The first step of Rally of Morocco 2025, contested this Monday, October 13, had all the hallmarks of a Dakar special: nearly 700 km to complete, including 298 km of special between Fez and Erfoud, on fast sections, " with sometimes navigation " according to Marc Coma, the new director of the event. This generous menu has already shaken up the hierarchy.
World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) leader before this final and winner of yesterday's Prologue, Nasser Al-Attiyah (Dacia) had a bad day. The Qatari, navigated by Belgian Fabian Lurquin, lost more than ten minutes following a mechanical failure, the nature of which remains unknown for the time being.
Long in the running for 2nd place, Lucas Moraes finally had to settle for the 3rd step of the podium, behind Sébastien Loeb, winner of the day, and a particularly strong Mattias Ekström at the end of the special. Nani Roma (4th) and Henk Lategan (5th) completed the top 5. The results of Ekström and Roma are nevertheless important: they deprive Moraes and Lategan of valuable points in the race for the FIA title. As a reminder, the top five in each stage score points (5, 4, 3, 2, 1). This is all the more crucial for the drivers Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC, who are trying to reduce the gap on Nasser Al-Attiyah, still leading the championship with nine and ten points respectively ahead of the South African and the Brazilian before the Rally of Morocco.
W2RC – Rallye du Maroc 2025
Stage 1 and general ranking:
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