On the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, the eleventh edition of the Morocco Desert Challenge came to a close on Saturday. After eight stages and more than 2,800 kilometres through the Moroccan desert, the winners were celebrated in the seaside resort of Saïdia. The Dutch dominated on multiple fronts: Ronald van Loon won the overall car classification, Kay Huzink took the overall victory in the trucks, and Mitchel van den Brink crowned himself the most successful rider of the edition with seven stage wins.
The eighth and final stage from Bouarfa to Saïdia covered 176 kilometres of special stage and a transfer of 157 kilometres. The route took competitors through fast tracks and open fields to the finish. Mitchel van den Brink described the final leg: “It started beautifully through the fields with technical driving. After that it was mostly flat out and we couldn’t make much of a difference anymore.”
Ronald van Loon wins the rally, Mitchel wins the stage
Mitchel van den Brink and Bart van Heun (MP Rallysport, Toyota Hilux T1+, #301) won the final stage in 1:24:34. Notably, second-placed Rients Hofstra was just 13 seconds behind the stage winner, in earlier stages the gaps had been far greater. Rients Hofstra and Evert Boersma (#312, Red-Lined Europe) finished in 1:24:47. Ronald van Loon and Erik Lemmen (Oase Motorsport, #306) came third in the final stage in 1:30:38. Mike van Eikeren and Jasper Riezebos (#302) finished fourth in 1:31:07.
In the overall car classification, Ronald van Loon and Erik Lemmen won convincingly with a total time of 23:11:16. Agostino Rizzardi and Claudio Fenati (#303) finished second, 12 minutes and 25 seconds back. Third place went to Vincent Thijs and Tom De Leeuw (#304), 28 minutes and 51 seconds behind. Oase Motorsport reported that they had come within a hair’s breadth of hitting a spectator, but that fortunately the incident was avoided.
Mitchel van den Brink and Bart van Heun finished the rally in seventh place overall. Their seven stage wins — six of them consecutive following their misfortune in stage 3 — showed that they were the fastest combination in Morocco. Mitchel said: “We showed that we dominated the rally and that we have the pace. We’re happy with seven stage wins. But there was nothing we could do about it. That’s part of the sport. This really leaves us wanting more.”
Kay Huzink wins seven of the eight stages
In the final truck stage, Kay Huzink won again in 1:33:14. Pedro De Uriarte, Eduardo Vanzzini and Max van Grol (#505) finished second in 1:38:04. Martin van den Brink, Siënna and Hans van den Brink (#502) came third in 1:39:08. Marnix Leeuw, Marije van Ettekoven and Bart Gloudemans (#506, Rijschool Fury) finished fourth in 1:39:34.
In the overall truck classification, Kay Huzink with Corné Blok and Mark Salomons (De Rooy FPT) won convincingly in 24:07:56. Pedro De Uriarte finished second, 1 hour and 40 minutes back. Martin van den Brink, Siënna and Hans van den Brink ended third in the overall truck standings, 1 hour and 54 minutes behind the winner. Martin was satisfied: “We’re very pleased. Siënna and Hans did an excellent job. In a serious rally they’ve been able to get to know the sport at this level.” Marnix Leeuw and his team finished fourth, 2 hours and 27 minutes back.
Janus van Kasteren wins the SSV overall classification
In the final SSV stage, Geoff Minnitt and Henry Köhne (#201, South Racing) won in 1:35:29. Gert Huzink and Hugo Kupper (QFF Racing, #203) finished second in 1:37:00. Michiel Becx and Sander Van Barschot (#208, Shiver Offroad) took third on the day in 1:39:33.
In the overall classification, Janus van Kasteren and Marcel Snijders (#205, Renders Racing) won in 24:14:13. Paulo Rodrigues and Fausto Mota (#204) finished second, 45 minutes and 14 seconds back. Michiel Becx and Sander Van Barschot (#208) came fourth overall, 1:43:02 behind. Jeroen van Kasteren and Rik Vaessen (#221) finished sixth. Thijs jr. Heezen and Sam Van Kemenade (#212) came seventh.
Dennis Verswijver wins the final stage, third in the overall classification
In the final motorcycle stage, Dennis Verswijver (Desert Vikings, Husqvarna, #124) took the stage win in 1:50:20. Julien Dalbec (#105) won the overall motorcycle classification in 24:24:22. Verswijver finished third overall, 43 minutes and 45 seconds back. Bart van Olst (#122, Desert Vikings) came fifth in the final stage and closed out the rally in sixth place overall. Wouter de Graaff (#121) finished fifth in the overall classification.
A rally full of spectacle
The eleventh edition of the Morocco Desert Challenge was one of extreme performances, misfortune, resilience and Dutch dominance. Mitchel van den Brink dominated the stages but missed out on overall victory due to mechanical failure in stage 3. Kay Huzink, in his first rally for Team De Rooy, racked up seven stage wins. Ronald van Loon claimed the biggest victory of his career. And the Van den Brink family team showed that a debut at this level is very much achievable.
The Morocco Desert Challenge 2027 is already on the calendar: 9 to 17 April.
