Edgar Canet (KTM) has won the Rallye du Maroc in the motorcycle class. On the final day the 21-year-old Spaniard made up a 1 minute and 26 second deficit to teammate Daniel Sanders and won by a margin of 1 minute and 2 seconds. In the cars, overall victory went to Seth Quintero (Toyota), who led a Toyota podium. The final stage was won by Ricky Brabec (Honda) in the motorcycles and Eryk Goczał (Ford) in the cars. For The Netherlands it was a historic day: Mitchel van den Brink won the truck class on his first participation.
Canet benefited from the fact that Sanders, as winner of the previous day, had to open the stage. The Australian lost time navigating around kilometre 55, after which Canet caught him and opened the route himself. Brabec won the stage by 2 minutes and 36 seconds over Luciano Benavides, defending his third place in the overall standings, his fifth podium in Morocco. Canet is the youngest ever winner of the rally and the first Rally2 champion to win a world championship round in RallyGP. Sanders, with his second place, did extend his lead in the world championship.
In the cars, Quintero never finished higher than third on a stage, but his consistency earned him the overall victory, ahead of João Ferreira (+4:23) and Henk Lategan (+4:42). It is the first all-Toyota podium in three years and, at 24, Quintero is the youngest winner and the first American winner of the rally. Sébastien Loeb (Dacia) looked set for the stage win, but stopped 700 metres before the finish and was towed in by Martin Macík’s truck. Quintero thereby also takes over the world championship lead from Loeb.
Van den Brink closed out his rally with overall victory in the trucks, ahead of title defender Macík. Lars van Berkel rode his best stage of the week and, by his own account, thereby qualified for the Dakar. Kees Koolen finished 19th among all FIA competitors and is third in the Masters championship. Paul Spierings is third in the Challenger championship after this round, Puck Klaassen second.
A classic final day around Chegaga
Rally director Marc Coma called the final stage “not to be underestimated”: a classic stage around the dunes of Chegaga, in which, according to him, amateurs had to keep something in reserve and the title contenders had to factor the dunes into their strategy. The special stage covered 259 kilometres. New this time was that there was no liaison section back to the bivouac: halfway through the stage the competitors drove a transfer of around 70 kilometres, after which the final 23 kilometres were again against the clock, with the finish in the bivouac of Zagora itself.
Canet wins after chase, Brabec defends podium place
Sanders was still gaining time at the first time control point, including the bonuses for opening the stage, and built up a lead of 1 minute and 52 seconds. Around kilometre 55 he lost his way. Canet caught him, led alone from kilometre 91 and thereby also took over the virtual lead. Over the 23 kilometres after the transfer nothing changed. “Anything can happen”, Canet had said the day before, referring to Benavides, who also only beat Brabec on the final day of January’s Dakar.
Behind the two KTM riders, Brabec fought with Benavides for third place. The American started with a 1 minute and 44 second lead, took the lead on the stage from kilometre 91 and gradually extended it. It is his 15th stage win in the world championship and his second this week.
Canet succeeds compatriot Tosha Schareina as winner. It is KTM’s eighteenth Morocco victory and, with seven wins, Spain is now level with France. Schareina himself, who was not at his level after a heavy crash in the Rallye dos Sertões, finished seventh overall. In the world championship he drops from three to thirteen points behind Sanders.
Top five stage 5 in the motorcycles:
- Ricky Brabec (Honda) 01:52:15
- Luciano Benavides (KTM) +02:36
- Tosha Schareina (Honda) +03:03
- Edgar Canet (KTM) +03:11
- Daniel Sanders (KTM) +05:39
Top five overall in the motorcycles:
- Edgar Canet (KTM) 15:41:55
- Daniel Sanders (KTM) +01:02
- Ricky Brabec (Honda) +03:32
- Luciano Benavides (KTM) +07:52
- Martim Ventura (Honda, Rally2) +15:09
Martim Ventura also won the final stage in Rally2 and with it the class, with a margin of 30 minutes and 45 seconds over Michael Docherty (Hero) and 38 minutes and 39 seconds over teammate Preston Campbell. As fifth overall he was the second-best Honda rider. Toni Mulec (BAS World KTM) is his only remaining rival for the Rally2 World Cup, 18 points behind. If Ventura wins that title in Abu Dhabi, he will, under the regulations, be promoted to RallyGP.
In Rally3, Albert Martín (Triumph) won the rally, taking five of the six special stages. Murun Purevdorj (Xraids Experience) finished second and is thereby the first Mongolian world champion in the W2RC. Antanas Kanopkinas (CFMoto) won all six special stages in the quads, as the third quad rider ever in a W2RC round. Javi Vega (Kove) won the rally’s first Malle Moto class and was the best rider without assistance on every stage. “It’s a mini-Dakar of a week. Winning every stage in Malle Moto gives a huge boost towards the Dakar”, said Vega. Skyler Howes closed out ZXMoto’s debut in 22nd. Teammate Tobias Ebster retired at kilometre 149 with a technical problem he could not resolve.
Quintero wins, Loeb stranded 700 metres before the finish
In the cars, the stage lead alternated between Eryk Goczał and Loeb. At kilometre 250 they had exactly the same time, but Loeb stopped shortly afterwards. Goczał won his fourth Ultimate stage, by 56 seconds over Ferreira and 1 minute and 48 seconds over Lucas Moraes (Dacia). For Loeb it was extra painful: he needed the five points for the stage win to defend his world championship lead.
Quintero held onto his lead without taking risks. After the time penalties for Nani Roma and Carlos Sainz the previous evening, a Toyota podium was already in place, and so it remained. Ferreira kept the three Ford Raptors of Roma (+7:01), Mitch Guthrie (+8:23) and Sainz (+9:25) behind him. For Toyota it is the first Morocco victory since Yazeed Al Rajhi in 2023. Quintero had already won the rally before, in the Challenger class in 2022, and his navigator Andrew Short won the rally in 2019 as a motorcyclist. Ford has never won the rally. Dania Akeel (Toyota) retired on the final stage with a broken gearbox and Guillaume de Mévius (Mini) had to call in his assistance after a technical failure.
Top three stage 5 in the cars:
- Eryk Goczał (Ford)
- João Ferreira (Toyota) +00:56
- Lucas Moraes (Dacia) +01:48
- Mathieu Serradori (Century) +02:15
- Nasser Al Attiyah (Dacia) +02:31
Top five overall in the cars:
- Seth Quintero (Toyota)
- João Ferreira (Toyota) +04:23
- Henk Lategan (Toyota) +04:42
- Nani Roma (Ford) +07:01
- Mitch Guthrie (Ford) +08:23
In the world championship Quintero now leads Loeb by 13 points and Al Attiyah by 19. Ferreira and Lategan can also still mathematically become champion in Abu Dhabi. Marek Goczał (Ford) won the first Masters championship in the W2RC. In Stock, Stéphane Peterhansel (Defender) won the rally, although the stage went to Yasir Seaidan, the first Stock stage win for Team Land Cruiser Toyota Auto Body. Rokas Baciuška remains the championship leader, 13 points ahead of Peterhansel. Alexandre Pinto (Old Friends Rally) won the Challenger stage and the class, with a margin of 51 minutes and 45 seconds over Rui Carneiro, and takes over the championship lead from Klaassen. In the SSV class, Matthias Walkner (Can-Am) won the stage and the rally, nine years after his Morocco victory on a motorcycle. Jeremías González Ferioli lost well over half an hour early in the stage, but did take over the lead in the SSV championship.
Van den Brink wins on his RdM debut
Mitchel van den Brink and his crew Bart van Heun and Jarno van de Pol won the truck class on their first participation in the Rallye du Maroc. At 24, Van den Brink is the youngest ever truck winner of the rally, just as Canet and Quintero are in their classes. For Team de Rooy it is the first Morocco victory since Michiel Becx in 2023.
After around 60 kilometres Van den Brink came across Macík’s truck, just as the Czech was driving the wrong way. Navigator Van Heun immediately steered the right way, so the waypoint was reached without a detour. “That’s how we picked up a nice little lead on him. He lost about three minutes there”, Van den Brink recounted. Apart from stage 4, he was the fastest every day. “We’ve shown that we’re faster and that gives a lot of confidence heading towards the Dakar. This victory really leaves you wanting more.” On his return to the team he said: “They’ve built an incredibly good truck, which we’re super happy with.”
Dutch drivers heading for the Dakar
Lars van Berkel (BAS World KTM Team) rode his best result of the week on the final stage: 21st on the stage and 26th overall. For him the rally means his ticket to the Dakar. “Six months ago I was sitting on the couch with a completely wrecked shoulder, wondering whether my career was over”, he said. He only rode his first digital roadbook in the shakedown. “It was a steep learning curve, but a fast one too. I still have a long way to go, but I’m already looking forward to the next big challenge: the Dakar.” Berend de Ruiter (HT Rally Raid) was 31st on the stage and finished 32nd.
In the cars, Kees Koolen and Wouter Rosegaar (RD Limited) were the best Dutch competitors, 19th among all FIA entrants. Koolen is third in the Masters championship after this round. Roger Grouwels and Rudolf Meijer (QFF Racing) brought their Can-Am to the finish in 43rd. “Another great adventure successfully completed. The Rallye du Maroc wasn’t easy, but the good things in life rarely are”, their team wrote.
Paul Spierings and Kala Senders (Rebellion-Spierings) finished the rally, although they fell far back after their retirement on stage 4. “A week of ups and downs, literally and figuratively”, wrote the team, which also had a big rollover. Spierings is nonetheless third in the Challenger championship after this round, behind Pinto and Klaassen. Mike van Eikeren/Jasper Riezebos, Rik van den Brink/Gydo Heimans, Lex Peters/Arjan van Tiel and Gert-Jan van der Valk/Branco de Lange all reached the finish in Zagora, but are far down the standings due to earlier time penalties. For Rients Hofstra and Wouter de Graaff (Red-Lined Europe) no time is listed in the final results. The truck of Kay Huzink, Mark Salomons and Corne Blok is no longer in the results.
Dutch results:
Motorcycles
- Lars van Berkel (BAS World KTM Team) – stage 21st (+20:51), overall 26th (+2:42:37)
- Berend de Ruiter (HT Rally Raid) – stage 31st (+35:31), overall 32nd (+5:00:38)
Ultimate
- Kees Koolen/Wouter Rosegaar (RD Limited) – stage 22nd, overall 19th
- Mike van Eikeren/Jasper Riezebos (MP Rallysport) – stage 36th, overall 69th
- Gert-Jan van der Valk/Branco de Lange (MP Rallysport) – stage 39th, overall 74th
- Rik van den Brink/Gydo Heimans (SRT) – stage 41st, overall 70th
- Rients Hofstra/Wouter de Graaff (Red-Lined Europe) – no time listed, 87th
Challenger
- Paul Spierings/Kala Senders (Rebellion-Spierings) – stage 40th, overall 68th
- Roger Grouwels/Rudolf Meijer (QFF Racing) – stage 58th, overall 43rd
- Lex Peters/Arjan van Tiel (G Rally Team) – stage 60th, overall 71st
- Puck Klaassen/Augusto Sanz (KTM X-Bow Lab Team) – retired earlier
Trucks
- Mitchel van den Brink/Bart van Heun/Jarno van de Pol (Team de Rooy) – truck class winner, stage 24th and overall 21st among all FIA competitors
- Kay Huzink/Mark Salomons/Corne Blok (Team de Rooy) – retired earlier
The world championship concludes with the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, from 22 to 27 November. The 28th Rallye du Maroc is scheduled for 24 to 29 October 2027.
