Off-road racers will unwrap their new toys early this year as the 2024 Rallye du Maroc shows us the future of desert racing. Not only do we have fearsome machines making their World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) debut, there’s also Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team drivers graduating to the elite car category in time for next January’s 2025 Dakar Rally. With a total of 2,500 kilometres spread over six days in the Sahara Desert to cover let’s dive into the dunes of Morocco!
Nasser Al-Attiyah arrives in North Africa leading the Ultimate class of the W2RC by 25 points. The Qatari driver will debut his brand-new Dacia Sandrider at the Rallye du Maroc and he’ll need to hit the ground running to secure his third consecutive W2RC title. There’s also a possible co-driver’s world title for Al-Attiyah’s navigator Edouard Boulanger if the duo enjoy a clean run in the Sahara.
« The Sandrider is a new car and we must try to work day by day. I hope to win the world title, it would be nice for me and for my co-driver Edouard as well. » – Nasser Al-Attiyah
Five-time Dakar winner Al-Attiyah will drive one of three V6 twin-turbo powered Dacia Sandriders coming to Morocco. Also behind the wheel for Dacia is nine-time WRC winner Sébastien Loeb with co-driver Fabian Lurquin plus the Dakar’s reigning Challenger class champions Cristina Gutiérrez and co-driver Pablo Moreno.
Gutiérrez’s promotion to the Ultimate class of rally-raid ahead of the upcoming Dakar makes it a clean sweep for members of the Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team graduating to the sport’s top category. With Dacia, Ford, Toyota and Mini all recruiting Junior Team drivers it underlines the remarkable success of the development program just a few short years since its creation.
« It will be my first race in a new category as I jump from the Challenger to the Ultimate class. A lot of new things are coming as it’s a new car, new category and new team. » – Cristina Gutiérrez
It’s not just Dacia who are giving their new hardware a desert debut in Morocco as Ford pay a visit as part of their Dakar preparations. It’ll be the Dakar’s current Ultimate class champions Carlos Sainz and co-driver Lucas Cruz putting the all-new Ford Raptor T1+ through its paces as the latest edition of the Rallye du Maroc gets underway with a Prologue Stage in Marrakesh on Sunday, October 6.
« Everybody has done a really good job and now it’s time to take the Raptor racing to see where we are. » – Carlos Sainz
Also at the controls of a Ford Raptor T1+ for the six-day African rally will be Mattias Ekström. The Swedish racer is one of the quickest dune drivers around and has picked up stage wins at recent editions of the Dakar.
« Rallye du Maroc will be the perfect test for Dakar, and I’m excited to see what we can accomplish together. » – Mattias Ekström
Sainz and Ekström will be joined at next January’s Dakar by fellow Ford Performance drivers Mitch Guthrie Jr. and Nani Roma. Guthrie Jr. will race his Taurus T3 Max in the Challenger class in Morocco with co-driver Kellon Walch before they step into their Ford Raptor T1+ to race the next Dakar.
As well as being the perfect dress rehearsal for the Dakar, the Rallye du Maroc is also the fifth and final round of the W2RC. In the Ultimate class it’s Al-Attiyah who leads the Drivers Championship from Yazeed Al Rajhi with Lucas Moraes in third place. Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Moraes is just 28 points behind Al Rajhi and is out to leapfrog his rival in Morocco.
Moraes and co-driver Armand Monleon will be joined in their hunt for W2RC points by team-mates Seth Quintero and co-driver Dennis Zenz. A pair of solid performances from the two Toyota GR DKR Hilux machines racing in North Africa next week will be enough to give Toyota Gazoo Racing their third W2RC Constructors Championship on the spin.
« I hope we can put on a good show for the fans and get a result that helps us finish the Championship with another title for the team. » – Lucas Moraes
Along with fellow Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team graduates Gutiérrez, Guthrie Jr. and Quintero there’s also plenty of Ultimate class buzz around Guillaume De Mévius. The Belgian scored an amazing runner-up result on his Dakar debut in the Ultimate class driving an Overdrive prepped Toyota Hilux. Now De Mévius arrives in Morocco to race the new X-raid MINI JCW Rally car with Dakar winning co-driver Mathieu Baumel.
« I’m very excited and can hardly wait for the journey to begin. I can learn a lot from X-raid and together we want to achieve victories and top results. » – Guillaume De Mévius
Rokas Baciuška is out to make W2RC history in Morocco in the Challenger class. If the Lithuanian can score the handful of points he needs to win the championship he’ll become the first-ever W2RC driver to take titles in two categories thanks to his T4 success last season. Baciuška is joined in his Can-Am Maverick X3 by co-driver Fausto Mota.
Dania Akeel is also in with a shot of finishing the season on the overall Challenger class podium. The Saudi Arabian driver is currently fifth on the leaderboard so will be after big points in Morocco behind the wheel of her Taurus T3 Max alongside co-driver Stephane Duple.
Looking to hit the front of the T4 race at the upcoming Rallye du Maroc will be Francisco ‘Chaleco’ López. The Chilean is a three-time Dakar winner in the ‘lightweight divisions’ and is a serious contender for success in the Sahara next week. Joining López in his Can-Am Maverick R is co-driver Sebastian Cesana.
12 months ago Luciano Benavides won the W2RC Bike championship in Morocco. The Argentinian rider now returns to the Rallye du Maroc having been recalled by Red Bull KTM Factory Racing for the next Dakar.
« I always really enjoy this rally, and I have great memories of it from last year. Bring on Morocco! » – Luciano Benavides
Daniel Sanders will also ride the next Dakar alongside brothers Luciano and Kevin Benavides for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. Sanders will use the trip to Morocco to build up his rhythm on his new KTM bike ahead of another trip to Saudi Arabia in the New Year.
« It’s been three years since the last time I raced Rallye du Maroc and I managed to get on the podium then. I’m hoping to do the same again this year. » – Daniel Sanders
The Rallye du Maroc always attracts rally-raid’s biggest names and an entire convoy of desert racing contenders are heading back to the Sahara to contest this next edition, running October 6-11. The challenging terrain found in North Africa closely mirrors what competitors will find in Saudi Arabia when the 2025 Dakar Rally gets underway on January 3 in Bisha.
Latest Championship Rankings
W2RC – Ultimate Class – Top 3
1. N. Al-Attiyah (QAT) – Prodrive, 156 points
2. Y. Al Rajhi (SAU) – Toyota, 131 pts
3. L. Moraes (BRA) – Toyota, 103 pts…
W2RC – Challenger Class – Top 3
1. R. Baciuska (LTU)- Can-Am, 209 points
2. N. Cavigliasso (ARG) – TAURUS 165 pts
3. M. Gastaldi (BRA) – TAURUS 130 pts…
QUOTES
Nasser Al-Attiyah: « Rallye du Maroc is not only very important for the championship, it’s also very important for the teams because everybody is coming to prepare for Dakar. The Sandrider is a new car and we must try to work day by day. I hope to win the world title and be the world champion, it would be nice for me and for my co-driver Edouard as well. »
Sébastien Loeb: « After all the hard work in testing we can finally measure ourselves against the competition and see where we are in terms of performance. It will be a full-scale test, a live rehearsal you could say, so the objective is to see that everything is in place and working properly. »
Cristina Gutiérrez: « It will be our first race with the Sandrider after a long series of tests and I’m very excited. It will also be my first race in a new category as I jump from the Challenger to the Ultimate class. A lot of new things are coming as it’s a new car, new category and new team. »
Carlos Sainz: « Everybody has done a really good job and now it’s time to take the Raptor racing to see where we are. We all know that the Dakar requires a fast car, but also a reliable car so we are working on all areas. »
Mattias Ekström: « Joining Ford Performance for both the 2024 Rallye du Maroc and the 2025 Dakar is an amazing opportunity. I’m looking forward to competing alongside a legend like Carlos in the Raptor T1+. Rallye du Maroc will be the perfect test for Dakar, and I’m excited to see what we can accomplish together. »
Lucas Moraes: « I can’t wait to get back to Africa to race the next Rallye du Maroc. I hope we can put on a good show for the fans and get a result that helps us finish the Championship with another title for the team. »
Guillaume De Mévius: « The start with the X-raid team is a new adventure for me. I’m very excited and can hardly wait for the journey to begin. I can certainly still learn a lot from X-raid. Together, we want to achieve victories and top results. »
Luciano Benavides: « I’ve worked hard over the past few months preparing for Morocco and it will be a great opportunity to see where we are after our testing. I always really enjoy this rally, and I have great memories of it from last year. Physically, I feel really good in my recovery, and I have spent a lot of time working on roadbooks. »
Daniel Sanders: « It’s been a long break since Argentina and we are super motivated to race the Rallye du Maroc. It’s been three years since the last time I raced the event and I managed to get on the podium then. I’m hoping to do the same again this year. »
Christine Fial,