Rallye du Maroc is driving the world’s premier off-roaders over the wadis and dunes of the Sahara Desert. This final round of the World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) is serving up a sensationally sandy conclusion to the series. Leaderboards are in a constant state of flux across all race categories with two gruelling stages around the Erfoud bivouac remaining. Let’s check in with the latest drama on the dunes before the dust finally settles on the season this Friday…
Dacia’s Sébastien Loeb put the hammer down during 300km of racing over the fearsome Erg Chebbi region of the Sahara. Third place on today’s Stage 3 saw him leap to the top of the Ultimate class. Loeb has finished the last two rallies of the championship in second and third place. Now he’s out to finish the season with a win.
« It wasn’t easy, but overall we did a good stage. After 200km we caught up with Mattias (Ekström) and we were in his dust, but the pace was good so we didn’t lose too much time. » – Sébastien Loeb
Still in pole position for a fourth W2RC Ultimate class title is Loeb’s Dacia team-mate Nasser Al-Attiyah. The Qatari arrived in Morocco with a championship lead of less than 10 points. Mechanical difficulties on Stage 1 saw Al-Attiyah under threat from his closest rivals, but two days of solid desert driving have given him a little breathing space ahead of the final 48 hours in North Africa.
« The performance of our car was really good today. We opened the stage and nobody caught up with us. The navigation was difficult today and my co-driver Fabian (Lurquin) did a great job. » – Nasser Al-Attiyah
It’s Lucas Moraes of Toyota Gazoo Racing who has emerged as the biggest threat to Al-Attiyah’s championship hopes in Morocco. The Brazilian is doing all he can to claw back the 10 point deficit between himself and his Qatari rival. Moraes is second overall – 3m25s behind Loeb – with two days left to chase down the 30 points on offer for making it back-to back race wins.
« This was the toughest stage of the rally for us so far. At least tomorrow we’ll start as the ninth car on the road so it will be a big day for us. » – Lucas Moraes
Despite winning Stage 3, it’s unlikely that Toyota’s Henk Lategan will be celebrating a first-ever W2RC title on Friday. A tough day in dunes on Stage 2 saw him lose over an hour to the race leaders. However, the South African is determined to hold onto his place on the championship podium behind the battle between Al-Attiyah and Moraes.
The leading Ford M-Sport driver in Morocco after Stage 3 is Mattias Ekström, currently sitting third overall in the Ultimate standings. Consistent displays of speed from the Swede have given him a chance to repeat the podium finish he secured at the Dakar Rally earlier this year.
« I had a nice flow at the beginning of the stage and going through Merzouga felt good. Then we ended up stuck in dust and we lost time there. We’re third overall with everything still to play for. » – Mattias Ekström
Joining Ekström in the Ultimate class Top 10 are fellow Ford Raptor T1+ drivers Mitch Guthrie Jr. and Nani Roma. Meanwhile, the Raptor of Carlos Sainz was unable to finish Stage 3 after coming to a halt during the loop around the Erfoud bivouac.
« Not such a good day for us. We stopped due to a mechanical issue and it’s being investigated right now what exactly it is. The intention is to carry on tomorrow and keep learning ahead of the Dakar. » – Carlos Sainz
Also battling against the Saharan dunes ahead of another trip to the Dakar next January are Seth Quintero (Toyota), Cristina Gutiérrez (Dacia) and Laia Sanz (Ebro). With the most important rally of the year now just a few short months away, every kilometre raced here in Morocco is a chance to fine-tune the setup before the upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia.
« I’m excited for the next two stages and hoping to score some more points. We’ll also be helping our team-mates reach their goal of getting on the world championship podium. » – Seth Quintero
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing biker Daniel ‘Chucky’ Sanders remains on course for a perfect W2RC season. Four wins already this year – starting with a maiden Dakar victory – have put the Australian rider on the brink of making history. Sanders currently leads the two-wheel contest in Morocco, but only by 38 seconds from Honda’s Tosha Schareina in the RallyGP rankings. The stage is set for a nail-biting battle to the finish.
« We’ll see what tomorrow brings. I’ll try to keep things clean while trying to chase down the opener. We’ve still got the lead but things are really tight at the front. » – Daniel Sanders
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing are also closing in on the Rally2 championship thanks to 20-year-old rider Edgar Canet. The Spaniard leads the Rally2 race in Morocco and currently holds fifth place overall amongst all bikers. Canet is joined on the leaderboard by Sherco’s Harith Noah, himself a Rally2 winner at the Dakar in 2024.
« Stage 3 was long with a lot of tough navigation on the dunes and a lot of dust from the riders in front. After the refuelling stop I caught some of the guys in front of me. » – Edgar Canet
A crash on Stage 1 in Morocco forced KTM’s Luciano Benavides to retire early from the rally. We wish the Argentinian biker all the best as he races to recover from his injuries in time to take on the Dakar next January.
Luciano’s older brother Kevin Benavides is racing in the Challenger class this week after switching from two wheels to four. The two-time Dakar bike race champion is on a steep learning curve as he adapts to a whole new way of navigating the dunes.
Setting the fastest Challenger time on Stage 3 in Morocco was Dania Akeel at the wheel of her Taurus T3 Max. It’s the Saudi Arabian’s third stage win of the season and puts her on course to seal an overall podium finish following a fabulous W2RC season.
Leading the Challenger race after three brutal stages in Morocco is Pau Navarro. The Spaniard is refusing to give up hope of displacing W2RC rankings leader Nicolás Cavigliasso during the final two stages of the championship.
Everything clicked into gear for Francisco ‘Chaleco’ López in the SSV class during the midway stage of Rallye du Maroc. The three-time Dakar winner won the stage in his Can-Am and will be out to secure his podium place as 1,500km of desert racing wraps up in the next 48 hours.
« P1 on today’s stage! We’re happy with the result, but there’s still a long way to go! Let’s go, we can do it! » – Francisco López
The epicentre of Rallye du Maroc remains the oasis town of Erfoud with big distances to cover on the fourth and fifth stages. With over 500km still to race, nobody can take their result for granted. And that’s before the final action of the season this Friday following Stage 5… a 31km Power Stage which could yet determine who is celebrating W2RC glory this year!
Rallye du Maroc rankings after Stage 3
ULTIMATE – Top 5 : 1. S. Loeb (FRA) – DACIA 09:46:02 ; 2. L. Moraes (BRA) – TOYOTA +03:25 ; 3. M. Ekstrom (SWE) – FORD +04:33 ; 4. J. Ferreira (POR) – TOYOTA +05:35 ; 5. N. Al-Attiyah (QAT) – DACIA +07:08…
BIKE – Top 5 : 1. D. Sanders (AUS) – KTM 10:27:34 ; 2. T. Schareina (ESP) – HONDA +00:38 ; 3. R. Brabec (USA) – HONDA +07:23 ; 4. A. Van Beveren (FRA) – HONDA +18:40 ; 5. E. Canet (ESP) – KTM +23:45…
CHALLENGER – Top 5 : 1. P. Navarro (ESP) – TAURUS 11:06:37 ; 2. N. Cavigliasso (ARG) – TAURUS +01:13 ; 3. P. Klaassen (NED) – OT3 +06:08 ; 4. P. Spierings (NED) – TAURUS +15:06 ; 5. P. Goncalves (POR) – TAURUS +39:51…
SSV – Top 5 : 1. J. Gonzalez Ferioli (ARG) – CAN-AM 11:10:28 ; 2. H. Miller (USA) – CAN-AM +10:17 ; 3. F. Lopez (CHI) – CAN-AM +11:22 ; 4. H. Rodrigues (POR) – POLARIS +31:08 ; 5. K. Chaney (USA) – CAN-AM +41:49
QUOTES
Sébastien Loeb: « Today was a difficult stage with lots of tricky navigation. It wasn’t easy, but overall we did a good stage. After 200km we caught up with Mattias (Ekström) and we were in his dust, but the pace was good so we didn’t lose too much time. »
Nasser Al-Attiyah: « The performance of our car was really good today. We opened the stage and nobody caught up with us. The navigation was difficult today and my co-driver Fabian (Lurquin) did a great job. »
Lucas Moraes: « This was the toughest stage of the rally for us so far. We were stuck in dust of Nani (Roma) for a long time. Then we got past him when he got a puncture. And then we got a puncture. So we survived the day and ended up losing some time. At least tomorrow we’ll start as the ninth car on the road so it will be a big day for us. »
Mattias Ekström: « I had a nice flow at the beginning of the stage and going through Merzouga felt good. Then we ended up stuck in dust and we lost time there. That frustration led me to push a little bit too much in one stony area and we got a puncture. In the end it was a decent stage, but not as good as I would’ve liked it to be. We’re third overall and everything is still to play for. »
Nani Roma: « It was not a super nice stage for us. We knew if we pushed we risked another puncture and that would have kept us stuck on the stage for a long time. So after our second puncture we reduced our speed to make sure we could finish. It doesn’t feel good, but it’s part of our sport. »
Carlos Sainz: « Not such a good day for us. We stopped due to a mechanical issue and it’s being investigated right now what exactly it is. The intention is to carry on tomorrow and keep learning ahead of the Dakar. On the last two days we’ll try to get back to a good feeling. »
Seth Quintero: « Today went really and we ended up second on the stage. It was a smooth, clean day that we’ve been working for. I’m excited for the next two stages and hoping to score some more points. We’ll also be helping our team-mates reach their goal of getting on the world championship podium. »
Daniel Sanders: « We just got through Stage 3 after a rough second stage. It was a slow start this morning with a couple of small mistakes as I tried to get into the rhythm. Navigation was a little easier today, but still with a few tricky spots. We’ll see what tomorrow brings. I’ll try to keep things clean while trying to chase down the opener. We’ve still got the lead but things are really tight at the front. »
Edgar Canet: « Stage 3 was 324km long with a lot of tough navigation on the dunes and a lot of dust from the riders in front. After the refuelling stop I caught some of the guys in front of me. Tomorrow will be another long and tough day so tonight I’ll rest and recover as much as I can. »
Francisco López: « P1 on today’s stage! A tough stage! My co-driver Álvaro (León) continues to give his all here in Morocco. We’re happy with the result, but there’s still a long way to go! Let’s go, we can do it! »