Scrutineering for the 25th edition of the Rallye du Maroc took place at the Barcelo Palmeraie Oasis Resort. 267 vehicles have been cleared to take the start (134 in FIM class, 124 in FIA and 9 in Open), including 59 W2RC entrants. The organisers have tinkered around the edges of the route due to rain over the last few weeks. It still covers a total of 2,488 km (1,529 km of specials). Three of the 26 FIM motorbike and quad riders in the championship are eyeing the RallyGP title: Ross Branch (Hero MotoSports) will be up against the Monster Energy Honda riders Ricky Brabec and Adrien Van Beveren. Seven titles are up for grabs in the car category, with 33 W2RC crews given the go-ahead. Nasser Al Attiyah (Dacia Sandriders), Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive Racing) and Lucas Moraes (Toyota Gazoo Racing) will be battling it out for the FIA crown. The first day of racing is set to be intense, with a 73 km prologue (25 km timed) followed by a 372 km road section to Zagora.
FIM: "MAY THE BEST MAN WIN!"
Three Hero riders are in action in Morocco. The RallyGP championship leader since February, Ross Branch, is backed by Sebastian Bühler and Nacho Cornejo in his quest for the crown. On the other side, Monster Energy Honda have lined up 4 riders to take on the Indian brand: Ricky Brabec, Adrien Van Beveren, Tosha Schareina and Pablo Quintanilla. The American and the Frenchman are both in the hunt for the title, trailing Branch by 9 and 16 points, respectively. "May the best man win", as the Botswanan put it (see Quotes). Honda is among the 9 Rally2 entries, with the reigning champion, Romain Dumontier, looking to secure back-to-back titles. His biggest threat comes from Bradley Cox (BAS World KTM), who sits just 8 points behind. The Rally3 field consists of 7 riders, including the new champion John Medina (Xraids Experience), crowned thanks to his lead of more than 25 points over the competitors entering in Morocco. He will go head to head with members of the Africa Rallye Team like local hero Souleymane Addahri and Fodé Traoré from Senegal. 3 quad riders are competing in the W2RC.
FIA: JUDGMENT DAY
All eyes are on the title showdown between the two-time world champion, Nasser Al Attiyah, and his closest rival, Yazeed Al Rajhi. Just 25 points separate them at the top of the FIA standings. The Qatari has the edge, but he will be racing in a new vehicle, unlike the Saudi. Toyota Gazoo Racing's factory Hiluxes are in the hands of Lucas Moraes and Seth Quintero. Meanwhile, X-raid Mini JCW's fresh recruits, Guerlain Chicherit and Guillaume de Mévius, will be looking to join the fight in a convoy of 16 Ultimate cars. 11 vehicles are competing in the Challenger class, including 7 Taurus. The Goczał family —Eryk, Marek and Michał— are all with Energylandia. Mitch Guthrie (Red Bull Off-Road Junior) is revving up for his final race in the class. BBR welcome Nicolas Cavigliasso, joining Dania Akeel and Marcelo Gastaldi. The Can-Am factory driver Rokas Baciuška is the main threat to the Taurus squad, aiming to shine and clinch the championship. In the SSV class, 4 of the 6 entrants are in the title hunt: Sebastian Guayasamín (BE Racing) followed by Yasir Seaidan (MMP) at 6 points, Ricardo Ramilo (Scuderia Ramilo-Rodamoto) at 20 and Rebecca Busi (OnlyFans Racing) at 41.
FIM / FIA STATS: 2 Ross Branch
will clinch the RallyGP title if he finishes in one of the top 2 spots in the rally, no matter whether Ricky Brabec or Adrien Van Beveren wins. Romain Dumontier faces a similar scenario in Rall2: finishing 2nd will be enough for him to secure 2nd title in the class, even if Bradley Cox or Konrad Dabrowski (Duust Rally) emerges victorious. For all the title scenarios, click here. Yazeed Al Rajhi needs to score at least 25 points more than Nasser Al Attiyah to catch him in the championship. It has only happened twice in the 13 W2RC rounds in which they've competed. The first was during the 2023 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge: the Saudi won, while the Qatari retired (44-point difference). The second was a year ago in Morocco, where Al Rajhi won, while his rival finished fifteenth (27-point difference). Can history repeat itself? The Overdrive Racing driver is going to "push hard" and believes in his lucky star (see Quotes).
PROLOGUE:
Competitors will face 25 timed kilometres north of Marrakech. The race director, David Castera, warns that there will be "rather fast tracks with some rocky sections. It's slippery, so you'll need to keep a sharp eye. This is pure handling—proper technique will be key". It will also be the first official outing for RallyGP riders using the electronic road book. A 372 km road section lies ahead to reach Zagora, crossing the High Atlas mountains over the famous Tizi n'Tichka pass, once a route for trade caravans. With such a packed schedule, early starts will be the order of the day in the Red City, as the first competitor rolls out of the bivouac at 6:55 am!
QUOTES:
Ross Branch (Hero MotoSports):
"I'm thrilled to be leading the championship going into the final round. Honda have a really strong team ready to give it their all, but we're ready for the challenge! The team has worked incredibly hard and so have I. I can't wait to have fun in the desert and take part in a race with navigation opportunities galore. May the best rider and the best team win!"
Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy Honda):
"The next five days are going to be long. There are three riders who can win the title, including myself. Taking the championship would be really cool. The pressure won’t get to me; I'm just going to give it my best shot. In a day or two, we might have a better idea of how the race will unfold."
Adrien Van Beveren (Monster Energy Honda):
"I'm in great shape and we've worked well with the team. There are some updates on the bike, particularly with the chassis, although we're sticking with the same base. It's a tough, well-rounded rally. With the rains over the past few weeks, we'll have rough terrain ahead. There will be more dangers than usual, so we'll need to keep our eyes peeled and stay very focused on the road book. I love Morocco; the country is part of the essence of rally raids, and I'm eager to do well here."
Romain Dumontier (Honda Team):
"I've got the championship in mind and it would be great to bag a second title. I have a new Honda: I'm in charge of developing this new production bike, which future customers will be able to use in W2RC races. I'm heading out to achieve the best possible result, but I also need to discover and learn more about this machine."
Nasser Al Attiyah (The Dacia Sandriders):
"Dacia is a new team, but Prodrive and the drivers have plenty of experience. This is a litmus test. Over the last three months, I've come to Morocco once a month. Having three cars here in such a short time is already incredible. I'm leading the championship, and for me, it's really important to finish the race with points."
Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive Racing):
"We won last year and we want to repeat that result. Our first objective is to win the rally; our second is to claim the title because it's not entirely in our hands. We lost some points at the Dakar, so we'll need a bit of luck. Anything can happen, so we're going to push to the max." Rokas Baciuška (Can-Am Factory):
"It's going to be an interesting race because there are a lot of riders and new projects here. You always want to go as fast as possible, but my main goal is to be crowned world champion. We'll see about the rest! I have quite a bit of points in hand, so my aim is to enjoy myself, find my rhythm and bring the car home."
Nicolás Cavigliasso (BBR):
"This is my first big race in my new colours. Our goal is to start working well together as we look ahead to next season. The team is incredible. We've done a lot of testing over the past two weeks on different parts of the Taurus and I'm really pleased with it. I feel like we've taken a step forward with the car."
Sebastián Guayasamín (BE Racing):
"We started the season with a few points to make up, but we knew our strength was our experience and that we needed to be consistent and finish every day. This isn’t a sprint. The championship only ends once you cross the very last finish line. I'm feeling confident. I've never been this well prepared in my whole life. Mechanics, physical fitness, mental work, team building with my co-driver… We've done our homework to become world champions!"
Yasir Seaidan (MMP):
"We've made a lot of changes to make the vehicle safer and we've logged around 500 kilometres of testing to make sure everything is in good shape. We've swapped out the engine and adjusted the car's settings because we don't want to take too many risks. We know Morocco well and our goal is to finish strong."
SCHEDULE
6th october : prologue -
7h45 : prologue à Marrakech (liaison : 48 km / spéciale : 25 km / Total : 73 km) - 12h00-21h00 : ouverture de la salle de presse (bivouac Zagora)
7 october :stage 1 -
Zagora - Zagora (liaison : 227 km / spéciale : 272 km / Total : 499 km)
8 octobre : stage 2 -
Zagora - Zagora (liaison : 158 km / spéciale : 317 km / Total : 475 km)
9 october : stage 3 -
Zagora - Mengoub/Bouârfa (liaison : 360 km / spéciale : 327 km / Total : 687 km)
10 october : stage 4 -
Mengoub/Bouârfa - Mengoub/Bouârfa (liaison : 63 km / spéciale : 315 km / Total : 378 km)
11 october : stage 5
Mengoub/Bouârfa - Mengoub/Bouârfa (liaison : 103 km / spéciale : 273 km / Total : 376 km) Heures locales indiquées : GMT +1
