Just 8 days to go until the fifth and final round of the championship, the Rallye du Maroc, which will take place from 5 to 11 October. 60 of the 270 vehicles on the start list of the 25th edition of the Moroccan race are W2RC entrants. A 2,468 km trek, including 1,512 km of specials, awaits the field on the route from Marrakesh to Mengoub/Bouârfa via Zagora.
27 FIM competitors are set to go head to head in the W2RC, with 7 of them in the Rally GP class. The overall leader, Ross Branch (Hero MotoSports), is feeling the heat from the Monster Energy Honda riders Ricky Brabec and Adrien Van Beveren.
In Rally 2, the title fight is on between Romain Dumontier (Honda), Bradley Cox (BAS World KTM Racing) and Konrad Dąbrowski (Duust Rally). 9 riders will line up in the category, and 8 like in Rally 3. Meanwhile, 3 quads will be scrapping for the championship podium spots.
33 FIA W2RC crews are heading for Marrakesh. Among the 16 in the Ultimate class are the three title contenders: Nasser Al Attiyah (Dacia Sandriders), in his first outing in his new car, and the Hilux drivers Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive Racing) and Lucas Moraes (Toyota Gazoo Racing).
In the Challenger class, with 11 entries in the championship, Rokas Baciuška (Can-Am Factory) needs to keep Nicolás Cavigliasso at bay to claim the title. The tension is high in SSV, where 4 of the 6 contenders are still in the running for the crown.
Final showdown between Branch and Honda
As in 2023, the FIM Rally GP champion will be crowned in Morocco. Ross Branch is leading the standings thanks to his consistency (with top 5 finishes in every round), but he is under serious pressure from the Honda camp. Now only 9 points behind, Ricky Brabec has one goal: to win and hope that other riders wedge themselves between him and his rival. The same goes for Adrien Van Beveren, still mathematically in contention at 16 points from the Botswanan. Both the American and the Frenchman can count on their teammate Tosha Schareina, who has become a W2RC podium regular. However, the team boss, Ruben Faria, has already warned that there will be no team orders unless the title "is on the line"! Rounding out the Honda squad is Pablo Quintanilla. Over at Hero, Sebastian Bühler and Nacho Cornejo are reporting for duty to support Branch and help in the manufacturers' standings, where 22 points separate the two brands, with the Japanese manufacturer holding the advantage.
The Rally 2 championship is also wide open. Romain Dumontier is the favourite to defend his title after winning the Dakar and taking the spoils in Argentina… but Bradley Cox, the reigning champion in Morocco, is just 8 points behind! BAS World KTM Racing is coming in full force, with Michael Docherty, a potential race winner, racing alongside Mathieu Dovèze, who has been on the rise since winning stages at the Dakar, Tobias Ebster, victorious in Original by Motul, and the Czech rider Jiří Brož. His countryman Jan Brabec will also be on a KTM, but in Stojrent Racing colours. Over at Duust, Konrad Dąbrowski still has a shot at the title, trailing Dumontier by 23 points. Meanwhile, Jean-Loup Lepan is eyeing his third podium of the season.
John Medina (Xraids Experience) already has the Rally 3 title in the bag and wants to celebrate in style. He will need to overcome his teammate Alan Eduardo and the local hero Amine Echiguer, who came out on top in 2022! Last year's podium finishers, Richard Hodola and Souleymane Addahri (Africa Rallye Team), are out for revenge after missing out on the top step. The Moroccan Addahri is one of two ART selections, along with the Senegalese rider Fodé Traoré. The grid is rounded out by the Frenchman Emmanuel Beucher and the Ecuadorian Mauricio Cueva (Pedrega Team). In the quad category, all W2RC entrants are gunning for a spot on the overall podium. The champion, Manuel Andújar (7240), went out of the category with a bang, but the runner-up's spot is still up for grabs. Kamil Wiśniewski (Orlen Team) has been the best of the rest so far, but Hani Alnoumesi and Antanas Kanopkinas (CFMOTO Thunder Racing) are just 1 and 8 points behind him.
Al Attiyah faces off against Toyota in Dacia debut
The reigning two-time FIA W2RC champion, Nasser Al Attiyah, is going into the race as the overall leader and on familiar ground, holding the record for the most wins in Morocco (2014 through 2018 and 2021). Securing a third crown would be the perfect way to mark his debut with the Dacia Sandrider, which is making its first W2RC appearance. However, he will need to fend off the Toyota crews chasing him —Yazeed Al Rajhi is just 25 points behind, while Lucas Moraes trails by 53. The Saudi, who won here in 2023, is banking on the consistency of his set-up to tip the scales. The dark horses Seth Quintero (Toyota Gazoo Racing) and Juan Cruz Yacopini (Overdrive Racing) have also remained true to the Hilux. TGR are the favourites for the manufacturers' title thanks to their 30-point lead over Nasser Racing by Prodrive.
Al Attiyah is not the only one who will be sporting new colours in Morocco. Guerlain Chicherit, the winner of the 2022 edition, has swapped his Toyota for a Mini JCW Rally Plus from X-raid! The same goes for Guillaume de Mevius, who came in second in the Dakar earlier this season. The Quandt family's squad is rounded out by João Ferreira, who dominated the SSV class here a year ago. There will be two Fords on the grid, with the Czech Martin Prokop (Orlen Jipocar) and the rising Catalan star Pau Navarro (Past Racing). The Moroccan caravan will also feature Marcos Baumgart in the Prodrive Hunter (X Rally), Mathieu Serradori in his Century (SRT), Aliyyah Koloc in her Red-Lined (Buggyra ZM Racing) and the MD Optimus entries of Eugenio Amos and Jean-Luc Ceccaldi (MD Rallye Sport).
Just six specials stand between Rokas Baciuška and a historic first in the Challenger class. The Lithuanian winner of the last SSV championship is targeting an unprecedented double and Nicolás Cavigliasso, 44 points back, is the last remaining obstacle. Marcelo Gastaldi and Dania Akeel will be hunting for the first win of the season for Team BBR. Mitch Guthrie (Red Bull Off-Road Junior) is taking his final bow in a Taurus before trading it for a Ford in the Ultimate class. This will be his first W2RC appearance since the Dakar, as for the entire Goczał clan —Eryk, Marek and Michał—, racing for Energylandia Rally Team! The cousins Mario and Rui Franco (Franco Sport) and the father-daughter duo consisting of Lionel and Lucie Baud (G Rally Team) are also ready for a family outing. Ricardo Porém (MMP) rounds out the list.
Nowhere is the suspense greater than in the SSV class, where 4 of the 6 W2RC crews in the race have still got a shot at the title! A run of bad luck in Portugal and Argentina forced Yasir Seaidan (MMP) to relinquish the overall lead to Sebastián Guayasamín (BE Racing). 6 points separate the two Can-Am drivers, with Ricardo Ramilo (Escuderia Ramilo-Rodamoto) 20 points behind the Ecuadorian. Rebecca Busi (OnlyFans Racing) is also in the mix at 41 points. Claude Fournier (MMP) and Enrico Gaspari in his Polaris (TH-Trucks) are no longer in contention, but they are still spoiling for a fight.
SCHEDULE
- 2 October at 2 pm: opening of the service park (Marrakesh Stadium)
- 3 October from 4 to 8 pm: opening of the press room and accreditation
- 4 October
- 9 am to 8 pm: opening of the press room and accreditation
- 12 to 7 pm: administrative scrutineering
- 1 to 8 pm: technical scrutineering
- 8 pm: general briefing- 5 October:
- 8 am to 3:30 pm: FIA administrative scrutineering
- 8 am to 6 pm: FIM administrative scrutineering
- 9 am to 8 pm: opening of the press room
- 6:20 pm: press conference- 6 October: prologue:
- TBA: prologue in Marrakesh (road section: 49 km / special: 25 km / total: 74 km)
- 12 to 9 pm: opening of the press room (Zagora bivouac)- 7 October: stage 1
- Zagora–Zagora (road section: 228 km / special: 268 km / total: 496 km)- 8 October: stage 2
- Zagora–Zagora (road section: 158 km / special: 317 km / total: 475 km)- 9 October: stage 3
- Zagora–Mengoub-Bouârfa (road section: 358 km / special: 318 km / total: 676 km)- 10 October: stage 4
- Mengoub-Bouârfa–Mengoub-Bouârfa (road section: 61 km / special: 312 km / total: 373 km)- 11 October: stage 5
- Mengoub-Bouârfa–Mengoub-Bouârfa (road section: 102 km / special: 272 km / total: 374 km).Local time: GMT+1.
