After not being invited to the Dakar Rally, the Quads fired up for the rest of the 2025 W2RC season. Despite a new year and a new quad, CFMOTO Thunder Racing Team continued its momentum from last year as Antanas Kanopkinas and Gaëtan Martinez finished first and second.

Kanopkinas entered 2025 hoping to keep riding the wave of winning the 2024 Rallye du Maroc for CFMOTO’s maiden W2RC triumph. Of course, he faced stiff competition as Abdulaziz Ahli had won the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge every year since 2021.

This seemed to hold true as Ahli won Stage #1, but disaster struck the next day when an electrical problem forced him to retire while leading. Marcin Wilkołek also dropped out of contention due to a mechanical on the first day.

With Ahli and Wilkołek out of the picture, the CFMOTOs’ lone rival (besides each other) was Marek Łój. For a race as grueling as Abu Dhabi, it seemed appropriate that the last men standing were on untested quads: Kanopkinas and Martinez were racing the new CFORCE G3 with little prep work, while Łój was on a Yamaha Raptor that he borrowed from two-time ADDC winner Rafał Sonik since his own quad was stuck in shipping.

The marathon stage ultimately decided swung the needle in CFMOTO’s favor. Aafter winning Stage #3, Łój arrived at the marathon bivoauc with a shredded left rear tire, which he had to change the next day. Even though he replaced the tire on his own, FIM rules stipulate it is “totally prohibited to replace tires during the two days of the Marathon Stage” and will be considered “prohibited assistance”, thus resulting in a six-hour penalty.

He salvaged the race winning Stage #5, but otherwise had to settle for third; without the penalty, he would have beaten Kanopkinas by 46:19.

“I would like to go another 600 kilometers,” said Łój. “Beautiful rally, I had a lot of fun. I want to be back here next year, for sure.”

Instead, his penalty blew the door open for Kanopkinas to seal his second win in a row. Of course, it was not an easy race for him and Martinez despite the 1–2 finish.

Fuel consumption was one of the main concerns throughout the race for the two, especially during the marathon. Martinez also had a chaotic Stage #2 that included a gearbox failure that caused him to reach the finish with only front gear. Kanopkinas finished the marathon with melted plastic on his leg because of the exhaust breaking off.

Nevertheless, Kanopkinas and Martinez both reached the finish.

“The first kilometers of the final day, I rode very cautiously but then I thought, ‘Let’s have some fun.’ I went full throttle and sprinted through the last hundred kilometers,” said Kanopkinas. “I’m really happy and want to thank the team, our partners, and everyone who supports us. We started our season strong, and now we’re preparing for the next stage in South Africa. The quads will soon be packed and shipped there.”

Martinez finished 26 minutes back in his ADDC debut. He described it as “a great event, so many kilometers in the sand. It was my first time in this part of the world, and I’d love to come back.

“The result is fantastic: both CFMOTO quads on the podium.”

Results

Finish	Overall	Number	Rider	Team	Time	Margin
1	22	103	Antanas Kanopkinas	CFMOTO Thunder Racing Team	20:23:02	Leader
2	24	110	Gaëtan Martinez	CFMOTO Thunder Racing Team	20:49:20	+ 26:18
3	37	115	Marek Łój	Poland National Team	25:36:43	+ 5:13:41
4	40	114	Marcin Wilkołek	SQFP Racing Team	45:30:32	+ 25:07:30
DNF	DNF	174	Abdulaziz Ahli	Abu Dhabi Team	DNF	N/A

Stage winners

Stage	Winner	Time
Prologue	Gaëtan Martinez	9:56.7
Stage #1	Abduaziz Ahli	3:36:51
Stage #2	Antanas Kanopkinas	4:06:25
Stage #3	Abduaziz Ahli	4:18:12
Stage #4	Antanas Kanopkinas	4:28:16
Stage #5	Marek Łój	2:45:19

W2RC

Rank	Rider	Points	Margin
1	Antanas Kanopkinas	25	Leader
2	Gaëtan Martinez	20	– 5
3	Marek Łój	16	– 9
4	Marcin Wilkołek	13	– 12

Featured image credit: Helena Clancy / Edophoto