Although Kove Moto dissolved their rally raid factory programme following CEO Zhang Xue’s departure in March, the marque will still provide support as the Taklimakan Rally looms.
Akira Miura will trade in his Toyota Land Cruiser for a Toyota Hilux as he enters the Baja Greece and Dubai International Baja for Overdrive Racing.
While the Can-Am Maverick R is tearing it up in America, it won’t be approved for the World Rally-Raid Championship until 2025. In the meantime, it’s been more than fast in regional cross-country rallies.
After racing Estonia’s only rally raid, co-driver Andrei Rudnitski is receptive to the idea of a cross-country rally series in the Baltics alongside Latvia and burgeoning rally hotbed Lithuania.
Vasily Glukhov and Andrey Ryaboshkapov completed the Russian Rally-Raid Championship’s Baja Kagan’s Gold on the GR500, a 500cc adventure bike not exactly designed for cross-country rally.
For the second year in a row, Kevin Benavides will miss his home country’s Desafío Ruta 40 after breaking his arm and suffering a head injury in a crash.
Michael Docherty will sit out the Desafío Ruta 40 in June as he continues to recover from his fractured pelvis suffered at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. He hopes to return for the Rallye du Maroc in October.
Ford M-Sport will have a pair of Spaniards driving their Ford Ranger T1+ at the 2025 Dakar Rally as defending winner Carlos Sainz pairs up with Nani Roma.
Supercars legend Craig Lowndes is eager to put the Chevrolet Silverado ZR2 Off-Road Racer to the test in his maiden Finke Desert Race and return to off-road competition.
Championship Off-Road’s Black Hills Shootout in South Dakota, originally scheduled to be the final race of 2024, has been postponed to 2025.
After skipping the 2024 Dakar Rally as she had not fully recovered from her pulmonary embolism, Kirsten Landman will make her return in 2025, once again racing solo in Malle Moto.
Viktor Chytka, normally the co-driver for Martin Prokop, will return to his roots when he enters the Central European Zone Cross-Country Rally Championship’s Riverside Baja on a Quad.
“Lightning” Larry Ragland, one of the greatest racers in desert racing history, is hanging up his helmet after an illustrious 48-year career. He went out on top by winning the NORRA Mexican 1000’s Historic Truck class.
Turns out tank training areas aren’t exactly built for Toyota Hiluxes and Can-Am Mavericks to race through them.
The Mexican 1000 is the Happiest Race on Earth, but the deaths of Brent Yeadon and Johnny Kaiser unfortunately put a damper on the event.
The Valley Off Road Racing Association and Legacy Racing Association have joined forces to create the Battle Born 1000, a 1000-mile race through the Nevada desert scheduled for 26–28 June 2025.
Antoine Detourbet, who has competed in events like the Tuareg Rallye and Africa Eco Race, will enter the Rallye du Maroc in October with the hope of making the Dakar Rally.
