- A prologue with a 17 km timed section got the ball rolling on the 27th Rallye OLA Energy du Maroc today. 132 FIM entries were cleared to start (click here for the full list), including 130 championship entrants: 8 in RallyGP, 111 in Rally2, 8 in Rally3 and 3 in quad.
- Daniel Sanders only missed out on the Moroccan round in 2025. Fast-forward one year and the Australian has fired up his revenge with a dominant performance in the prologue, 12 seconds ahead of Edgar Canet and 13 clear of Ricky Brabec. While KTM remain undefeated in prologues in 2026, Bruno Crivilin got Honda a consolation prize with victory in Rally2.
- FIA competitors were given the option of taking part in a shakedown ahead of Tuesday's stage 1. 110 crews were cleared to start (click here for the full list), including 49 championship entrants: 33 in Ultimate, 4 in Stock, 6 in Challenger and 6 in SSV.
- Agadir and Zagora are "just" 636 km away (including 268 km against the clock)! See you on the Race Center at 8:15 am (UTC+0) tomorrow for live coverage of stage 1.
RALLYGP: Sanders talks the talk and walks the walk
"Going into the race with a narrow lead, the plan is to win", warned Daniel Sanders (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), 3 points clear of Tosha Schareina (Monster Energy Honda HRC) at the top of the championship ranking. Mission accomplished, at least on day one. The 2025 world champion was unbeatable in the 16.7 km prologue, defeating his teammate Edgar Canet by 12 seconds and Ricky Brabec (Honda) by 13. His 34th RallyGP victory —the 40th for Australia— also handed him the early lead in the 2026 Rallye OLA Energy du Maroc, the only race that slipped from his grasp in 2025. The winner of the previous edition, Schareina, finished sixth today, 32 seconds off the pace. KTM, still unbeaten in prologues in 2026, placed three machines in the top 4, with Luciano Benavides fourth at 25 seconds.
Fourteen riders will take part in the start order selection for stage 1 this evening: the ten RallyGP riders plus the four Rally2 entrants who cracked the top 10. As the fastest rider today, Sanders will get the last word and can therefore choose whichever position he likes best.
RALLY2: Crivilin by a whisker
After signing for Hero last April, Michael Docherty thought he had his first win with the Indian marque in the bag. However, Bruno Crivilin (Monster Energy Honda HRC) denied him by six tenths of a second! The Brazilian, who had already taken stage 1 of the Desafío Ruta 40 YPF in his inaugural W2RC appearance, picked up his second win ahead of the South African and his teammate, the championship leader Martim Ventura (+1″). Preston Campbell placed a third works Honda inside the top 4, just 6 seconds off the pace.
RALLY3: A Triumph-ant performance
Albert Martín made history on more than one count when he rolled back into the bivouac in Zagora. On one hand, the Spaniard was the first rider to enter a W2RC round astride a Triumph. On the other hand, he rode his TF 450-X to the top spot from day one, a whole minute ahead of his teammate Toni Vingut (Visit Sant Antoni-Ibiza). Martín, third in the Original by Motul (malles moto) class in the 2024 Dakar, also became the first Spanish victor in Rally3, the nineteenth winner in the class and the 136th competitor to add his name to the annals of the W2RC.
QUADS: 5-star performance by Kanopkinas
The 2024 Rallye du Maroc winner in the quad race, Antanas Kanopkinas (CFMoto Thunder), reminded everyone why he is the man to beat. The Lithuanian put 1′11″ into Leonardo Martínez (Can-Am Martínez) to bag his fifth consecutive special, after the last four stages of the Desafío Ruta 40 YPF. It was also his twentieth career victory and his ninth of the 2026 season.
SCHEDULE
- Tuesday, 29 September: stage 1: Agadir–Zagora (total: 636 km / special: 268 km)
- Wednesday, 30 September: stage 2: Zagora–Zagora (total: 423 km / special: 300 km)
- Thursday, 1 October: stage 3: Zagora–Zagora (total: 592 km / special: 364 km)
- Friday, 2 October: stage 4: Zagora–Zagora (total: 516 km for FIA — 453 km for FIM / special: 384 km for FIA — 321 km for FIM)
- Saturday, 3 October: stage 5: Zagora–Zagora (total: 357 km / special: 259 km)
6 pm: post-race press conference
7:30 pm: prize ceremony (Zagora bivouac)
