Motor Sports

2023 Truck winner Janus van Kasteren will not return to the Dakar Rally in 2025, but plans to do so in a car at the 2026 edition.

Breaking away from diesel engines, the new Mini John Cooper Works Rally 3.0i will use a 6-cylinder in-line petrol motor that produces 263 kW of power and 570 Nm of torque.

In a survey conducted following the Baja Greece in May, most competitors want it on both the FIA World and European Baja Cup calendars over one or the other, while also preferring the Selective Sections to either be shorter or are happy with the final length.

Christian Lavieille, a veteran of the premier classes, will hop into a side-by-side in Morocco when he drives the new Can-Am Maverick R prepared by BTR.

Now retired from the Dakar Rally, Erik Van Loon will race the Dakar Classic for the first time in 2025 in an Audi S1. Before that, he will test his new ride in Morocco, then take over South Racing’s new Can-Am Maverick R at the Rallye du Maroc.