Despite finishing third in the Quad category in 2023, Pablo Copetti will drop his plans of running his twelfth Dakar Rally in 2024. He had considered a switch to the SSV (formerly T4) class but lacked the funding.
Much of his decision to try a different category comes on the heels of the Amaury Sport Organisation‘s new criteria that a Quad rider must satisfy to race the Dakar, which he feels is hurting the category. Starting in 2024, those hoping to race in the Quad category must have either already run a Dakar Rally in the past five years (2018 to 2022), registered to compete in the 2023 or 2024 World Rally-Raid Championship, or run three W2RC races if they have not signed up to earn points.
The rule change was in response to a lack of manufacturer investment compared to bikes (every Quad rider in 2023 raced on a Yamaha Raptor with the exception of CFMOTO’s factory team) as well as favouring quality over quantity, though it also means there are only ten Quad riders taking part in the 2024 Dakar Rally. By comparison, bike applicants have significantly more laxer eligibility rules and those signing up for the 2025 Dakar Rally can use races as far back as July 2022 to bolster their résumés.
Consequently, there are only ten riders entered in the Quad class for 2024. Sixteen took part in the 2023 race.
“We tried to move to the UTV class but it was hard to get the money to compete,” wrote Copetti. “Why not quad? Because ASO made decisions that are killing the quad class. Only 10 quads this year! It’s a pitty [sic] because if they accept all the rider we could be almost 30!”
The Quad category has declined in number in recent years as funding becomes a key concern. It enjoyed its peak when the Dakar ran through South America, having been introduced at the inaugural edition on the continent in 2009, including forty-nine in the 2018 race; Copetti, who is Argentine-American, called the region the “cradle of the quad”. These numbers extended into the rest of the 2023 W2RC, bottoming out at the Sonora Rally when there were only two Quads.
Brothers Alejandro and Marcos Patronelli, who won the Dakar Rally five times in the 2010s, planned to return for 2024 but called off the effort due to sponsorship concerns. Laisvydas Kancius, the reigning world champion, also grappled with money questions before confirming his entry while W2RC runner-up Rodolfo Guillioli has switched to co-driving in a car.
Copetti has raced the Dakar since 2010, scoring three third-place runs in 2017, 2021, and 2023. He also has seven stage wins to his name.
“It’s a shame how they were destroying the category,” he continued in a comment. “We see passion in what we do, but they want money all year round so the quad is of no use to them!”
The 2024 Dakar Rally begins on 5 January.
