2023 Sonora Rally route tweaked
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Due to “circumstances beyond” the Sonora Rally’s control, the 2023 rout will now feature two loops of Hermosillo and Penasco apiece before heading to San Luis Río Colorado.
The Rally Greece Offroad, which lost its May date to Greek general elections, is now tentatively set for 14–18 June pending approval from the FIA.
Despite being second in the World Rally-Raid Championship Rally2 standings, Jean-Loup Lepan will take “a short break” and miss the Sonora Rally before returning for the Desafío Ruta 40 in August.
Ahúja Racing, a team consisting of university students, will race the in CERTT, European Cross-Country Bajas, and the Rallye du Maroc before ultimately the Dakar Rally with Fidel Castillo and Marc Solà.
After racing the 2023 Dakar Rally on a GasGas, Neels Theric will become Kove Moto’s first non-Chinese factory rider. He will run multiple W2RC legs and Dakar 2024.
The Rally Greece Offroad, originally planned for 17–20 May as the second round of the FIA’s European Cup for Cross-Country Bajas, will be rescheduled due to Greece’s general elections on 21 May.
The 2023 Sonora Rally, the first W2RC leg in the Americas, will run from 23–28 April from Hermosillo up to San Luis Río Colorado.
After an impressive Dakar Rally début in which all three riders completed the race, Kove Moto intends to make their second World Rally-Raid Championship start in April at the Sonora Rally.
Hallspeed, behind the Toyota GR DKR Hilux T1+ that won the last two Dakar Rallies, is now under the ownership of South African Rally-Raid champion Shameer Variawa.
Eduard Pons, rally and cross-country competitor, plans to run all four World Rally-Raid Championship rounds in 2023 ahead of racing the 2024 Dakar Rally. He finished twelfth in T3 in the first W2RC leg at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.
The 2023 Desafío Ruta 40, the penultimate stage of the World Rally-Raid Championship, will run for five stages and 4,440 km from La Rioja, through Belén, and end in Salta.
Javier Campos became eligible for the 2024 Dakar Rally thanks to the 2022 Rallye du Maroc effort, and has two major European rallies and a potential return to Morocco planned for 2023 to prepare.
TreasuryONE Motorsport and Red-Lined Motorsport both introduced their T1+ trucks to the racing world at the South African Stella 300, where they finished 1–2 with Hennie de Klerk and Chris Visser.
With Nasser Al-Attiyah’s Toyota GR DKR Hilux T1+ too damaged after his Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge wreck, Benediktas Vanagas will provide his Hilux for the Qatar International Baja.
After running a southwest loop in 2022, the 2023 Rallye du Maroc will head eastward from Agair to Merzouga.
In line with the FIM Baja World Cup doing the same, the final races of the FIA’s World and Middle East Cups for Cross-Country Bajas have received new dates. The latter’s Baja Kuwait is now TBA.
As her twin Aliyyah Koloc continues in the World and South Africa Rally-Raid Championships, Yasmeen Koloc will run some Middle East Cross-Country Bajas races as both prepare for the 2024 Dakar Rally.
