Rally of Morocco – Yazeed Al-Rajhi winner: “We were always at the forefront”

Yazeed Al-Rajhi (Overdrive Racing) completes the 2023 World Championship season rally-raid (W2RC) in the best possible way. The Saudi became the 10th different driver to win the Morocco Rally, a real preparation event before the Dakar, and secured the honorary title of W2RC vice-champion ahead of Juan Cruz Yacopini (Overdrive Racing) and Sébastien Loeb (BRX).

✌️ Second round win of the season 🤩
🏆 @YazeedRacing and Timo Gottschalk!# W2RC #FIA #RallyOfMorocco #RDM2023 pic.twitter.com/8li5qkCwIY

- World Rally-Raid Championship @ 🏍 (@ OfficialW2RC) October 18, 2023

“I am really happy with this victory, he declared upon arriving in Merzouga, at the foot of the dunes. The season started on the wrong foot for us, with a bad result on the Dakar (86th overall after mechanical problems. Editor’s note). Fortunately, we did not give up and our performances continued to improve throughout the year. We are heading in the right direction. »

ALSO READ > Morocco Rally – Nani Roma and his new Ford on the podium: “Let’s stay humble”

It is true that Yazeed Al-Rajhi took advantage of the mechanical setbacks of leaders Nasser Al-Attiyah and Mathieu Baumel (Toyota) and outsiders Sébastien Loeb and Fabian Lurquin during the penultimate stage. You still had to be there to recoup the stake. “On this Rally of Morocco, the battle was intense. We were always present at the forefront. Without any problem from our competitors, we were still on the virtual podium. My co-driver Timo did a good job. »

Yazeed Al-Rajhi will present himself as one of the favorites for the Dakar 2024, which will take place in his country from January 5. “ I’m looking forward to it, I feel ready and I want to do battle.” An event in which his best result is a 3rd position in 2022.