FIM: Honda paint the town red
After four third-place finishes in the Rallye OLA Energy du Maroc, including last season, Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy Honda HRC) wants to turn bronze into gold. The Monster Energy Honda HRC rider drew first blood in his duel with the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing posse, rolling into Zagora with 23 seconds to spare over Daniel Sanders, 44 over Edgar Canet and 1′53″ over Luciano Benavides. This win, his first since stage 12 of the Dakar, also propelled him to the top of the leader board by 10 seconds over Sanders and 43 over Canet. As fate would have it, this is also the first time that an HRC rider sits at the summit for the first time since stage 12 of the Dakar (see Figure of the day).
Martim Ventura took two for Honda in Rally2 after going head to head with the RallyGP riders at the beginning of the stage. The Portuguese ace earned his ninth W2RC victory, while Michael Docherty (Hero MotoSports) is still chasing his maiden win with his new Indian outfit. Ventura is now perched at the top of the ranking with 58 seconds in hand over the South African and 9′17″ over his teammate Bruno Crivilin, who had won the prologue.
Albert Martín (Triumph Spain) was in a league of his own in Rally3. The first W2RC entrant on a Triumph secured his second consecutive win. Antanas Kanopkinas (CFMoto Thunder Racing) also struck again in the quad race.
FIA : FERREIRA AT THE BUZZER
Guy Botterill (Toyota Gazoo Racing SA), Carlos Sainz (Ford Racing), Guillaume de Mévius (X-Raid Mini) and Mathieu Serradori (Century Factory Racing) played a game of musical chairs in a closely fought stage. Yet it was João Ferreira (Toyota Gazoo Racing SA) who emerged victorious from the mad dash to the line, romping home with just 3 seconds to spare over Lucas Moraes and his Dacia. The Portuguese driver's fifth career win in Ultimate also put him in the lead of the Rallye OLA Energy du Maroc, with four different vehicles inside the top 4: his own Hilux, the Brazilian's Sandrider, Serradori's CR7 (+16″) and Mitch Guthrie's Ford Raptor (+1′07″).
Sébastien Loeb was performing at the level of his stablemate Moraes when mechanical disaster struck at km 202. The Frenchman will relinquish the crown he conquered in Erfoud a year ago and could even lose his championship lead (see A crushing blow). His closest rivals, Nasser Al Attiyah (The Dacia Sandriders) and Seth Quintero (Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC), are within four minutes of Moraes.
