Sébastien Loeb and Édouard Boulanger delivered a standout drive in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship by taking the Stage 3 win for The Dacia Sandriders today.
They completed Thursday’s fast-paced 360-kilometre stage, which started and finished in Zagora in southeastern Morocco, with a dominant winning margin of 6m50s.
It was the perfect comeback after two challenging days in the desert for the French crew. And by landing the stage win, Loeb/Boulanger banked five crucial points in their respective bids to win the W2RC Drivers’ and Navigators’ championships, which they led ahead of round four of the season getting under way.
Starting 18th on the road after a day of delay on Wednesday, Loeb/Boulanger mastered Stage 3’s challenging terrain consisting of stretches through valleys, dried up riverbeds, camel grass and sand dunes in a time of 3m34.51s to climb from 45th to 28th overall.
But although there was joy for Loeb/Boulanger on Rallye du Maroc, an event they won in 2025, there was heartbreak for team-mates Lucas Moraes and Pablo Moreno, who were unable to avoid crashing with less than 15 kilometres of the 360-kilometre stage remaining while firmly
on course to maintain their outright lead.
Moraes/Moreno had started Stage 3 leading by 28 seconds overall after they went second quickest on Tuesday and fourth fastest on Wednesday in their sustainable-fuelled Dacia Sandrider. But the late woe they suffered today sadly ends hopis of a dream result on their first event competing together. From leading last night, Moraes/Moreno have slipped to 24th overall, 2h04m25s behind the leaders.
It also proved to be a frustrating third stage for Nasser Al-Attiyah and Fabian Lurquin, who stopped with damaged suspension after 213 kilometres following an impact in a section of camel grass. Although they were able to finish the stage after twice parking up to make repairs, they lost more than 35 minutes to the leaders to make it a Rallye du Maroc to forget for the pair after they dropped some 45 minutes with a transmission issue during yesterday’s stage. Al-Attiyah/Lurquin currently occupy 22nd in the overall ranking, 1h41m23s down on first place after they also stopped to help their team-mates Moraes/Moreno following their accident.
To underline the strong performance of Dacia Sandrider, a four-wheel-drive robust and outdoor prototype engineered to withstand the most extreme conditions, The Dacia Sandriders held first, second and third places in the Stage 3 order before bad luck struck Al-Attiyah/Lurquin and Moraes/Moreno.
Stage 4 of Rallye du Maroc tomorrow (Friday) covers 384 kilometres against the clock. It’s the penultimate stage of the penultimate round of the W2RC.
KEY QUOTES
NASSER AL-ATTIYAH (QATAR), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS : « The front-left suspension was broken. We pushed for today and the pace was really amazing but, okay, it looks like it’s not our day but still we have two days and we try to score some points at least to help for the championship. »
SÉBASTIEN LOEB (FRANCE), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS : « It was good, it was difficult, a very long stage with a lot of tricky places for the tyres and also for the navigation. We made a few mistakes with the navigation, but we were able to react very quickly and find the way, so, overall it was good stage, good rhythm, consistent, no mistakes, no punctures, a good day. »
LUCAS MORAES (BRAZIL), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS : « Not the day that we wanted for sure. It was the perfect stage until it wasn’t. About 15ks to the finish we hit a big, big ditch. That was Danger 2 [warning classification], but the speed we are going now, for me it should have been Danger 3, but of course I misjudged also when I saw it and I was too late on the brake, and it throw the car sideways and we roll over. We wait for Nasser, Nasser put us back and we are here. It’s hard not to finish the job, especially because we were leading the rally with a good margin, but we try to come back stronger tomorrow and try to score more points for the team. »
ÉDOUARD BOULANGER (FRANCE), NAVIGATOR, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS : « It was a tough one. There was many lines due to the bikes and due to the fact we are in a region where we are testing the cars. You cannot trust any liens, and this is why navigation is so complicated here because there is no reference. You have to stay properly on track otherwise 200 metres later you lose the reference, and you can have doubts on your navigation. It happens two or three times a day where bikes were not exactly on the track and then they split in all directions just because they lose the reference. It’s really a tough section just because there are lines everywhere, so you have to stay super-focused until the end. »
RALLYE DU MAROC STAGE 3 RESULTS – Zagora-Zagora
Stage distance: 360km Liaison distance: 228.5km Total distance: 588.5km
1. Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Édouard Boulanger (FRA), 3h34m51s
25. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Fabian Lurquin (BEL), 4h40m59s
26. Lucas Moraes (BRA)/Pablo Moreno (ESP), 5h48.49s
RALLYE DU MAROC ULTIMATE CATEGORY OVERALL RESULTS AFTER STAGE 3 (UNOFFICIAL)
22. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Fabian Lurquin (BEL), +1h41m23s
24. Lucas Moraes (BRA)/Pablo Moreno (ESP), +2h04m25s
28. Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Édouard Boulanger (FRA), +20h22m55s
RALLYE DU MAROC: THE BIG NUMBER
25: Sébastien Loeb is now a 25-time stage winner in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship following his rapid run through Stage 3 of Rallye du Maroc alongside navigator Édouard Boulanger today.
THE DAY AHEAD: STAGE 4, OCTOBER 2
Rallye du Maroc’s penultimate stage is also its longest stage and 63 kilometres longer than the distance the motorcycle competitors will negotiate. Based northeast of Zagora it includes sections in canyons, tricky navigation and tracks previously unused.
Stage distance: 382km Liaison distance: 132km Total distance: 514km
Linda Hirvonen,