FIM performance of the day: Ventura can almost touch the title… and a promotion
Monster Energy Honda HRC entrusted Martim Ventura with a factory 450 at the Rallye OLA Energy du Maroc, and the Portuguese rider has proved worthy of the gift. The Rally2 winner was also on the pace of the RallyGP riders, finishing fifth overall in the FIM standings as the second-best Honda rider, behind Ricky Brabec (third), but ahead of Adrien Van Beveren (sixth), Tosha Schareina (seventh), Preston Campbell (tenth) and Bruno Crivilin (thirteenth).
Ventura, who had already won the Desafío Ruta 40 YPF, can almost touch the Rally2 title: only Toni Mulec (BAS World KTM), 18 points behind, remains a distant threat. Under the regulations, winning the title after the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge would mean promotion to RallyGP for Ventura. He has already shown here that he has the speed to compete at the sharp end of the premier class.
FIA performance of the day: Triple treat for Toyota
2023 was the last time a Hilux driver (Yazeed Al Rajhi) won in Morocco. It was also the last time three Hiluxes, those of Nasser Al Attiyah, Juan Cruz Yacopini and Al Rajhi, locked up the podium in a W2RC round. Three years on, Toyota have done it again with three new faces.
Seth Quintero (Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC) put the marque back on top by winning the Rallye OLA Energy du Maroc. João Ferreira (Toyota Gazoo Racing SA) and Henk Lategan (Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC) rounded out a Toyota 1-2-3. The result also breathes new life into Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC’s manufacturers’ championship prospects. The team is now just 46 points behind The Dacia Sandriders, who remain favourites heading into the finale.
FIM: Sanders never stopped believing
Daniel Sanders (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) lost big time yesterday, dropping 10′13″ to the winner. The Australian had even relinquished the overall lead to his teammate Edgar Canet by 1′30″. Twenty-four hours later, he is back on top of the Rallye OLA Energy du Maroc with 1′31″ in hand over the Spaniard. Even a crash around km 100 did not jeopardise his dominance on stage 4.
"Chucky" is padding his stats in style, claiming a record-breaking 36th RallyGP victory and continuing his run of winning at least one day out of every two since the bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal. Sanders has won 11 of the 17 specials contested since the Portuguese round and put himself in an ideal position to win the Moroccan rally tomorrow. A word of caution, though: since he won today, that means he will have to open stage 5, which did not work in his favour in stage 3 yesterday. All eyes now turn to Zagora!
Benavides bounces back
When the going gets tough, Luciano Benavides (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) gets going. Yesterday, the Argentinian sat in fifth place, 8′19″ from the lead of the Rallye OLA Energy du Maroc. 24 hours later, the winner of the Dakar has rocketed up to second place, 1′25″ from the lead, thanks to his victory today. Third in the championship, a mere 6 points from his teammate Daniel Sanders, currently third overall, Benavides still has a real shot at claiming a second W2RC crown three years after bagging his first right here in Morocco.
FIA : Moraes soars from the front of the field to the top of the ranking
Lucas Moraes (The Dacia Sandriders) seemed bound for trouble when he overtook João Ferreira (Toyota Gazoo Racing SA) and found himself opening the FIA race shortly after the beginning, but the Brazilian did an excellent job at the front of the field for much of the stage. Fourth at 4′46″ from the winner (Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC's Henk Lategan), Moraes did more than just survive. His consistent performance over the last two days has catapulted him to the overall lead, 28 seconds ahead of Lategan. As the icing on the cake, the South African will be opening stage 3 tomorrow, whereas the 2025 W2RC champion will start in fourth place, behind Lategan, Eryk Goczał (Energylandia Rally) and Carlos Sainz (Ford Racing).
Moraes had not topped the board since his victory at the 2025 bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal, then driving a Toyota Hilux. This is therefore his first stint in the lead in a Dacia Sandrider, coming in the same country where he took the world championship last year. "We've won some stages together, but not a race, so that would be nice", he chirped at the start in Agadir. Another three stages stand between him and the title, but he is certainly on the right track.
FIM : Ventura takes the fight to RallyGP
Martim Ventura (Monster Energy Honda HRC) is proving that his team was right to entrust him with a works 450 in Morocco. The Portuguese rider won yesterday's stage, going as far as to clash with the RallyGP riders before fading a bit towards the end (+2′08″). He did just as well today, bagging another Rally2 special and finishing fourth overall in the FIM stage, a mere 18 seconds from the podium. He also sits fourth overall in the FIM ranking, 6′10″ from Daniel Sanders (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing).
Ventura is in the pole position to win another Rally2 round, with 3′36″ in hand over Michael Docherty (Hero MotoSports), and pad his championship lead. HRC's investment in this class is paying off, with three factory riders (Ventura, Preston Campbell and Bruno Crivilin) performing at a high level at the Rallye OLA Energy du Maroc.
A successful career pivot for Walkner
Matthias Walkner has evolved over the years. As a motorbike rider, he won events such as the 2017 Rallye du Maroc and the 2018 Dakar, not to mention the MX3 world championship in 2012 and the 2015 and 2021 Cross-Country Rallies World Championships. He took his final bow as a rider in Morocco in 2023 before a series of injuries forced him to switch to four wheels. He soon turned heads in the cockpit and inked a deal with Can-Am South Racing, which fine-tuned his SSV for this rally. By clinching victory in Zagora, Walkner has become the first W2RC entrant to claim stages in both SSV and RallyGP. His most recent championship victory had come in the 2022 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, in his earlier life as a KTM factory rider. The Austrian, 40, has completed a successful career pivot.
