The third day of the Baja Morocco on Saturday was entirely dominated by the weather. The organisation had already shortened the special stage beforehand from 380 to 263 kilometres due to flooding in the western part of the route, but even that adjusted version was put to the test by the persistent rain. The start was postponed by an hour, and on parts of the course rivers formed where tracks normally run. Where the pools of water made the trail impassable, it became a slog through the mud.
Despite the conditions, racing did go ahead in the end, and with clear-cut results. Noa Sainct won again among the bikes, Mathieu Serradori set the fastest time of the entire day across all categories in the cars, and among the SSVs, Alexandre Pinto and Bernardo Oliveira were the quickest for the second time in a row. For the Netherlands there was good news on two fronts: Puck Klaassen returned to the rally and immediately set the third-fastest time among the SSVs, while Rik van den Brink recorded the second time in the cars.
Sainct wins again, Trelluyer beats Verhoestraete
Sainct finished the way he started among the bikes. The Frenchman of Nomade Racing completed the shortened stage in 4:05:30, winning all three stages so far. Behind him things were tighter: Louis Trelluyer set the second time with 4:17:10 and kept Franck Verhoestraete behind him by a 39-second margin. Boris Bretez followed in fourth at 15:34, ahead of Thomas Kongshoj and Florian Barbotte.
In the overall standings the order remains intact. Sainct leads with 15:14:53 and has now extended his advantage over Verhoestraete to 1:02:33. Trelluyer is third at 2:01:28, with Bretez and Kongshoj behind him.
Pinto and Oliveira quickest once again, Klaassen straight up to speed
Among the SSVs, Pinto and Oliveira set the fastest time for the second day in a row with 3:46:50 in BBR’s Odysée CR-X. Adrien Choblet and Paul Durame limited the damage to 9:13 and thereby stay on the heels of the Portuguese pair. Klaassen and her Argentine navigator Augusto Sanz completed the day’s podium in their first stage of this rally, at 10:30 from the winners.
Behind them came George Hales and Max Delfino at 17:11, Du Xuanyi and Tian Yu, and Andréa Deldossi and Jérémy Tricaud. Harite Gabari and Vincent Ferri also made their presence felt again with the eighth time, after having been forced to retire from the opening stage with broken suspension arms.
The stage win also brings Pinto and Oliveira to the top of the overall standings, with 13:40:50. Choblet and Durame, who had still been leading after two stages, follow at 15:51. Deldossi and Tricaud are third at 1:19:00, just ahead of Hales and Delfino at 1:19:17. After three stages, twenty SSV crews are in the standings.
Serradori dictates in the cars
Among the cars, Serradori and Loïc Minaudier in the Century CR7 were in a class of their own. Their time of 3:32:35 was good not only for the stage win in the cars, but also the fastest time of the day across all categories, a good fourteen minutes quicker than the best SSV. Van den Brink and Gydo Heimans set the second time in the second Century CR7, at 30:58 from their teammates.
Yasir Seaidan and Jean Michel Polato followed third with the Toyota Land Cruiser 300GR Sport at 39:16, just ahead of Jérôme Cambier and Antoine Lecourbe. Daniel Beecroft and Phillip Gillespie were fifth in the Redlined Revo T1+, ahead of David Gerard and Pascal Delacour and the second Redlined of Dave Beecroft and Fraser Parish.
In the overall standings Serradori leads after three stages with 13:53:39. Daniel Beecroft and Gillespie are second at 1:57:59, Dave Beecroft and Parish third at 5:57:26. Van den Brink and Heimans surface in fourth after their strong stage, at 6:42:27, followed by Cambier, Gerard and Seaidan.
Baragwanath: test work under harsh conditions
Brian Baragwanath and Jayden Els are using the Baja Morocco mainly as a development programme for the new Odysée CR-X, and so far that is demanding plenty from their mechanics. According to Baragwanath, work continued through the nights, among other things on the fuel pick-up in the tank, and after each day they check which parts do and do not wear on what he calls a particularly demanding course.
On the first day a missed waypoint just before the finish cost them time; on the second day, roughly fifty kilometres from the end, they had to deal with the failure of the rear brake after a line was struck by a rock, and with a punctured left front tyre. Baragwanath and Els swap seats between them so that both can gain navigation experience. The goal is clear: the Moroccan terrain, with its mix of dunes, fast tracks and rocks, is meant to get the car ready for the Rallye du Maroc and the Dakar Rally.
Puck Klaassen is back at the Baja Morocco
Puck Klaassen is back at the Baja Morocco. The organisation said it was glad the Dutchwoman was joining after all: “So happy to have Puck back with us again this year for the last 3 days of the Baja Morocco!” She is driving with Sanz in G Rally Team’s G-Ecko for the final three stages of the rally. Her return was immediately convincing: the third time of the day among the SSVs, at 10:30 from stage winners Pinto and Oliveira and just over a minute from standings leader Choblet. Because she did not run the first two stages, she does not count in the overall standings.
Rik van den Brink and Gydo Heimans confirmed their good form from Friday in the mud. The second time in the cars, behind only their teammates Serradori and Minaudier, also brings them back into the overall standings, where they now stand fourth at 6:42:27 from the leader. With that, the pair have recovered from the lost opening day, when an engine power problem sent them back to the bivouac after just a few kilometres.
According to Heimans, the shortened stage still left about 270 kilometers of special stage, featuring everything Morocco has to offer. He highlighted beautiful landscapes, rocky sections, and heavy impacts, interspersed with dunes, stretches of camel grass, and off-piste sections. In his view, this combination demanded a great deal from both the car and the crew. He was satisfied with the result: “second in the car category and fifth overall.” His focus then immediately shifted to Sunday.
Kees Koolen and Wouter Rosegaar, in their Ford Raptor from RD Limited, are still in Merzouga, but have yet to record a stage time in this rally.
Sunday: 300 kilometres north of Merzouga
The fourth stage starts on Sunday right at the bivouac and runs across 300 kilometres of special stage through the area north of Merzouga, with a winding loop in the northwest and an offshoot to the northeast. At kilometre points 120 and 215, at the same spot, there is a fuel stop with neutralisation, of twenty and 45 minutes respectively. After the finish south of the bivouac there follows another ten kilometres of liaison, bringing the day’s distance to 310 kilometres. Whether the weather will once again throw a spanner in the works remains to be seen.
(The results and interim standings mentioned are the provisional classifications published by the organisation after three stages and are subject to change.)
