Carlos Sainz after his stage victory in the Rally of Morocco: "Let's not get carried away, we have to take it step by step"

Sacred Carlos Sainz ! "El Matador" does not give up despite his respectable age (62 years old). The Spanish rider has given a new demonstration of his XXL talent by winning the 4th stage of the Rally du Maroc 2024, contested this Thursday, October 10 around Mengoub in the east of the country.

Starting 10th in the special, the winner of the Dakar 2024 with Audi took advantage of the tracks left by the nine cars that started before him, but still. Beating Nasser Al-Attiyah, Sébastien Loeb and another Yazeed Al-Rajhi, who is also driving a completely new 4x4 (the Ford Raptor in FIA 2025 homologation), it is no small feat!

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The performance and the symbolism were such that Carlos Sainz Senior was on the verge of tears as he returned to the bivouac, embraced by Malcolm Wilson. The Madrilenian had been coached by the Briton within the team M-Sport in the World Rally Championship in 1997, then between 2000 and 2002.

Back to business today! 💪🏻💪🏻@ LucasCruz74 @FordPerformance pic.twitter.com/6ViGlE6DHz

- Carlos Sainz (@CSainz_oficial) October 9, 2024

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“I am absolutely delighted, he said after regaining his senses. This is the first victory with Ford in rally-raid from the first rally of this car. That represents a lot. It proves in particular that we have worked in the right direction. I remember the first stage victory with Audi on the Dakar (In 2022), it was a great feeling, which I find here again."

Carlos Sainz plays no role in the general classification of the Rally of Morocco because his Ford is homologated to the 2025 standards, unlike the 2024 standards followed by the Toyota, Mini and Dacia. The biggest difference is the engine power control box, which does not manage the horsepower in the same way between the 4 and 4 2024x2025s. Hence the fact that Sainz is transparent in the general classification. In addition, the Ford leader had already withdrawn from a stage due to an anomaly in the engine data.

"We have indeed encountered problems during our tests in recent months, continues the double world rally champion. But we had to keep working and that's what we're doing. I'm happy for everyone in the team. We'll have to continue this state of mind to improve reliability."

As always with Father Carlos Sainz, joy quickly gives way to pragmatism. “It’s great to win again with Malcolm (Wilson) and Ford. But from now on, we will have to win not only special stages, but also competitions. Let's not get carried away, we have to take it step by step."