The third stage of Rally du Maroc 2025, traced around Erfoud (323 km), is a treat for the Dacia Sandriders team. The team emerged victorious from a demanding course including the dunes of Merzouga thanks in particular to Sébastien Loeb and Édouard Boulanger.
The French crew, who started from 8th place due to their time set the day before, had an excellent day. At each intermediate point, the duo was in the top 3 of the stage. It was in the final section that the nine-time world rally champion (WRC) made a decisive difference on the Toyota Lucas Moraes. The Brazilian lost his way somewhat and lost several minutes while Loeb-Boulanger cut it short while validating the waypoints.
However, it was not until the arrival of Henk Lategan-Brett Cummings that Loeb-Boulanger secured their stage victory. The South Africans started in 20th position following their mechanical failure the day before. They were only 42 seconds behind the French at km 231, and overtook the Dacia by 6 seconds at km 277! At the finish, Lategan-Cummings extended their lead to 46 seconds. Toyota thus secured its first victory in the Rally of Morocco 2025.
Loeb-Boulanger took ample consolation in regaining the lead of the race. Indeed, Nani Roma and Alex Haro, leaders after Stage 2, had lost their way. The Spaniards from the Ford team were never on the right pace and lost more than 10 minutes. They dropped to 6th place overall.
Al-Attiyah rises again
Having started off on the wrong foot on Monday (they lost a dozen minutes due to a mechanical issue), Nasser Al-Attiyah and Fabian Lurquin (Dacia) have been steadily climbing the rankings ever since. The Qatari driver and his Belgian navigator had a great day. Despite being the frontrunners following the scratch time set on Tuesday, they did more than limit the damage. At the finish, they clocked a time in the top 5. Luckily, they also entered the top 5 of the general classification, 7 minutes behind the leaders Loeb-Boulanger.
Disappointment for the Fords
Having engine problems, Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz (Ford) turned back to the bivouac without having completed the day’s course. They are expected to leave tomorrow, with a heavy time penalty. In the American clan, hopes now rest on Mattias Ekström and Emil Bergkvist. The Swedes set the 5th fastest time and climb back onto the virtual podium (3rd, +4’33” on Loeb).
W2RC Morocco Rally Ranking
Ranking Step 3:
General classification :
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