Nasser Al-Attiyah has made it back-to-back Rallye du Maroc stage wins for The Dacia Sandriders by coming out on top on day two of the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship season showdown.
Chasing his fourth consecutive FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) title, Al-Attiyah began Stage 2 down in 20th position overall and 12m40s off the lead in his sustainable-fuel Dacia Sandrider following a costly stop on Stage 1 to repair steering arm damage following an impact on rough terrain.
But a courageous effort from the Qatari and his Belgian navigator Fabian Lurquin in the Moroccan dunes resulted in a dramatic stage victory by 1m30s after 306 timed kilometres. They had initially triumphed by 18s but were handed the larger winning margin after event officials took account of the time they lost stopping to help a female motorcycle competitor, who had fallen at 92 kilometres.
Their latest triumph follows on from Sébastien Loeb and Édouard Boulanger winning Monday’s Stage 1 for The Dacia Sandriders – which made its competition debut on Rallye du Maroc 12 months ago – on the back of a standout run from the French pair.
While Al-Attiyah and Lurquin face a deficit of 10m26s to the outright leaders, they have climbed up to seventh in the overall order and scored five crucial W2RC stage points.
Al-Attiyah’s Rallye du Maroc Tuesday was one of rapid progression. He was third after 34 kilometres and second at the 76-kilometre mark. Although he slipped to ninth at 115 kilometres following his selfless act, he was soon up to seventh at 151 kilometres before his late surge earned him his 11th W2RC stage win for The Dacia Sandriders.
Meanwhile, Sébastien Loeb, who is chasing his first outright W2RC victory for The Dacia Sandriders and his first in the championship since the Andalucía Rally in 2022, was always going to face a tough task to maintain his overnight advantage by running as the first car through
Stage 2.
Although his effort of 3h25m34s wasn’t the fastest of the day, he avoided being overtaken throughout the 306 timed kilometres despite having to stop and change a damaged tyre and not having any lines to follow.
It was a performance that not only underlined his and navigator Boulanger’s ability, but also the pace of their Dacia Sandrider.
They set the eighth fastest time, 6m17s slower than team-mates Al-Attiyah and Lurquin, and are fifth in the overall classification, 4m03s behind the new event leaders.
Spanish pair Cristina Gutiérrez and Pablo Moreno had to stop three times during Stage 2 and set the 18th fastest time to complete Tuesday’s action in 15th position among the Ultimate category contenders. The first stop was the result of a damaged steering arm after five kilometres. The Spanish pair made another stop due to a right-rear brake caliper issue.
Stage 3 of Rallye du Maroc tomorrow (Wednesday) is another loop stage around Erfoud which Al-Attiyah and Lurquin will start first on the road following their triumphant Tuesday in North Africa.
KEY QUOTES
Nasser Al-Attiyah (Qatar), driver, The Dacia Sandriders : « The stage was really tough, not easy. Okay, we start from behind. From the beginning we catch Yazeed [Al-Rajhi], I don’t know what happened with Yazeed, but after we catch the next two cars and then, suddenly, a bike rider fell and blocked the road. We tried to help, it cost time, but we try to get the time back. The rider, a woman, was very tired. Then we tried to keep going and to push. I would say it was a difficult stage, but it was good to win and I’m happy. Still on this rally you can have a lot of surprises. Yesterday we lose 12 minutes and today we win the stage and we come back again. The game is still open, and we try to do our best day by day. »
Cristina Gutierrez (Spain), driver, The Dacia Sandriders : « It was quite a long day. We had some issues in the car, we broke the steering arm in the beginning, just five kilometres after the start. And then we lost the right-rear brake caliper. We cap it and were just with the front brakes during the rest of the stage. It was not easy, but we are happy for Nasser and Fabian to win and looking forward to tomorrow when we try to enjoy a little bit more. »
Sébastien Loeb (France), driver, The Dacia Sandriders : « It wasn’t a bad stage for us, actually it was better than yesterday. We were opening the road, and the conditions were very difficult. Despite a puncture at 175 kilometres, we kept a good rhythm all the way through, and we can be satisfied with our performance. »
Édouard Boulanger (France), navigator, The Dacia Sandriders : « Definitely it was a good day for us, we opened all the stage, we never get caught by the followers and even if we had a puncture, we were still able to keep the lead. Of course, we know that by opening we have a slower pace, especially in the dunes, because the lines are not visible. For us it was really a good day in the car, and we cannot do more by opening so we are limiting the damage by the timing. We can’t complain, still perfectly in the game for the victory. The goal didn’t change. »
RALLYE DU MAROC STAGE 2 RESULTS – Erfoud-Erfoud
Stage distance: 306km Liaison distance: 86km Total distance: 392km
1st: Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Fabian Lurquin (BEL), 3h19m17s
8th: Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Édouard Boulanger (FRA), 3h25m34s
18th: Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP)/Pablo Moreno (ESP), 3h44m58s
RALLYE DU MAROC PROVISIONAL ULTIMATE CATEGORY OVERALL RESULTS AFTER STAGE 2
5th: Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Édouard Boulanger (FRA), +4m03s
7th: Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Fabian Lurquin (BEL), +10m26s
15th: Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP)/Pablo Moreno (ESP), +30m41s
RALLYE DU MAROC: THE BIG NUMBER
13: Nasser Al-Attiyah and navigator Fabian Lurquin gained 12 positions during Stage 2 of Rallye du Maroc, climbing from 20th at the start of the day to seventh at the finish.
THE DAY AHEAD: STAGE 3, OCTOBER 15
The onus is very much on the competition with 323 kilometres of the 326.5 kilometres of Stage 3 run against the clock. Located south of Erfoud, it’s the longest of Rallye du Maroc in terms of the timed distance.
Stage distance: 323km Liaison distance: 3.5km Total distance: 326.5km
Linda Hirvonen,