Toby Price topped a 206 kilometre motocross test on the final stage of the 2023 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, the Red Bull KTM rider winning the day ahead of Nacho Cornejo and Skyler Howes third – Monster Endergy Honda rider Adrien Van Beveren takes a historic overall victory.

ADDC final stage 5 in a nutshell:

• Adrien Van Beveren takes his first ADDC victory after not just holding off the charge on the final stage but increasing his overall advantage to finish 4:18 ahead of Luciano Benavides.
• It was a historic one too, in total French riders have won the ADDC seven times with AVB becoming the third to win after Stephane Peterhansel (‘96) and Cyril Despres (’01-‘03, ‘05 and ‘08). He also gave Honda its second ADDC win after Paulo Goncalves in 2014.
• “It feels really good to win, for me as a rider and also for the team that invested in me.” Says Adrien at the finish line today. “It was a bit frustrating not to be in the podium in the last Dakar being so close. Now coming here and winning the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge just some weeks after the Dakar is a great feeling. For sure I will keep on working to get more victories but now is time to taste and enjoy the moment. Really happy with the atmosphere and spirit in the team, it is fantastic when you can win and have fun at the same time.”
• Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Luciano Benavides claimed second place after the unenviable task of opening the fifth and final stage all the way. It meant a motocross approach from the get-go to minimise time lost to the chasing riders. Earning just under five minutes in bonuses helped Luciano secure his podium result.
• “I’m so happy to take second place here in Abu Dhabi.” Explains the Argentinian. “I pushed so hard today and opened all the way – it was a tough and exhausting day. There was quite a lot of pressure this morning to do the stage at full gas, it was the only choice I had. But I think I did a good job and I’m happy with the result. To come away from the race with a podium and two stage wins is amazing.”
• Toby Price put in a shift on the last day to take the win, nabbing third overall by just two seconds after five days racing – he’s making a habit of close finishes this season! “I had to push really hard today.” Said Toby. “Opening on the long day four really knocked me back in the overall such were the conditions. I knew my only choice today was to push hard, and so I went as hard as I could possibly go for the whole 206 kilometers!
• “To only just make the podium by two seconds is crazy. It shows the level of the riders at the moment in rally, with the results often coming down to seconds and not minutes – I think that’s really good for the championship.”
• In the World Championship rankings, Toby Price now leads for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing with 46pts, four more than Van Beveren 42pts and with Kevin Benavides still in the race with 38pts despite not racing here due to his broken leg. Second at ADDC, Luciano Benavides leads the Husqvarna train fourth with 35pts and Skyler Howes fifth on 34pts.
• The W2RC championship will wait until the end of April for the third race of 2023, the Mexico Sonora Rally on April  22-28.

2023 ADDC final classification (Rally GP):

Stage 5 results:

Photo Credit: Rally Zone + MCH Photo