Following the summer break, round four of the FIM World Rally-Raid Championship took place in the vast Sahara Desert for the 2026 Rallye du Maroc. Racers endured 1638 miles over five different stages through the Moroccan wilderness. Despite not winning a stage, Edgar Canet prevailed as the overall rally winner, just over a minute clear of his Red Bull KTM teammate, Daniel Sanders.
Multiple special wins put Sanders into the lead going into the final stage, but consistency paid off in the long run for Canet. The young Spanish rider never finished outside the top four on any stage but faced a nearly 90-second deficit on the final day as he trailed the veteran Sanders. Results were close throughout the rally with Sanders and Ricky Brabec trading stage victories just ahead of Canet and this year’s Dakar winner, Luciano Benavides.
Canet made up critical ground on the final stage while mistakes saw Sanders take a fifth-place finish to end the week. The result on the final test dropped him to second in the overall classification and allowed Canet to claim his first-ever RallyGP victory. After more than 15 hours of racing, he’s the first Rally2 Champion to earn a premier-class win and the youngest rider to ever win the rally at 21.
“I’m very happy,” Canet said. “There are a lot of emotions right now, and what we’ve achieved doesn’t quite feel real yet. I think I need some time to really take it all in, but I’m super happy. We showed everyone what we can do and where we can be, so I’m proud of that. It was a crazy race with lots of ups and downs, and navigation was important. At certain points, I had the feeling that I was in the right place and doing what I needed to do. To win this rally is an amazing feeling, and I’m happy with what we’ve achieved. Hopefully, this isn’t the last one.”
A navigation error on stage three, paired with a fifth-place finish on stage five, proved detrimental for Sanders as his up-and-down results put him second overall at the end of the week. He managed to win two days, stage one and four and still extended his W2RC points lead to 13 over teammate Benavides.
“I’m obviously happy to get to the finish and still be in a strong position in the championship, but personally it’s been a frustrating rally,” Sanders said. “I knew it was going to be close today and I gave it everything I had, but unfortunately we came up just short.”
Ricky Brabec delivered when it mattered most on the final day. The American sat with just 1:44 of breathing room in third place going into the last stage and wasted little time stamping his authority and opening up two minutes between himself and Benavides. The result marked Brabec’s 15th World Rally-Raid Championship stage victory and his fifth overall podium at the event.
“The week was cool, but it was definitely demanding,” Brabec said. ‘We had a couple of roadbook and navigation mistakes and some really broken ground, so it’s good to come away from here healthy and in one piece. I’m happy with the bike and with the changes we made for the final day. I think we’re heading in a good direction, and now we can go home and focus on preparing for the Dakar.”
Martim Ventura dominated the Rally2 category. After five days of racing, Ventura crossed the line with a more than 30-minute advantage over his nearest rival Michael Docherty. This marked Ventura’s second-consecutive Rally-Raid victory and strengthened his position at the top of the Rally2 Championship standings.
“It’s been a good week, and the rhythm was there from the beginning,” said Ventura. “I know I still have a lot to improve, especially with my navigation. When you start riding faster, everything comes at you quicker and you have to make those navigation decisions even faster, so that’s something I know I need to keep working on. But I have to be happy with what we’ve achieved here.”
The World Rally-Raid Championship continues at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, the fifth and final round of the series, from November 22 to 27. CN
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
OVERALL RESULTS (Top 5)
1. Edgar Canet (KTM) 15:41:55
2. Daniel Sanders (KTM) + 01:02
3. Ricky Brabec (Hon) + 03:32
4. Luciano Benavides (KTM) + 07:52
5. Martim Ventura (Hon) + 15:09
