the end. But honestly, being self-critical, there are several seconds per kilometre that can be improved, and we’re going to work on that.”
Even if not a win, a second is certainly nothing to scoff at, especially as Ferioli is one of the top SSV drivers in Argentina. He and Andújar both won their classes at the World Rally-Raid Championship’s Desafío Ruta 40 in June, the latter clinching the championship in the Quad category in the process.
Since the DR 40, Andújar set his sights on continuing his rally career in an SSV due to Quads being dropped from the Dakar Rally for 2025. He is the category’s final Dakar winner, claiming his second victory in January.
In June, he won the Rally Raid San Juan as the co-driver of a Can-Am Maverick piloted by Juan Cruz Yacopini. San Juan and San Rafael are rounds on the Campeonato Argentino de Rally Raid (CaNav Rally Raid), the latter being the fourth and penultimate date.
After San Rafael, his next planned start is the W2RC’s Rallye du Maroc on 5–11 October. If that goes well, he will be heading to the 2025 Dakar Rally on 3–17 January in his Can-Am. His car for both starts will be prepared by SSV powerhouse South Racing.
Overall results
Moto
| Finish | Class Finish | Number | Rider | Team | Vehicle | Class | Time | Margin |
| 1 | 1 | 5 | Jeremías Pascual | Pascual Team | Honda CRF450X | M1 | 6:51:38 | Leader |
| 2 | 2 | 10 | Benjamín Pascual | Pascual Team | Honda CRF450X | M1 | 7:11:56 | + 20:18 |
| 3 | 3 | 4 | Joaquín Debeljuh | RVM Racing Team | RVM Rally 450 | M1 | 7:25:31 | + 33:53 |
| 4 | 1 | 31 | Silvio Minnuto | Nihuil Rally Sport | Husqvarna 450 Rally | M2 | 7:36:07 | + 44:29 |
| 5 | 4 | 7 | Gastón Baldi | Max Clean Rally Team | Yamaha WR450F | M1 | 7:47:18 | + 55:40 |
| 6 | 2 | 32 | Baltazar Frezee | MED Racing Team | KTM 450 Rally | M2 | 7:50:44 | + 59:06 |
| 7 | 3 | 21 | Iván Martín | Martín Rally Team | RVM Rally 450 | M2 | 8:37:50 | + 1:46:12 |
| 8 | 4 | 23 | Juan Cruz Carrizo | Juan Cruz Carrizo | M2 | 8:55:11 | + 2:03:33 | |
| 9 | 5 | 33 | Eduardo Alan | MED Racing Team | Beta 430 RR | M2 | 8:56:19 | + 2:04:41 |
| 10 | 5 | 29 | Julián Sánchez Dabin | Max Clean Rally Team | Honda CRF450X | M1 | 10:13:44 | + 3:22:06 |
| 11 | 6 | 34 | Marcelo Gennari | 349 Race | Husqvarna FE 350 | M2 | 11:23:37 | + 4:31:59 |
| 12 | 6 | 24 | Gustavo Milutín | Max Clean Rally Team | Husqvarna 450 Rally | M1 | 13:00:42 | + 6:09:04 |
Quad
| Finish | Class Finish | Number | Rider | Team | Vehicle | Class | Time | Margin |
| 1 | 1 | 68 | Andres Frini | Frini Quads | Yamaha Raptor 700 | Q1 | 7:47:13 | Leader |
| 2 | 1 | 73 | Fernando Bustos | Tuercas Rally | Polaris Sportsman 850 | Q2 | 9:52:49 | + 2:05:35 |
| 3 | 2 | 60 | José Faule | Santiago del Estero Rally Raid | Yamaha Raptor 700 | Q1 | 10:05:19 | + 2:18:06 |
| 4 | 1 | 93 | Silvio Toselli | TnT Racing Team | Yamaha Raptor 700 | Q3 | 11:05:33 | + 3:18:20 |
| 5 | 2 | 91 | Matias Trujillo | C.I.E.A. | Yamaha Raptor 700 | Q3 | 13:23:26 | + 5:36:13 |
| 6 | 3 | 74 | Giuliano Toselli | Toselli Racing | Yamaha Raptor 700 | Q3 | 13:47:56 | + 6:00:43 |
| 7 | 3 | 57 | Danilo Ruben Franzoi Merlo | MuchoBranca | Yamaha Raptor 700 | Q1 | 14:22:49 | + 6:35:36 |
Auto
| Finish | Class Finish | Number | Driver | Co-Driver | Team | Vehicle | Category | Time | Margin |
| 1 | 1 | 161 | Francisco Castro | Pablo Garcia | Mendoza Rally Team | Toyota Hilux | T2.1 | 8:37:59 | Leader |
| 2 | 2 | 153 | Cristian Bertona | Alvaro Hidalgo | Bertona Rally Team | Toyota Hilux | T2.1 | 9:59:24 | + 1:21:25 |
| 3 | 1 | 134 | Antonio Pennesi | Carlos Miranda | ATV Sport Rally | Mitsubishi | T1.2 | 10:06:40 | + 1:28:41 |
| 4 | 3 | 152 | Lisandro Villanova | Jorge Deregibus | Team Aviguri | Toyota Hilux | T2.1 | 11:58:30 | + 3:20:31 |
| 5 | 4 | 165 | Maximiliano Iglesias | Fabricio Legnini | Mannol Racing Team | Toyota Hilux | T2.1 | 12:11:23 | + 3:33:24 |
| 6 | 5 | 156 | Oscar Crus | Cristian Gomez | Team Alimezclas | Toyota Hilux | T2.1 | 12:24:23 | + 3:46:24 |
| 7 | 6 | 154 | José Antonio Martinez | Juan Carlos Pereira | Coyote Team | Toyota Hilux | T2.1 | 13:42:17 | + 5:04:18 |
| 8 | 2 | 111 | Alberto Tornatore | Analia Alvarez | Tornatore Rally Team | Volkswagen Buggy | T1.2 | 14:53:05 | + 6:15:06 |
| 9 | 3 | 112 | Daniel “Pilo” Estigarribia | Nahuel Burgoa | Pilo Rally Pinamar | Nissan Prototype V8 | T1.2 | 21:57:59 | + 13:20:00 |
| DNF | DNF | 157 | Sergio Larreguy | Augusto Sanz | Etap Racing | Toyota Hilux | T2.1 | DNF | N/A |
UTV
| Finish | Class Finish | Number | Driver | Co-Driver | Team | Class | Time | Margin |
| 1 | 1 | 202 | Jeremías Gonzalez Ferioli | Gonzalo Rinaldi | Ferioli Racing Team | T3.1 | 6:19:30 | Leader |
| 2 | 2 | 212 | Manuel Andújar | Sergio Lafuente | Ferioli Racing Team | T3.1 | 6:36:15 | + 16:45 |
| 3 | 1 | 257 | Pablo Macua | Antonela Fazzi | Macua Sport Team | T3.2 | 6:51:56 | + 32:26 |
| 4 | 2 | 262 | Francisco Diaz Peralta | Adriano Di Battista | PR Racing Team | T3.2 | 7:35:17 | + 1:15:47 |
| 5 | 3 | 259 | Alfredo Olmedo | Daniel López | Olmedo Racing Team | T3.2 | 7:44:10 | + 1:24:40 |
| 6 | 4 | 272 | Federico Alt | Nelson Sierra | Federico Alt | T3.2 | 8:26:15 | + 2:06:45 |
| 7 | 1 | 228 | Fernando Castelblanco | Andres Felipe Sanchez | GM Motorsport | T3.3 | 8:33:00 | + 2:13:30 |
| 8 | 5 | 268 | Ricardo Graglia | Camila Graglia | Cinzia Team | T3.2.T3.1 | 8:59:43 | + 2:40:13 |
| 9 | 3 | 226 | Augusto D’agostini | Gonzalo Martínez | GM Motorsport | T3.3 | 9:04:01 | + 2:44:31 |
| 10 | 2 | 290 | Manuel Alvarez Antiga | Horacio Alvarez | Charrúa – Sisterna Rally Raid Team | T3.1 | 9:12:44 | + 2:53:14 |
| 11 | 4 | 205 | Nazareno López | Lisandro Sisterna | Sisterna Racing | T3.3 | 10:13:50 | + 3:54:19 |
| 12 | 3 | 273 | Paulo Graglia | Alejandro Paug | Cinzia Team | T3.3 | 10:58:18 | + 4:38:48 |
| 13 | 4 | 288 | Jorge Grotschi | Juan Badia | Jorge Grotschi | T3.2 | 12:58:45 | + 6:39:14 |
| DNF | DNF | 275 | Leandro López | Daniel Alberto López | HV Racing | T3.2 | DNF | N/A |
| DNF | DNF | 254 | Omar Gandara | Mauro Melano | Gandara Rally Team | DNF | DNF | N/A |
Navigation
| Finish | Class Finish | Number | Competitor | Team | Vehicle | Class | Time | Margin |
| 1 | 1 | 305 | Nicolas Omar Zalazar | Beta | Beta 350 RR | N1 | 11:30:34 | Leader |
| 2 | 1 | 403 | Carlos Verza, Carlos Gabriel Verza | Verza Team | Mitsubishi | N2 | 11:25:14 | + 14:41 |
| 3 | 2 | 405 | Cleoris Manfre, Rocio Mañas | Msoluciones Racing Team | Kia Sportage | N2 | 13:07:40 | + 1:57:06 |
| 4 | 3 | 406 | Marcos López, Juan Pablo López | Toyomec Racing Rally | Ford Ranger | N2 | 14:29:09 | + 3:13:36 |
