- Stage 1 between Fez and Erfoud, the date capital of Morocco, was the longest of this 26th edition of the Rallye du Maroc, covering 779 km, including 298 km of special stage over the Rekkam plateau.
- In the motorcycle category, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing placed Daniel Sanders and Edgar Canet in the top two spots, but teammate Luciano Benavides crashed out. “Chucky” takes the overall lead. Noa Sainct (Nomade Racing), winner in Rally3, gives KTM a triple victory for the day and overall.
- In cars, Sébastien Loeb (The Dacia Sandriders) bounced back from his teammate Nasser Al Attiyah's prologue victory, ahead of Mattias Ekström (Ford M-Sport) and Lucas Moraes (Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC), to take the lead in the rally. Al Attiyah, in 20th place, was the day's loser.
- Stage 2, the first of four loop stages around Erfoud, will take place tomorrow over 394 km, including 307 km of special stage with the first dunes. Follow the action on the Race Center from 7:15 a.m. (UTC +1).
SANDERS WINS, LOEB SAVES DACIA’S DAY
Ricky Brabec (Monster Energy Honda HRC) failed to capitalize on his prologue victory. After a poor start to the special stage (see quotes), the American was never in contention today. Daniel Sanders was the fastest from start to finish, followed in the timesheets by Edgar Canet (+1'24''), his teammate competing in the Rally2 category. An triple orange was on the cards until km 219, when Luciano Benavides crashed, retiring with injuries to his shoulder and knee. At the finish of the special stage, “Chucky” claimed his fourth victory on the Rallye du Maroc (stage 4 in 2021, stages 3-4 in 2024), his 16th of the season, and his 24th in the world championship, all of which are current records. Ross Branch (Hero MotoSports) completed the day's podium (+4'05''). The four factory Hondas followed in single file at the finish of the special stage.
In the overall standings, Sanders takes the lead with a 1'35“ advantage over his Spanish teammate and 4'38” over the Hero rider from Botswana. Benavides' retirement reduces the battle for the world championship podium behind Sanders to a head-to-head between Brabec and Tosha Schareina. This is the consolation prize for the Reds, who can also hope to get back into the fight for the manufacturers' title, which they have held for the last three seasons.
In cars, Nasser Al Attiyah, like Ricky Brabec, failed to capitalize on yesterday's victory. At km 210, the Qatari stopped for nearly 10 minutes to make repairs (see quotes). He finished the day in 20th place (+12'40''). This may already be the turning point of the race for the winner of the 2024 edition, but also for the defense of his world championship title (see W2RC). Ahead of him, teammate Sébastien Loeb had a flawless day and became the race leader. The Frenchman narrowly beat Mattias Ekström (+27”) and Lucas Moraes (+29”). Nani Roma (Ford M-Sport, +44 seconds), Henk Lategan (Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC, +1 minute 16 seconds) and Carlos Sainz (Ford M-Sport, +1 minute 55 seconds) are also close behind.
W2RC: THE NOOSE IS TIGHTENING
Nasser Al Attiyah arrived at the Rallye du Maroc with a 9-point lead over Henk Lategan and 10 points ahead of Lucas Moraes in the world championship. The Qatari did not score any stage points on Monday, unlike the Brazilian (3rd, +3 pts) and the South African (5th, +1 pt). The virtual standings now show Moraes as Al Attiyah's new runner-up, 7 points behind, with Lategan 8 points behind. Every kilometer will count in Erfoud, where the fourth FIA title in the history of the W2RC will be decided. There are still 53 points up for grabs, including 3 in the Power Selective Section, a new feature introduced this year that will conclude the 2025 season. What if the title is decided over this final sprint?
