A new breed of desert racers and the next generation of rally machines gave us a glimpse of the future at this week’s Rallye du Maroc. From the stunning speed of the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team to the pacy performance of the Audi RS Q e-tron E2 prototype, tomorrow’s world dominated the dunes in North Africa.
Seth Quintero (USA) is celebrating his first-ever rally-raid overall win after storming through the pack in the T3 contest in Morocco. The Californian turned the race on its head when he beat his closest rival by 20 minutes over the final stages alongside co-driver Dennis Zenz (GER). The Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team driver is now a big step closer to his dream of becoming the youngest ever Dakar Rally winner.
« I was nine minutes down on day three before we put some time down on the last two days. The whole Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team has put in so much hard work to be here and I’m glad that it finally paid off. » – Seth Quintero
Quintero was joined on the overall podium by team-mates Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP)/Pablo Moreno (ESP) who finished third. Second place in the T3 contest was claimed by Chaleco López (CHL)/Juan Pablo Latrach (CHL) and this leading W2RC trio will now fight for top spot at the series finale in Andalucia later this month.
« We’ll arrive in Andalucia with all the possibilities of the championship still open, so what better place to decide the title! » – Cristina Gutiérrez
Capping off a great week for the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team were the race crews of Mitch Guthrie Jr. (USA)/Ola Fløene (NOR) and Guillaume de Mevius (BEL)/François Cazalet (FRA). Four out of five stage wins helped to put all four OT3 machines inside the overall Top 6, the best ever result for the team at a rally.
« Having all four cars across the finish line with pretty solid times is amazing for the team after all the hard work. » – Mitch Guthrie Jr.
Momentum shifted back and forth between T1 category rivals Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) and Sébastien Loeb (FRA) over all five stages in Morocco. Both legendary racers suffered their fair share of issues in the desert as well as celebrating stage wins in Morocco.
At the finish line it was Al-Attiyah, co-driver Mathieu Baumel (FRA) and their Toyota Hilux who had put their nose in front. Third place overall, plus a win on Stage Three, now puts Al-Attiyah in top spot in W2RC rankings with one race remaining in the series.
« This was an amazing rally on tracks that were completely new for us. We’re happy to finish on the podium, it puts us one step closer to winning this very important title. » – Nasser Al-Attiyah
Loeb’s up and down week saw him suffer mechanical issues on days one and four, but also leading the race after a stage win on day two. Loeb, alongside co-driver Fabian Lurquin (BEL) in their Prodrive Hunter BRX, was able to add 10 points to his W2RC total thanks to another stage win on the final day of this rally.
« The result at the end is not exactly what I expected for the championship. What we did here in Morocco will help us to understand some things on the car that we can solve before the next Dakar. » – Sébastien Loeb
The latest edition of Rallye du Maroc also proved challenging for Kuba Przygonski (POL) and co-driver Armand Monleón (ESP) in the MINI John Cooper Works Buggy. Former biker Przygonski stood up to everything the desert could throw at him to finish sixth overall in the T1 class.
Competing in the Open class as part of their preparations for next January’s Dakar were the three Audi RS Q e-tron Evo 2 machines. The results were extremely encouraging as Carlos Sainz (ESP) and co-driver Lucas Cruz (ESP) beat the best T1 time set over the 1,500-kilometre racing distance.
« It was a very good test for the team and we have three cars at the finish with no mechanical issue. I’m pleased with where we are in the build up to the next Dakar. » – Carlos Sainz
The final times of Mattias Ekström (SWE)/Emil Bergkvist (SWE) and Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA)/Edouard Boulanger (FRA) saw them finish within 25 minutes of Sainz. Audi’s concept of combining an electric drivetrain with a high-voltage battery and a highly efficient energy converter is at the forefront of rally-raid’s switch to renewables.
« We did five days with no problem at all. We can be confident for the next Dakar after some good training here. » – Stéphane Peterhansel
Onto two wheels and a strong finish to Rallye du Maroc saw Sam Sunderland (GBR) defend his overall lead in the W2RC rankings. Second place on the fourth and longest stage of the rally helped the British biker to recover a chunk of time lost earlier in the week. Another quick ride on the final stage gave this year’s Dakar winner a fifth place finish in Morocco, enough to stay top of the W2RC leaderboard with a lead of 22 points from his nearest rival.
« Each day was an improvement in terms of my riding and some small changes to the bike. I started feeling better and better throughout the race. » – Sam Sunderland
Kevin Benavides (ARG) is the highest placed Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider in the final Rallye du Maroc results. The Argentinian finished one place behind Sunderland, in sixth overall.
« In total I opened the road for around 600km of this rally, that’s a lot. Unfortunately the final results don’t show this. » – Kevin Benavides
Benavides’s KTM team-mate Toby Price (AUS) retired hurt on Stage Four in Morocco. We wish Price a speedy recovery and hope to see him back on his bike soon.
Next up for the Red Bull Desert Wings is the Andalucia Rally, running October 18-23. Not only is it the fourth and final round of the World Rally-Raid Championship, but also the last race before next January’s 2023 Dakar Rally.
World Rally-Raid Championship Standings
T1 – Top 3
1. N. Al-Attiyah – Toyota, 144 points ; 2. S. Loeb – Hunter Prodrive, 122 pts ; 3. Y. Al Rajhi – Toyota, 80 pts…
T3 – Top 3
1. F. Lopez – Can-Am, 182 points ; 2. C. Gutierrez – OT3, 154 pts ; 3. S. Quintero – OT3, 144 pts…
BIKE – Top 3
1. S. Sunderland – Gasgas, 74 points ; 2. P. Quintanilla – Honda, 52 pts ; 3. R. Brabec – Honda, 50 pts…
QUOTES
Seth Quintero: « I don’t think I’ve ever driven so cautious and scared in my life. Previously I’ve always been in the position to fight for a lead at a rally, rather than having to manage a lead. I was nine minutes down on day three and then we put some time down on the last two days. The whole Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team has put in so much hard work to be here and I’m glad that it finally paid off. »
Cristina Gutiérrez: « We have fought until the end to try to be as consistent as possible and get the maximum number of points every day. We’ll arrive in Andalucia with all the possibilities of the championship still open, so what better place to decide the title! »
Chaleco López: « This was a very difficult rally. The other times I raced here was on a motorbike and now it’s very different. Overall I’m happy with how things went, my team worked very well. Everything is building up towards the 2023 Dakar Rally. »
Mitch Guthrie Jr.: « I’m super happy for the team and for Seth to get the win. Having all four cars across the finish line with pretty solid times is amazing for the team after all the hard work. We all got a lot of seat time ahead of the next Dakar and we’re excited for the next one. »
Guillaume de Mevius: « All four OT3s are at the end so we’re very happy with that. It’s a shame for us that we didn’t make it onto the final podium because of some problems we had at the beginning of the race. But the rest of the rally was very good so I’m happy at the end. »
Nasser Al-Attiyah: « This was an amazing rally on tracks that were completely new for us. I enjoyed the new terrain and the new locations. We’re happy to finish on the podium, it puts us one step closer to winning this very important title. Thank you to the organisation here in Morocco for the amazing stages we have raced. You can see from the results each day that this was not an easy rally. »
Sébastien Loeb: « The stages here were OK, but I didn’t enjoy the fact that yesterday we had to retire before completing the stage. It was a power steering problem. But the stages were interesting and mostly I had fun driving the car. The result at the end is not exactly what I expected for the championship. What we did here in Morocco will help us to understand some things on the car that we can solve before the next Dakar. »
Carlos Sainz: « In general we must be very pleased with the result. It was a very good test for the team and we have three cars at the finish with no mechanical issue. Everything was working fine so I think it was a really good week. I’m pleased with where we are in the build up to the next Dakar. »
Stéphane Peterhansel: « This was our first time competing in the Open classification and this allowed us to see the durability of the car. It was really good, we did five days with no problem at all. We can be confident for the next Dakar after some good training here. »
Mattias Ekström: « This was a very demanding rally, the roads were very rough with lots of stones. Also navigation was very difficult, everybody got lost at some point. There were some dunes, some fast sections, some slow and tricky bits and also riverbeds. It was a perfect preparation for Dakar. »
Sam Sunderland: « I didn’t feel at my finest at this race for whatever reason. I tried my best and each day was an improvement in terms of my riding and some small changes to the bike. I started feeling better and better throughout the race. The navigation was really difficult all the way. I’m happy that I didn’t try to force the issue and instead took it step by step. Now looking forward to Andalucia. »
Kevin Benavides: « I was at the front on the final stage so it was a tricky day of navigation. I was still leading after the refuelling. I’m quite happy with my overall performance here in Morocco, I was working hard all week. In total I opened the road for around 600km of this rally, that’s a lot. Unfortunately the final results don’t show this. Also, I lost some time at the very beginning of the rally and it was too difficult to get all of it back. »
Christine Fial,