Seven months after the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, the second round of the FIA and FIM World Rally-Raid Championships, the W2RC caravan will be back in Africa from October 1st to 6th for the Rallye du Maroc.
Almost immediately afterwards, from October 18 to 23, just across the Straits of Gibraltar, the final round will take place on the Andalucía Rally. A second part of the championship straddling two continents that will be fought out at full speed.
The Rallye du Maroc will be a decisive turning point for this first W2RC World Rally-Raid Championship in each category where nothing has yet been decided. The tightest and most closely watched duel will be in the cars. Loeb (Bahrain Raid Xtreme) and Al Attiyah (Toyota Gazoo Racing) are only separated by just one point, in favour of the Frenchman!
SAND, NAVIGATION AND BIVOUACS
Due to the heat wave that hit Europe this summer, the Andalucía Rally was postponed until the autumn. The Rallye du Maroc, initially scheduled as the final round, has given up this place but has not lost its status as the dress rehearsal for the Dakar. All the W2RC contenders and rally-raid stars will be present next week at the start of the third round of the W2RC in Agadir. The Audi team will be out in full force, with Peterhansel, Sainz and Ekström. A first since the last Dakar, a full-scale test for the second generation RS Q e-tron. Martin Prokop (Benzina Orlen) will also be back with his Ford Raptor RS Cross Country. For its 22nd edition, the Rallye du Maroc has unveiled a route that is very different from previous editions. It is towards the less touristy territories of the south of the Kingdom, around Tan Tan and Laâyoune, that the race will take place along the Atlantic coast. On less marked tracks and with a higher proportion of sand, not dissimilar to the kind of terrain found in Saudi Arabia, the five stages will be punctuated with four bivouacs. A stage profile similar to the upcoming 2023 W2RC Dakar that reshuffles the deck for all the Rallye du Maroc regulars, including title holders Nasser Al Attiyah in cars and Pablo Quintanilla (Monster Energy Honda) in the RallyGP bikes.
T1: THE CATEGORY GETS STRONGER
The battle between the leaders Sébastien Loeb and Nasser Al Attiyah, separated by a single point, is expected to start right from the off in Agadir. But they will have to keep an eye on other contenders... and get used to it! In the Overdrive Racing clan, there will be four crews equipped with the Hilux T1+: Yazeed Al Rajhi, Erik Van Loon, Lionel Baud and Jan Cruz Yacopini. To support Loeb at BRX, "Orly" Terranova, 4th on the last Dakar, will be back in action. At the wheel of their X-Raid Mini JCW buggies, there will be another two challengers: Jakub Przygonski and Sebastian Halpern. And then there’s the return of Guerlain Chicherit (CGK Motorsport). The Frenchman recently announced that he was entering the 2023 W2RC and that he would be joining it in Morocco. And not just in any old car… the Savoyard will be equipped with the same Prodrive Hunter as Loeb.
T3: CHALECO VS CRISTINA
Winner of the Dakar in his first season in the category, then of the second round, "Chaleco" Lopez (Can-Am Factory South Racing) is challenging the reigning queen Cristina Gutierrez (Red Bull Off-Road Junior). She is the fastest behind the Chilean with two second places since the beginning of the championship and can count on her three teammates who will again be present on the Rallye du Maroc. Annett Fisher and Jean-Luc Pisson (JLT Racing) in a PH-Sport Zephyr will complete the line-up of regulars since the beginning of the season. But we will also have to watch out for the return of the FN Speed team. They have entered no less than four crews: Pau Navarro, 3rd T3 of the Dakar, Sebastian Guayasamin, Jordi Segura Vidiella and Merce Marti.
T4: VERY CLOSE
Five T4s will be fighting for the championship in Agadir, with the leading trio extremely close on points. Dakar winner Austin Jones (Can-Am Factory South Racing) leads the standings, challenged in Abu Dhabi by Marek Goczal (Cobant-Energylandia Rally) who is now just 4 points behind. Second on the Dakar and the ADDC, the young Lithuanian Rokas Baciuska (South Racing Can-Am) is closing in. Rodrigo Luppi, second in T4 on the Rallye du Maroc 2021, and Lucas Del Rio (South Racing Can-Am) may be teammates, but they are still rivals on the track and have been making progress since the beginning of the season, hoping to quickly match the pace of the leaders.
T5: A REFEREE IS COMING
In the truck category, Martin Macik (MM Technology) and Kees Koolen (Project 2030) were engaged in a duel at the wheel of their Iveco Powerstars. In Morocco, it will be different because another Czech will make his return to the championship. Present at the Dakar last January after five years of absence, Tomas Vratny (Fesh-Fesh R Sixteam) has decided to come and try and get in among them!
MOTO RALLYGP: SUNDERLAND SOLO
All the factory riders will be there, with the exception of the reigning world champion and third in the provisional championship, Matthias Walkner (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing). Daniel Sanders (Gas Gas Factory Racing), still recovering from injury, will also stay at home. Sunderland, winner of the first two rounds, will not be able to count on his record of achievements in Morocco, which is less impressive than that of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, nor on a GasGas teammate. That will not be the case for Quintanilla. The Rallye du Maroc title holder will be able to enjoy the support of no less than three teammates. For one of them, Adrien Van Beveren, the current vice-world champion, it will be the occasion to test his Honda under race conditions for the first time. Among the 14 factory riders in the race will be representatives from Hero Motosports, Sherco and Husqvarna. These three teams will be out in full force for the first time this season!
MOTO RALLY 2: A STRONG NEW GENERATION
Seven male and one female rider have entered the Rally 2 class. The hierarchy at the top has already been established with the young Californian Mason Klein (BAS World KTM Racing) in the lead, followed by the 30-year-old Romain Dumontier (Dumontier Racing) and Konrad Dabrowski (Duust Rally). But the young Bradley Cox (BAS World KTM Racing) and the experienced Mario Patrao, a former factory rider who returned to the Dakar via the Original by Motul last January, have the speed to get in among the front runners. Franco Picco (Fantic Rally), the veteran of the motorcycle category and all-round Dakar legend will continue to develop the Italian brand’s customer model.
QUAD: ANDUJAR RETURNS!
Winner of the Dakar 2021, forced to abandon last January, Manuel Andujar has decided to return to the race next week. The confrontation with the Frenchman Alexandre Giroud, title holder of the last Dakar and current leader of the championship, promises to be intense. Especially since they will be teammates in the French team Dragon. Jurav Varga, 5th in the provisional ranking, should be back on the podium in the absence of his rivals.
THE PROGRAMME
This Friday, September 30 will begin the administrative and technical checks in the Agadir Stadium. It will continue on Saturday morning, October 1st before the start of the qualifying stage (stage 1A) in the afternoon. The W2RC caravan will set off on Sunday, October 2 for an Agadir-Agadir loop consisting of five stages punctuated by four bivouacs. 2316 km await the competitors, including 1575 km of special stage.
