FIM : Sanders grabs the stage and the lead
The trend has been clear since the bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal: Daniel Sanders (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) never goes two days without winning! Beaten yesterday, the Australian had to come out on top today to keep the tradition going. Mission accomplished in style: his closest rivals, his teammate Edgar Canet and the Monster Energy Honda HRC factory rider Adrien Van Beveren, finished more than three minutes back (see Performance of the day). Quite the change from his eight-minute loss yesterday.
Sanders reclaimed the overall lead from Canet (+1′31″). The two men are now set for a straight fight for the overall victory: Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy Honda HRC) is 8′09″ back, while Luciano Benavides (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) has slipped from the podium (see A crushing blow). The championship leader is 357 km away from avenging his defeat in the Rallye OLA Energy du Maroc, the only round where he bent the knee in 2025.
Recruited by Hero MotoSports in the spring, Michael Docherty was still waiting for his first win with the Indian manufacturer. After three second places this week, the South African finally converted his pace into victory (see Stat of the day), fending off Neels Theric (Kove Factory, +1′35″) and Martim Ventura (Monster Energy Honda HRC, +2′11″). Ventura remains firmly in command of the overall standings with the finish looming tomorrow. Unbeaten since day one, Albert Martín (Triumph Spain) was finally undone by Murun Purevdorj (Xraids Experience) in Rally3 after missing a waypoint, whereas Antanas Kanopkinas (CFMoto Thunder Racing) is one day away from completing a clean sweep in the quad race.
FIA: Ekström shines, Toyota rules
Mattias Ekström (Ford Racing) was running fourth in the Rallye OLA Energy du Maroc when a mechanical knocked him out of contention before he had even started yesterday's special. Undeterred, the Swede fought back to claim his eleventh W2RC victory today, also the eleventh by a Ford Raptor, which secured its first win of the week (see Figure of the day). Another Raptor driver, Mitch Guthrie, rounded out the stage podium (+2′32″), with Henk Lategan (Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC) slotting his Hilux between them at 35″.
Quiet since the start, sixth in the stage (+3′10″), Seth Quintero (Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC) was the other big winner of the day, as he has taken over at the top of the overall, ahead of his teammate Lategan (+2′45″). Three years after their last win here, Toyota are in pole position to reclaim Moroccan glory (see Performance of the day). The Ford Raptors have not said their last word, however, with Carlos Sainz (+5′41″), Nani Roma (+6′09″) and Guthrie (+6′54″) ready to pounce on any opening and earn the Blue Oval its first victory in the rally.
Rokas Baciuška (Defender Rally) bagged his first stage win of the week in Stock, where his teammate Stéphane Peterhansel remains firmly in control of the overall. The same goes for Alexandre Pinto (Old Friends Rally), the stage winner and leader in Challenger, who is on course to seize the top spot in the championship. The SSV battle could hardly be tighter, with Matthias Walkner (South Racing Can-Am) closing to within nine seconds of Jeremías Ferioli (Can-Am Factory) thanks to his victory today!
