MOTORSPORT NEWS OFF ROAD

No shortage of drama on the dunes at the 2018 Rallye du Maroc

At the midway point of the 2018 Rallye du Maroc the battle is on for offroad supremacy in both the two and four wheel categories. Two-time Dakar Rally winner Nasser Al-Attiyahleads the car contest, while Toby Price of the Red Bull KTM Factory Team has his nose in front of the bike race. A decisive stage win for Qatari racer Nasser Al-Attiyah and his French co-driver Mathieu Baumel on the third day of the Rallye du Maroc have put the pair on top of the car race. Al-Attiyah drove his Toyota Hilux expertly over the dunes throughout Saturday’s 329-kilometre timed special stage.

“So far everything has been going well for us, confidence is high and we’re doing all we can to win.” – Nasser Al-Attiyah

Frenchmen Cyril Despres and co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret clocked the day’s second fastest time in the car category. As a result Despres has moved his MINI John Cooper Works Buggy up the overall rankings to sit 15 minutes behind Al-Attiyah in second place.

“We finished second, which could have been better but also could have been much worse. It was a tense situation to drive 200 kilometres with no spare tyre left.” – Cyril Despres

Despres and Cottret’s fellow X-raid MINI JCW Team crew of Spaniards Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz endured a difficult stage and look to have relinquished hope of winning outright in Morocco.

Polish driver Kuba Przygonski and his Belgian co-driver Tom Colsoul rounded off the car race podium. Przgonski and Colsoul are now a big step closer to claiming the 2018 FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup thanks to guiding their MINI through another tough day in Morocco.

“We were trying all day to go on the maximum speed that we could. We had two flat tyres along the way, but the rest was OK.” – Kuba Przygonski

In the bike race the Red Bull KTM Factory Team remain dominate with Matthias Walknerclaiming the stage win and Toby Price leading overall. The stage win for Walkner of Austria puts him second in the general classification.

“We tried out some new tyres today which have performed well on the rough terrain of Morocco, so it’s good to know we can race hard on them and they will last for 290 kilometres.” – Matthias Walkner

Price of Australia had the unenviable task of opening the road following Friday’s stage win, but he coped with the task admirably. Even though Walkner closed him down, no rider overtook Price on the stage so he maintained his overall lead.

“The stage has gone really well – I set off first and I finished first on the road so that’s encouraging.” – Toby Price

It was not all plain sailing for the Red Bull KTM Factory Team though with British biker Sam Sunderland struggling with a rear wheel problem. Sunderland eventually came home in 21st place on the stage.

“I nursed the bike home but obviously lost a lot of time. We still have three days left, so I’ll continue to do my best and get some more kilometres on the bike to prepare for Dakar.” – Sam Sunderland

There’s close to 300 kilometres waiting for the Rallye du Maroc convoy on Sunday in the Erfoud region of the Sahara Desert. Even those at the top of the general classification will not be taking their position for granted just yet.

Source and Image: Red Pool Content