The Dakar is the highlight of a rally-raid calendar peppered with W2RC events. The edge-of-the seat action in every category has left competitors and fans yearning for more.
Raw performance is not enough: staying power, a cool head, the ability to adapt to a patchwork of terrains and knowing how to devise a medium- and long-term strategy are just some of the other ingredients needed to shine in rally raids. 2022 saw the launch of a championship that brought the FIA and FIM fields under the same banner, with the Dakar as the grand opening of the series. The idea was to gauge how riders, drivers and crews fared across an entire season. Since then, flashes of brilliance have marked the start of new trends and grabbed headlines, but year-round consistency has always carried the day.
The W2RC grew from four rounds in its inaugural edition to five in later seasons. It has pitched its tent on four continents and taken the field to eight different races. Its story arcs are replete with tales of redemption and revenge, and the involvement of the top outfits in the sport across all FIA and FIM classes has only made the competition more ferocious. At the same time, Dakar fans are increasingly following the performances of their favourite competitors around the globe. The social media community topped the 900,000-follower mark in early 2026, and the next milestone, one million, could be reached before the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge wraps up the W2RC season in late November
