The first of four loop days around Erfoud featured the first dunes of the 26th edition of the Rallye du Maroc, over a 394-kilometer Stage 2 (including 307 kilometers of special stage).
In the bikes, Tosha Schareina (Monster Energy Honda HRC) won ahead of his teammate Ricky Brabec. Third-placed Daniel Sanders (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) remains overall leader by just 43 seconds. In Rally2, Michael Docherty (BAS World KTM) won ahead of factory KTM rider Edgar Canet, who now has a lead of only 5'08” over the South African in the overall standings.
In cars, Nasser Al Attiyah (The Dacia Sandriders) won the stage ahead of Nani Roma (Ford M-Sport). The Spaniard is the new race leader ahead of Lucas Moraes (Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC). His teammates Henk Lategan and Seth Quintero both lost a lot of ground.
Stage 3 will take place tomorrow over 326 km, including 323 km of special stage, with the Merzouga dunes once again on the program. Follow the action on the Race Center from 7:15 a.m. (UTC +1).
In the motorcycle category, yesterday's losers are today's winners. Fourth on Stage 1, Schareina took the lead over Sanders in the first crossing of the Merzouga dunes. The Australian, who opened the special stage, was caught off guard (see Quotes). The factory Honda rider won on Tuesday ahead of his teammate Brabec (+2'22'') and Sanders (+3'45''). The winner of the 2024 Rallye du Maroc retains the lead in the overall standings, but by only 43 seconds. Three riders have distinguished themselves since Fez (see Stat of the Day).
In the car category, Nasser Al Attiyah, who lost more than 10 minutes yesterday repairing his front suspension, claimed his second victory after the prologue (see Stat of the Day). Starting in 20th position on the special stage, the Qatari beat an excellent Nani Roma (+1'30''), who was able to emulate his compatriot Schareina. The Spaniard consoled himself by taking the overall lead, moving up from 4th to 1st place, which was occupied this morning by Sébastien Loeb (The Dacia Sandriders). The Frenchman (+4'03’’) and Mattias Ekström (Ford M-Sport, +3'42’’) dropped out of the overall podium. Only Lucas Moraes (2nd, +47’’) remains there. The Brazilian is the strongest man in the Hilux contingent with Joao Ferreira (Toyota Gazoo Racing, 3rd at 3 minutes and 2 seconds).
After Al Attiyah yesterday, this time it was the turn of Moraes' teammates, Seth Quintero and Henk Lategan, to have a bad day. The American, who had the third fastest time on the track as he approached the Merzouga dunes, was forced to return to the bivouac by road to repair his pickup. The South African crew, who were 5th, had to finish in two-wheel drive (see Quotes), losing 1h09'14'' at the finish. Fifth overall this morning, Lategan, who is competing here for the world title against Al Attiyah and Moraes, will not have fond memories of his first time in Merzouga (see W2RC). The day's winner moves up to seventh place overall, 10'26'' behind, compared to 12'40'' this morning.
W2RC: THE TITE RACE IS CLEARING UP
Nasser Al Attiyah did not score any stage points yesterday (20th). His victory today adds 5 points to his FIA championship total, compared to 3 for Lucas Moraes. The Qatari thus regains a 9-point lead over the Brazilian. But above all, Henk Lategan's setbacks relegate him to 30th place overall. The South African is not mathematically out of the title race, but it should now come down to a duel between Al Attiyah and Moraes. The three-time world champion has moved up to 7th place in the Rallye du Maroc, five places behind the Brazilian. In this scenario too, every point – and therefore every position – will count in the quest for the world title.
