Stage six of the Morocco Desert Challenge 2026, the queen stage around Merzouga, once again delivered a dominant Dutch performance. Mitchel van den Brink claimed his fifth stage victory in six stages. In the truck category, Kay Huzink did the same. The 347-kilometre special, a loop around Merzouga, had been adjusted from the original plan due to the geopolitical conflict between Algeria and Morocco, but remained demanding with two major dune sections.
Mitchel is untouchable once again
Mitchel van den Brink and Bart van Heun (MP Rallysport, Toyota Hilux T1+, #301) once again finished fastest, with a lead of over 15 minutes on Italian Agostino Rizzardi. Ronald van Loon took nearly 20 minutes longer than Mitchel to complete the stage.
Mitchel finished in 4:19:55. Agostino Rizzardi with Claudio Fenati (#303) came second in 4:35:07. Ronald van Loon and Erik Lemmen (Oase Motorsport, #306) finished fourth in 4:39:35, retaining the overall lead. Mike van Eikeren and Jasper Riezebos (#302) were fifth in 4:40:23. Gert-Jan van der Valk and Branco de Lange (#307) crossed the line eighth in 5:05:32.
Mitchel reflected with satisfaction: “It was a tough stage, but a beautiful one. We drove sharply and worked well together. A puncture in the final stretch was the only notable moment. Apart from that, we had no issues.”
After six stages, Mitchel still trails overall leader Van Loon by around four hours and forty-five minutes, and sits just inside the top ten in the general classification. Ronald van Loon leads, with Rizzardi fifteen minutes behind and Belgian Vincent Thijs at twenty-two minutes.
Huzink wins again, Van den Brink fights for second place
Kay Huzink, together with Corné Blok and Mark Salomons (De Rooy FPT, #501), claimed his fifth consecutive stage victory in 4:49:13. Marnix Leeuw, Marije van Ettekoven and Bart Gloudemans (Rijschool Fury, #506) had an excellent day and finished second in 5:03:31.
Martin van den Brink, Siënna and Hans van den Brink (#502) had to settle for third place after losing a quarter of an hour to a leaking air hose that caused the brakes to overheat. Martin: “The driving and navigation went well. We just had a leaking air hose which caused the brakes to get too hot. We had to stop to fix it. That cost us about a quarter of an hour.” The family team finished in 5:08:46.
Pedro De Uriarte, Eduardo Vanzzini and Max van Grol (#505, De Rooy FPT) came fourth in 5:09:15. In the standings, De Uriarte still holds approximately a fifteen-minute lead over the Van den Brink trio.
Janus van Kasteren wins the queen stage
In the SSV category, Janus van Kasteren and Marcel Snijders (#205, Renders Racing) took the stage win in 4:34:13. Erik Wevers and Floor Maten (#202, Taurus T3 EVO Max) finished second in 4:40:26. Paulo Rodrigues and Fausto Mota (#204) came third in 4:42:39. Willem Meijer and Rudolf Meijer (#206, QFF Racing) were fourth in 4:49:55. Michiel Becx and Sander Van Barschot (#208, Shiver Offroad) crossed the line fifth in 5:00:53. Thijs Jr. Heezen and Sam Van Kemenade (#212, Van Eerd Racing) finished tenth in 5:06:21. Bas Buijnsters and Pieter Herijgens (#243, QFF Racing) ended eleventh in 5:13:02.
Dennis Verswijver second in the motorcycle category
In the motorcycle category, Frenchman Julien Dalbec (#105) won the stage in 5:21:21. Dennis Verswijver (Desert Vikings, #124) rode a strong second place in 5:25:22. Wouter de Graaff (#121) finished fifth in 5:49:35. Bart van Olst (#122) came ninth in 6:02:46.
Van der Steen continues after yesterday’s rollover
Raf and Kris Van der Steen (Off-Road Racing Team Robert Ranst, #315) lined up at the start of the queen stage just a day after their spectacular rollover in stage five. They came through the Merzouga dunes without issue and completed a solid first half. The second half brought poor tracks with deep ruts, yet that too passed without incident.
Tomorrow: the rally’s longest stage
Friday brings stage seven — at 493 kilometres, the longest of this edition. After a final ten-kilometre dune passage through Erg Chebbi, the field heads north via sandy riverbeds and fast tracks. The Hamada plains and a stretch of the Rekkam plateau await. Technical tracks in the morning, navigation and speed in the afternoon. For Ronald van Loon and Kay Huzink, the priority will be to defend their leading positions on the rally’s longest day.
