BACK TO WHERE IT BEGAN FOR THE DACIA SANDRIDERS

The Dacia Sandriders is going back to where it began in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship when it contests the season-deciding Rallye du Maroc from October 12-17.

Since making its FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) debut on the desert-based event 12 months ago, The Dacia Sandriders has registered 13 stage wins – including two 1-2s – two outright victories and three podiums.

Fresh from its podium on Rally-Raid Portugal last month, The Dacia Sandriders starts Rallye du Maroc aiming for more success and has made supporting Nasser Al-Attiyah's W2RC title bid its number one priority.

Al-Attiyah – who scored the team's debut victory in North Africa last season – begins Rallye du Maroc nine points ahead in the race to win the 2025 W2RC Drivers' crown. No other driver has claimed the coveted title since the championship first ran in 2022, putting the Qatari on course to triumph four years in a row.

Édouard Boulanger leads the Navigators' standings by 14 points, while The Dacia Sandriders will try to secure their runner-up spot in the Manufacturers' classification.

As well as counting as the fifth and final round of the 2025 W2RC season, Rallye du Maroc provides the perfect opportunity to prepare – in competition mode – for January's Dakar Rally, which is ranked as one of the toughest motorsport events in the world and the opening round of the 2026 World Rally-Raid Championship.

The Dacia Sandriders is fielding a full-strength line-up for the second event running. Joining Nasser Al-Attiyah and his Belgian navigator Fabian Lurquin in the team's three-car attack are French duo Sébastien Loeb and Édouard Boulanger and Spaniards Cristina Gutiérrez and Pablo Moreno. The latter crews will support Al-Attiyah's title bid.

Loeb and Boulanger completed Rally-Raid Portugal, the penultimate event of the W2RC season, in third overall with Al-Attiyah and Lurquin taking fifth place and Gutiérrez and Moreno finishing seventh. All three crews have experience of the Rallye du Maroc terrain although with an all-new route in store this year, the event represents a mission of discovery.

Rallye du Maroc route in short

Covering a route of 2299 kilometres of which 1478 kilometres are timed, the desert-based Rallye du Maroc forms a demanding 2025 W2RC season decider.

Starting in the city of Fes, a 19-kilometre Prologue provides the first timed action on October 12 before crews heads south towards Erfoud, an oasis town in the Sahara Desert on October 13.

Following a 276-kilometre road section to Morocco's eastern border, a 300-kilometre special takes in the wild expanses of the Rekkam Plateau ahead of 203-kilometre liaison to the bivouac in Erfoud, the event's base for the remaining four days.

While the timed distances range from between 216 to 324 kilometres from Stage 2 onwards, the liaison sections are all less than 100 kilometres, placing the onus firmly on the competitive action.

The event concludes with a 33-kilometre Power Selective Section on October 17 when the winner and W2RC champion will be celebrated.

KEY QUOTES

TIPHANIE ISNARD, TEAM PRINCIPAL, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS

“After servicing the cars in Portugal, the team went straight to Morocco to prepare for this final round of the season. Our main focus will be to support Nasser Al-Attiyah in his fight for the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship title, and we will put everything in place to give him the best chance to achieve it. The whole team has worked extremely hard and will continue to do so for this decisive rally. With the title to be decided in Morocco, and strong rivals like Henk Lategan and Lucas Moraes in the fight, it promises to be a thrilling finale.”

NASSER AL-ATTIYAH (QATAR), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS

“Last year was very close but we won the championship. I will work very hard and the team will work very hard to achieve this again. The good thing is between all of us, there is a good spirit, and we can help each other as crews. I hope Morocco can be good for us, I have a lot of experience from doing the rally many times. I will do my best to win and take the title.”

CRISTINA GUTIÉRREZ (SPAIN), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS

“The expectations are good for Morocco. After Portugal, coming back again in the competition was very nice because we are used to the car again and Morocco is very important for the season. It's the last race of the championship and we will work together as a team to try to help give Nasser the title. I can't wait for the race and to enjoy it with the team.”

SÉBASTIEN LOEB (FRANCE), DRIVER, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS

“We did a good rally in Portugal, the feeling with the car was really good. We didn't have any big issues so that's looking good for the last round of the season. Morocco will be another kind of rally, my second rally with Édouard but with more navigation so we will need to be concentrated and continue to work well together.”

ÉDOUARD BOULANGER (FRANCE), NAVIGATOR, THE DACIA SANDRIDERS

“The organisers are always looking at new ways to make the navigation more difficult and the race as interesting as possible. Morocco should be a key moment of this year, probably the hardest rally after Dakar. You cannot arrive in Morocco saying it will be easy because it won't. We've prepared as much as we can and know we must be flexible and manage the issues when they occur. We cannot wish for clean days every day, we will have stories, so we just have to manage the stories in a good way.”

THE DACIA SANDRIDERS RALLYE DU MAROC LINE-UP

#200: Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Fabian Lurquin (BEL)

#212: Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP)/Pablo Moreno (ESP)

#219: Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Édouard Boulanger (FRA)

RALLYE DU MAROC: THE BIG NUMBER

780: Stage 1 of Rallye du Maroc is not for the faint-hearted with 300 kilometres of timed action and 480 kilometre of road sections scheduled.