American Skyler Howes (Husqvarna Factory Racing) scored the biggest win of his career when he took out the 2022 Rallye du Maroc, his first-ever FIM World Rally-Raid Championship win.
Howes played the consistency game in Morocco, taking a fourth-, fourth-, second-, sixth- and second-place finishes across the five stages to end the rally 07:13s ahead of teammate Luciano Benavides, with Monster Energy Honda’s Ricky Brabec making it two Americans on the podium in third.
Fourth place went to Adrien van Beveren in his first ride for the factory Honda team, heading his brother-in-law, current Dakar Champion, Sam Sunderland (GasGas), who rounded out the top-five.
“The navigation was tricky, and I did a couple of circles out there which slowed me down a little bit,” Howes said at the finish. “I was still able to finish second on the stage, which was enough to win the overall, and I have to admit it’s the coolest thing of my whole life! Honestly, I’m over the moon. It’s a dream come true to take the win here in Morocco, and the plan is to carry this momentum on to the Dakar Rally.”
With Howes and Benavides consistently running in the top two places, Red Bull KTM had a tough rally by their standards with Toby Price crashing out of third overall on Stage Four, fortunately without serious injury.
American rider Mason Klein was victorious once again in the Rally 2 class, collecting his third straight class win aboard his Team BAS World KTM.
HIGHLIGHTS
OVERALL RESULTS
- Skyler Howes (Hus) 16:30:29
- Luciano Benavides (Hus) 16:37:42
- Ricky Brabec (Hon) 16:41:17
- Adrien Van Beveren (Hon) 16:42:36
- Sam Sunderland (GG) 16:45:20
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