Dacia Sandriders Target Rally-Raid Portugal and W2RC Lead
Dacia Sandriders heads to Iberia next week as the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship enters its decisive phase with a high-profile cross-border event. Rally-Raid Portugal takes place between 21 and 28 September and forms part of the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship for the second time. The route includes stages in Portugal and neighbouring Spain, covering 1,433.05 kilometres of competitive action.
The team tackles round four of the five-event W2RC season with a three-car lineup, having fielded two sustainably fueled, BFGoodrich-equipped Dacia Sandrider cars in Abu Dhabi and South Africa. Spain’s Cristina Gutiérrez returns to the attack alongside Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah and Frenchman Sébastien Loeb.
After a win in Abu Dhabi and a podium in South Africa, Dacia Sandriders arrives in Portugal second in the W2RC Manufacturers’ ranking and first in the Drivers’ and Navigators’ standings through Nasser Al-Attiyah and Édouard Boulanger. For the rest of the 2025 W2RC and January’s 2026 season-opening Dakar Rally, Boulanger will partner with his compatriot Loeb, while Loeb’s navigator, Fabian Lurquin from Belgium, will join forces with Al-Attiyah. Cristina and Pablo continue as a partnership.
Tiphanie Isnard, Team Principal of Dacia Sandriders, explained: “In rally-raid, our strength as a team lies in creating the best possible conditions for our crews to perform at their highest level. The bond between driver and navigator is crucial, and sometimes evolving the pairings allows new synergies to emerge. We believe these new collaborations will bring greater stability, renewed confidence, and the determination needed to push even further together.”
The penultimate round of the 2025 W2RC brings more uncharted territory for the team, with mainly gravel stages similar to those found in a world championship rally. Covering 2,368.97 kilometres in total, including 1,433.05 against the clock, Rally-Raid Portugal features several route changes since its inaugural W2RC edition in 2024. Based in Grândola, 100 kilometres south of Lisbon, the rally commences with the Prologue on the afternoon of 23 September.
The opening stage on Wednesday 24 September sends crews south-west towards Beja on what organisers describe as fast, winding dirt tracks, followed by a sandy section in the final 30 kilometres before the overnight halt in Grândola. Stage 2, on Thursday, 25 September, marks the move into Spain and the bivouac in Badajoz. At 649.98 kilometres, it stands as the rally’s longest stage. Stage 3 on Friday, 26 September, keeps the timed route entirely within Spa, on terrain similar to Stage 1. The event then returns to Portugal on Saturday, 27 September, for the bivouac in Lisbon, from where a loop stage will decide the outcome on Sunday, 28 September.
Tiphanie Isnard, Team Principal, Dacia Sandriders, said: “It’s back-to-school time for the team and an opportunity to discover a new rally on a surface still unexplored by the Dacia Sandrider. To tackle it in the most favourable conditions possible, we have undertaken a full week of testing. Our goal on Rally-Raid Portugal is clear: to be ready to maximise points and strengthen our position in the Drivers’, Navigators’ and Manufacturers’ championships. The event will also focus on continuing to build Sébastien’s confidence following his podium in South Africa, and welcoming back Cristina and Pablo as we prepare for both the end of the season and the fast-approaching Dakar. The team is now entering a very intense phase with eight consecutive weeks of travel between testing, Rally-Raid Portugal and Rallye du Maroc. We are entirely focused on finishing the championship in the best possible way and on preparing our Dakar challenge under the best conditions.”
Nasser Al-Attiyah, Driver, Dacia Sandriders, explained: “After an excellent collaboration on Baja Aragón, I’m happy to continue the adventure with Fabian as my new navigator. Rally-Raid Portugal is a great event, and we are really looking forward to it. We can expect a large number of fans and a truly great atmosphere, as the passion for motorsport is genuine in Portugal and Spain. The target is always obvious: to keep the lead in the championship by scoring good points and to have a great event.”
Cristina Gutiérrez, Driver, Dacia Sandriders, added: “We are really looking forward to restarting our rally-raid season and kicking off our preparations for the Dakar Rally. I’m happy to be competing in Rally-RaidPortugal, as racing at home is always special, and we have great memories from this event. Together with Pablo, we are excited to reunite with the whole Dacia Sandriders team. The goal is to get back into the rhythm and to feel good in the car. As always, we’ll do our very best. We want to make the most of these last two races of the championship to arrive fully prepared for the Dakar Rally, the biggest challenge of all.”
Sébastien Loeb, Driver, Dacia Sandriders, said: “It feels great to be getting back into the Dacia Sandrider after quite a long break since South Africa. I’m really looking forward to starting this new chapter with Édouard. We’ve already conducted some testing together in Morocco, and everything went very well; therefore, I’m confident that our collaboration will be a successful one. I can’t wait to get back to the racing feeling and to meet the Portuguese and Spanish fans, who are always so passionate and create an incredible atmosphere on every stage.”
Dacia Sandriders fields car 200 for Nasser Al-Attiyah and Fabian Lurquin, car 212 for Cristina Gutiérrez and Pablo Moreno, and car 219 for Sébastien Loeb and Édouard Boulanger. Rally-Raid Portugal spans 2,368.97 kilometres in total distance, underlining the scale of this W2RC challenge across Portugal and Spain.
