Ryan Nitzen | October 8, 2024
The 2024 running of the Rallye du Maroc is underway. It’s the fifth and final round of the 2024 World Rally Raid Championship. Hero Motorsports’ Ross Branch currently leads the W2RC points standings, and with Ricky Brabec dropping out after stage one, it looks to be Branch’s title to lose. Stay tuned for a daily breakdown of each stage.
Ross Branch currently leads the W2RC points going into the final rally of the year. Photos: ASO
STAGE FIVE
The final stage of the rally saw a 64-mile liaison and a 170-mile special loop around Mengoub to conclude the 2024 running of the Rallye de Muroc. Honda’s Tosha Schareina claimed the win by just 52 seconds on stage five, but heavy penalties on stage three dropped him to second in the overall rally. His strong finishes helped Honda take the 2024 Manufacturer Championship.
Overall podium – Sanders, Schareina, Benavides. Photos: ASO
Daniel Sanders came away as the overall winner at the Rallye de Muroc. The KTM rider can call this a true comeback ride as he’s once again on the top step after a nasty femur break last year. Even with a 13th place result on stage five, his final time was just over 11-minutes clear of Schareina after more than 890 miles of racing.
Sanders is this year’s overall Rallye du Maroc winner.
“I’m so pleased with how the whole rally has gone, especially taking the win of course,” Sanders said. “But it’s definitely a massive accomplishment for myself and the whole team since Dakar and the last race in Argentina – it really demonstrates the hard work everyone has put in over these last few months. I’m happy to be back on the top step, it’s been a year and a half since I broke my femur, so I’m super-pumped to be back on form and showing some good speed ahead of Dakar.”
A consistent race earned Ross Branch the 2024 W2RC title.
Ross Branch’s consistency paid off as he was crowned the 2024 W2RC Overall Champion. The Botswana native rode a smart race at the finale and earned the first title for both himself and Hero Motorsports.
2024 W2RC overall podium – Branch, Van Beveren, Schareina.
STAGE FIVE (Top 5)
1. Tosha Schareina (Hon)
2. Lorenzo Santolino (She) +0:52
3. Adrien Van Beveren (Hon) +1:27
4. Edgar Canet (KTM) +1:49
5. Harith Noah (She) +6:09
OVERALL (Top 5)
1. Daniel Sanders (KTM)
2. Tosha Schareina (Hon) +11:07
3. Luciano Benavides (KTM) +21:03
4. Adrien Van Beveren (Hon) +22:51
5. Bradley Cox (KTM) +45:05
STAGE FOUR
A short 32-mile liaison gave way to a 196-mile special on stage four. The Honda riders struggled as the event nears its end with a big crash forcing Pablo Quintanilla out of the race. The other two red riders, Tosha Schareina and Adrien Van Beveren, then struggled with notes on their navigation and lost valuable time.
Sanders won for the second day in a row. Photo: KTM
This allowed KTM’s Daniel Sanders to capitalize on the situation and make up ground in the overall rally. Sanders grabbed the stage win by more than five minutes, his second in a row while his KTM teammate Luciano Benavides, took third. Nacho Cornejo came away second on the day, his best stage since joining Hero Motorsports. Sanders now leads the overall rally by over 20-minutes with one day remaining.
Nacho Cornejo took second, his best stage of the rally. Photo: ASO
“It was very, very long with a lot of navigation,” said Sanders. “It was a new area here that we’ve never been to before in the race, so it was really cool to ride with some good tracks and good riding. I just focused on my navigation today and put that first over out-and-out speed. I pretty much nailed most things – I made a couple of little mistakes, but I was able to fix those pretty quick and keep up a good rhythm all day. With a lot of the other guys getting lost today, I was able to open up the lead a bit more, so with one more day to go, I’m feeling good and looking forward to the finish.”
Luciano Benavides rounded out the podium. Photo: KTM
Schareina lost valuable time on stage four. Photo: ASO
STAGE FOUR (Top 5)
1. Daniel Sanders (KTM)
2. Ignacio Cornejo (Her) +5:31
3. Luciano Benavides (KTM) +8:11
4. Harith Noah (She) +9:00
5. Tosha Schareina (Hon) +10:18
OVERALL (Top 5)
1. Daniel Sanders (KTM)
2. Tosha Schareina (Hon) +21:44
3. Luciano Benavides (KTM) +24:23
4. Adrien Van Beveren (Hon) +32:01
5. Ross Branch (Her) +45:53
STAGE THREE
Stage three hit the ground running on October 9 as the longest stage of this year’s rally. A 223-mile liaison gave way to a 203-special and created more than three hours or racing. Daniel Sanders claimed the stage win, his first of the rally and his first in over a year. He now leads the overall rally by 1:35 over Schareina.
Sanders took the win on stage three and now leads the rally. Photo: KTM
Sanders beat Honda’s Adrien Van Beveren by more than four minutes. ABV is giving his all as he’s still got a shot at the world title should Ross Branch drop out. Pablo Quintanilla crossed third, eight minutes off the leader.
Adrien Van Beveren can still win the W2RC title. He took second. Photo ASO
“Another very long day on the bike with over 200 kilometers done in the morning and then well over 300 kilometers of special,” said Sanders. “It’s been super-hot, very dusty, and very demanding. I felt really good today and got off to a strong start. I caught the two guys ahead by the neutralization then pushed through the dust a little bit and got into the dunes. One of the guys ahead made a little mistake, but it meant it was difficult to get out front and collect any time bonus, so as the terrain turned a little rockier, I just played it smart and made sure I brought the bike home safely.”
Pablo Quintanilla rounded out the podium. Photo: ASO
Tosha Schareina was arguably the fastest rider of the day and battled with his Honda teammate, Van Beveren, in the dunes before finished up front. Unfortunately, a 13-minute penalty for not stopping in the neutral zone cost him a shot at the stage and will likely hurt his overall times.
Schareina was fast but faced a 13-minute penalty.
“I made a big mistake six kilometres into the stage,” said Schareina. “I then had to try and fix something on my bike which meant I lost a bit of concentration and around four minutes in time. Adrien was coming and I tried to chase him, I then passed him and continued to push during the rest of the stage. Daniel is putting a lot of pressure on, so with two more days to go I will keep focussed and go for it.”
STAGE THREE (Top 5)
1. Daniel Sanders (KTM)
2. Adrien Van Beveren (Hon) +04:21
3. Pablo Quintanilla (Hon) +08:49
4. Luciano Benavides (KTM) +09:01
5. Tosha Schareina (Hon) +12:08
OVERALL (Top 5)
1. Daniel Sanders (KTM)
2. Tosha Schareina (Hon) +1:35
3. Adrien Van Beveren (Hon) +14:21
4. Luciano Benavides (KTM) +16:12
5. Pablo Quintanilla (Hon) +16:30
STAGE TWO
October 8’s stage two saw racers take to the original day one layout. A 98-mile liaison and a 198-mile special looped around the Zagora bivouac and featured a challenging variety of terrain. Rocky roads with multiple washouts from recent rains, mud patches, and dunes all played a factor on this stage.
Schareina finished on top again on stage two. Photos: ASO
Tosha Schareina came out on top once again after more than three hours of racing. The Honda rider made a few mistakes in the early parts of the stage but regained crucial time over his Honda HRC teammate, Adrien Van Beveren. Daniel Sanders came through in third, shortly behind ABV’s time.
With another stage win, the Honda HRC rider now leads overall.
“It was a good stage for me,” said Schareina. “The first 30km I tried to push but after that I made two big mistakes and I think I lost about a minute each time. After that I tried to push again, I caught Ross [Branch] in the dunes and then before the refuelling I caught Daniel [Sanders]. It was so difficult with the dust, so I continued to ride smoothly, so as not to crash and be safe for stage three, which I will open tomorrow.”
Honda HRC rider, Adrien Van Beveren, crossed second.
Points leader and stage one winner, Ross Branch finished eighth on stage two and is looking to play the long game in this year’s rally. His result dropped him back to sixth in the overall rankings. Schareina now leads the rally by 42 seconds over Sanders.
Daniel Sanders was third and now moves to second overall. Photo: KTM
Stage one winner, Ross Branch, finished eighth.
STAGE TWO (Top 5)
1. Tosha Schareina (Hon)
2. Adrien Van Beveren (Hon) +1:19
3. Daniel Sanders (KTM) +1:24
4. Pablo Quintanilla (Hon) +2:22
5. Luciano Benavides (KTM) +2:38
OVERALL (Top 5)
1. Tosha Schareina (Hon)
2. Daniel Sanders (KTM) +0:42
3. Luciano Benavides (KTM) +7:53
4. Pablo Quintanilla (Hon) +8:23
5. Adrien Van Beveren (Hon) +10:42
STAGE ONE
Stage one on October 7 marked the first real day of racing, during which the competitors faced a 107-mile liaison and a 111-mile special. Floods in the area forced the organizers to reroute the race, using Tuesday’s course as stage one. The course will now run stage one’s original route as stage two. The stone-riddled riverbeds and fast-paced roads proved challenging, as the conditions later transitioned into the area’s more familiar sand dunes.
Branch finished 48 seconds up after more than two hours of racing. Photo: Hero Motorsports
Points leader Ross Branch came away victorious on stage one with a time of two hours and 16 minutes, 48 seconds clear of Sanders back in second. After choosing an 11th place start in the Prologue, Branch had the advantage of starting behind and gained crucial time throughout the stage. Prologue winner, Schareina, took third 1:48 behind Branch.
Branch started 11th and grabbed the best time of the day.
Ricky Brabec suffered his share of issues in the dunes during stage one. An injury to his knee saw him finish more than 19 minutes behind the leaders and eventually withdraw from the rally after visiting a nearby hospital.
Brabec injured his knee on stage one and was forced to drop out of the rally.
“I caught Pablo [Quintanilla] early on and we were riding well together,” said Brabec. “I jumped a dune, but when I landed, I bottomed the frame out on the moguls on the other side. That meant the first thing that hit the ground was my right leg which absorbed all the energy in the landing. For the remainder of the stage, I had to take it easy. It’s a bummer I’m out, as I’ve let the team down, as I felt that this was the rally for me to shine, but Dakar is more important.”
Sanders took second on stage one.
“I’m happy to have finished stage one with a good result,” Branch said. “It was a tough one—definitely one of the most challenging stages I’ve ever ridden at Rallye du Maroc! The tracks were beaten up and washed away from yesterday’s rains, but I managed to pull through. Nacho [Cornejo] did an amazing job opening the track; I can only imagine how much more difficult it would have been for him. Opening the stage tomorrow will be a mammoth task, but we’re pushing forward with confidence.”
Tosha Schareina was third, 1:30 back.
“It was good to get the prologue out of the way yesterday, that helped us settle back in to racing and gave me a good start position for today,” said Sanders. “Stage one started with a load of riverbeds and stony terrain, so it was a really good test of the bike and the improvements we’ve made over the last few months. I made a couple of mistakes early on, but then quite a big one at around kilometer 140, which cost me a couple of minutes, unfortunately. It’s frustrating as it spoiled all the hard work I had put in leading up to that point, really. Other than that, I felt good, and the speed is definitely there. We’ll see how we get on tomorrow.”
Third-place Tosha Schareina said, “Today was another hard day at the office, the first 30K was super gnarly, so I tried to ride smoothly and with confidence as it was easy to crash and damage the bike. I tried to push in the dunes and taking the third place today has put us in a good position for tomorrow.” CN
STAGE ONE (Top 5)
- Ross Branch (Her)
- Daniel Sanders (KTM) +0:48
- Tosha Schareina (Hon) +1:30
- Luciano Benavides (KTM) +6:45
- Pablo Quintanilla (Hon) +7:31
PROLOGUE
The prologue stage, which consisted of a 31-mile liaison followed by a 16-mile special, was the first chance for the riders to stretch their legs in the Morocco desert.
Tosha Schareina topped the charts with his time of 16:54, the only rider to finish in the sub-17-minute range. Branch took second, 18 seconds back from the Honda rider. Daniel Sanders, riding aboard his new Red Bull KTM machine, crossed the line a close third, just six-tenths of a second back from Branch.
Tosha Schareina was fastest on the prologue.
Ross Branch was second, 18 seconds back.
Daniel Sanders was a close third. Photo: KTM
PROLOGUE RESULTS (Top 5)
- Tosha Schareina (Hon)
- Ross Branch (Her) +0:18
- Daniel Sanders (KTM) +0.18
- Ricky Brabec (Hon) +0.21
- Pablo Quintanilla (Hon) +0.31
