Desafío Ruta 40 YPF INFINIA Ends with a Thrilling Finish in Córdoba

The fourth round of the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) concluded with a heart-stopping finish, crowning new winners in the race’s history for both Bikes and Cars (Ultimate). Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy Honda Team) secured the victory in bikes, while Yazeed Al Rajhi-Timo Gottschalk (Overdrive Racing) won in Ultimate. Manuel Andujar celebrated in Quads and also marked his second world title in his category in front of the Córdoba crowd.

Schareina, Brabec, and Van Beveren,the Honda top three in the Desafío Ruta 40 YPF INFINIA. Photo credit: Eduardo Bauer.

It was a week of action from start to finish. The competitors of Desafío Ruta 40 YPF INFINIA delivered an exciting finish down to the last kilometer. Starting on June 1 with the checks, and later the prologue at the iconic El Cóndor-Copina, the race crossed the provinces of Córdoba, San Juan, and La Rioja, finally concluding back in the capital of Córdoba to a large audience.

 

Brabec and Al Rajhi Celebrate Their First Wins in Argentina
Ricky Brabec seemed set to win in the RallyGP bike category, the largest in the World Rally-Raid Championship. However, his teammate and runner-up Tosha Schareina (Monster Energy Honda Team) aimed to add suspense to the outcome.

The Spaniard attacked in the first half of the final 218-kilometer stage, cutting over a minute off Brabec’s 1:27 lead at the day’s start. Yet, Brabec sped up in the final kilometers, securing his first victory in this race, becoming the second American to win it after Kurt Caselli in 2013.

Brabec completed the five-day race in 18:08:37, 15 seconds ahead of Schareina, while Adrien Van Beveren finished third, 5:33 behind, completing Honda’s clean sweep.

Honda’s celebrations extended as Romain Dumontier (Team Honda) won in Rally2, achieving a double victory for the team, a feat only previously seen at the Rally of Morocco in 2023 with Toby Price and Bradley Cox on their KTMs. In Rally 3, glory went to Chilean John Medina (KTM).

 

Tight Finish Among Cars
The cars category saw a nail-biting finish with just a 13-second difference between leaders Yazeed Al Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk (Overdrive Racing) and their closest rivals Nasser Al Attiyah and Edouard Boulanger (Nasser Racing by Prodrive). Utilizing their WRC experience, Al Attiyah quickly narrowed the gap.

They were nearly tied at the 70-kilometer mark, but Al Attiyah began to pull ahead, leading by 13 seconds halfway through the stage. However, Al Rajhi rebounded in the second half, reclaiming the lead in the last 50 kilometers.

Thus, the Overdrive crew won with a total time of 17:38:21, beating Al Attiyah by 40 seconds. Sebastián Halpern and Ronnie Graue (X-Raid Mini JWC Team) finished third, being the best local team among the cars.

Rokas Baciuska and Sébastien Delaunay (Can Am) secured the win in the Challenger category, while Ricardo Ramilo and Fausto Mota (Can Am) did the same in SSV.

 

Manuel Andujar Croned at Home
With two Dakar Rally wins, a world title, and a victory in the last Desafío Ruta 40, Manuel Andujar was the favorite for the Quads in what he announced as his final race in the category. The Lobos (Buenos Aires) native did not disappoint.

Dominating the race from start to finish, Andujar realized his dream of winning this edition of Desafío Ruta 40 YPF INFINIA and reclaiming the World Champion title in front of his home crowd, as his main competitor Hani Alnoumesi (Yamaha) fell behind early.

«It was an excellent race, like I always dreamed. We won all five stages without any problems,» said the race winner, adding, «This is what we came for. It exceeded expectations.»

In addition to the victory, Andujar clinched the Quads World Title, as he did in 2021, marking a grand exit from the category: «I will miss this. I’m 28, and I’ve been racing for 8 years, almost a third of my life. So, I will miss it, but I enjoyed it a lot, and I’m leaving this sport being happy,» he concluded, also winning the Ibero-American Championship.

Other Winners and a Ticket to the 2025 Dakar Rally
Besides the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) winners, Desafío Ruta 40 YPF INFINIA also awarded other prizes. In the FIM Ibero-American Motorcycle Championship, the winner was Spanish rider Tosha Schareina (Monster Energy Honda Team), followed by teammate Chilean Pablo Quintanilla (Monster Energy Honda Team), and German Sébastien Bühler (Hero Motorsport Team Rally), competing under a Portuguese license. Among the Quads, Manu Andujar, Facundo Viel, and Giuliano Giordana were the best.

In the Open category, Jeremías González Ferioli and Gonzalo Rinaldi (Can Am) excelled among the Cars, while Julián Sánchez Dabin (Honda) did so among the Bikes.

Leandro López and Daniel Alberto López (Can Am) finished second among the Open Cars, but won a ticket to the Dakar through the «Road To Dakar» challenge for amateur SSVs.

 

Voices from the Bivouac
Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy Honda Team):»The course was very fun. Each day was a mix of terrain. The first day was more mountain like, but every day after that was a mix of desert, rock, fast, slow, sand, gravel. We had a bit of everything every day. It’s a good rally, and I enjoyed it a lot.»
Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive Racing):»I’m very happy. We did a great job with Timo. We pushed from the start, but halfway through the stage, we saw we had lost almost 27 seconds; so in the second part, I told Timo, ‘Now let’s attack with everything we have,’ and we gained 45 seconds in the last 90 kilometers. It’s not easy to win at this level, and we’re very pleased with our work.»
Romain Dumontier (Team Honda – Rally2): «It’s my second time here and my first win, with a new bike, a Honda. Very happy with the new team; the bike is fantastic. The rally was great with three stage wins. Stages 3 and 4 were the most complicated; I had to stay very focused on the road book, and it went very well for me.»
Rokas Baciuska (Can-Am Factory Team – Challenger): «It’s a nice rally, and I enjoyed it a lot in my first time here. Argentina is a beautiful country with beautiful landscapes. Today, after finishing, we’ll have a good steak and celebrate with the team.»
Ricardo Ramilo Suarez (SSV): «We won, and I’m happy because we’re still third in the championship and getting closer to the second place, so we’ll see what happens in Morocco because we still have a chance. The race course was impressive, with everything from WRC tracks to sand, stones, fesh-fesh, river, everything!»
John Medina (XRaids Experience – Rally3): «I had a fall in Portugal and had hand surgery. The minimum recovery was three months; today marks two months since the injury, and I wasn’t even supposed to be here. Well, we came, enjoyed it, had a good time, and fortunately, we won, so I’m very happy. Morocco is looking good; the plan is to keep bagging points for the world championship and try to become champion.»

 

W2RC: ONLY 1 SPOT FOR 3
At the end of the 4th round of the World Championship, only 3 FIA Ultimate teams and 3 FIM RallyGP riders remain in contention for the top titles.

In the cars category, Nasser Al Attiyah remains in the lead. In the final round, as in Argentina, the maximum points to get will be 55. Only Al Rajhi, with 25 points, and Moraes, with 53, can aim to catch up to the Qatari in the Rally of Morocco, though the Brazilian’s chances are mathematically slim. Yazeed Al Rajhi, defending Moroccan champion and winner of this race, will be the main threat to the triple title bid of the two-time world champion, who will be driving a new car for the occasion. In Morocco, Nasser Al Attiyah will debut in competition with the Dacia he will drive in the 2025 W2RC.

In the bikes category, Ross Branch leads with a 9-point advantage over Ricky Brabec and 16 over Adrien Van Beveren. The two Honda riders are the only ones within 25 points of the Hero rider. A maximum of 25 points will be awarded to the Moroccan winner. Only Brabec and Van Beveren can aim to dethrone the Botswanan next October.

DR40 2025: The Upcoming Race
«I’m excited about the race we had. It was a very close competition from start to finish. Both in bikes and Ultimate, it was decided at the last moment, which is great for everyone. We’re proud of the race we organized. We were very pleased to have Cordoba as the epicenter. We are already thinking about next year. We would like to do the race on a more favorable date in terms of weather and daylight hours, either in April or September. We will soon tell you the news, but we hope to see you next year to make an even better race», said Pablo Eli (Sports Director of the Desafío Ruta 40 YPF INFINIA) at the end of the competition in Córdoba.