It’s not surprising that manufacturers are going to four-wheel drive in recent years over two, though this trend runs concurrent with a decline in privateers as rally raid becomes more expensive and factory-driven. While this means more OEM involvement to stimulate the discipline, it also ushers out the era of smaller T1 teams who can only afford 2WD cars.

Even though Century Racing is also involved in the shift to 4WD with the CR7, team manager Julien Hardy is quite dismayed by this development.

“The Dakar has changed a lot in recent years and sadly the 2WD cars run by small private teams have all but disappeared,” Hardy commented. “It has become very much a professional sport and we’re slowly losing the last few amateurs that made up the majority of the field in the past.

“Two years ago, it was ten CR6s and two CR7s. This year, eight CR7s and two CR6s at the start.”

Only 13 of the 72 Ultimate cars doing the Dakar Rally are 2WD. 11—Jean-Rémy Bergounhe, François Cousin, Jean-Luc Ceccaldi, Nandu Jubany, Christian Lavieille, Bruno Miot, Gintas Petrus, Jean-Pierre Strugo, Jordi Torras, Silvio Totani, and Simon Vitse—race the MD Optimus from MD Rallye Sport, while the Century CR6 comprise the other two with Benoît Fretin and Pedro Peñate.

Virtually none of the T1.2 drivers have factory support or the same budget as their T1+ counterparts. Their chances of overall victory are also slim to none, so they instead compete among themselves for the subcategory title and to achieve the broader goal of completing the world’s toughest rally raid. Heck, finishing the race in a more rudimentary 2WD car could be seen as a bigger accomplishment in itself.

Of course, this doesn’t change the fact that the pool of T1.2 drivers continues to shrink as they’re either priced out or can afford to move into T1+.

The 2025 Dakar had 17 T1.2 cars. Pierre Lachaume and his MD Optimus were the highest finisher with a 15th in Ultimate.

After nine stages, Vitse is the top running 2WD car in 17th.

Featured image credit: Antonin Vincent / DPPI / ASO