Motorsports Racing News & Blog Articles

Romain Dumontier will need more than a Hail Mary to defend his World Rally-Raid Championship.

A rash of navigation errors cost Dumontier roughly thirty minutes during Stage #4 on Thursday, dropping him as far as thirtieth in Rally2 early into the leg. He made up some lost ground, but it nowhere near enough as he finished a distant eighteenth and 33-and-a-half minutes behind stage winner Harith Noah.

The reigning Rally2 champion entered the Rallye du Maroc as the points leader, but has spent much of the rally chasing down rival Bradley Cox. Cox finished fifth and twenty-two minutes ahead of Dumontier to reinforce his lead. Going into the final day, Cox leads the overall and has 1:06:28 on the seventh-placed Dumontier (fifth among W2RC-eligible riders).

“Tomorrow I try to finish on a good notes,” wrote Dumontier.

While Cox is in position to secure the title, his three-stage win streak was snapped Thursday as he finished fifth. Stage #4 was dominated by a pair of 2024 Dakar Rally winners as Rally2 overall victor Noah led Original by Motul champion Tobias Ebster.

The Taurus T3 Max has been dominant at the Rallye du Maroc so far, but it was not enough for Nicolás Cavigliasso to make a last-minute charge for the World Rally-Raid Championship in the Challenger class.

Stage #3 was Cavigliasso’s last chance to close the gap on Rokas Baciuška for the title. He went into Wednesday trailing by 42 points, meaning he would have needed to win at least two of the last three stages and finish higher than third in the other to overtake him.

Although Tauruses swept the Challenger top seven to follow up their 1–2–3–4–5–6–7–8 on Tuesday, Cavigliasso failed to score any stage points as he finished sixth. Consequently, even if he wins Stages #4 and #5 (which award five bonus points apiece) and the overall (thirty points) while Baciuška fails to record any points whatsoever, he still falls short by two points.

Despite concerns with the shock absorbers and a puncture, Baciuška finished eighth. Coupled with his SSV title in 2023, he is the first driver with a W2RC crown in multiple classes.

“This is a historic event,” said Baciuška. “It’s hard to imagine that it’s possible to achieve this, but overall, it’s great to become a world champion.

The Race of Champions will return to racing in stadiums in 2025 while making its debut in Oceania. On Wednesday, race organisers announced the 2025 edition will be held at Accor Stadium in Sydney, Australia.

Also known as Stadium Australia or Olympic Stadium, Accor Stadium was built in 1999 for the 2000 Summer Olympics. Since then, the venue has been used for a variety of sporting events with primary focus on rugby, cricket, and both Australian and association football. It is currently the home stadium for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and South Sydney Rabbitohs of the National Rugby League, the New South Wales Waratahs of Super Rugby, and GWS Giants in the Australian Football League, while the Australian national teams in those sports also occasionally play there.

Accor Stadium is no stranger to racing either. In 2002, it hosted the inaugural Speedway Grand Prix of Australia, though it was dropped after just one edition; Marvel Stadium in Melbourne would be the new track location when the race was revived in 2013. That same year, Monster Jam held its maiden Australian event in Sydney.

Other events include concerts and even the occasional American football game.

“We are incredibly excited to bring the Race of Champions to Australia for the first time ever,” said ROC president Fredrik Johnsson. “ROC has always been about pushing drivers to their limits in unique conditions. Australia has a rich motorsport heritage, and we’re looking forward to celebrating that by pitting some of the best Australian drivers against some of the world’s most legendary racing stars in a spectacular showdown in the middle of Accor Stadium.”

When Frédéric Baudry fell off his bike in what was ultimately a fatal accident on Monday, Manuel Andújar was the first competitor to come to his aid. For lending his assistance, the FIA removed over twenty minutes from Andújar’s Stage #1 time.

Baudry, a Rally2 rider, crashed roughly ninety-seven kilometres into the first leg of the Rallye du Maroc and was knocked unconscious. As Andújar approached the scene, he was contacted by the race’s medical team to stop and provide help, which he and co-driver Bernardo Graue obliged.

“We spent 25 minutes at the scene trying to help doctors stabilise the driver,” Andujar explained on social media. Although he usually provides daily updates, he opted to wait until Tuesday after Stage #2 out of respect for Baudry’s family. The drivers and doctors then loaded Baudry onto the helicopter and he was flown to hospital in Zagora. From there, Andújar and Graue returned to their Can-Am Maverick R to continue the stage.

Unfortunately, by the time they finished the stage, Baudry had died from his injuries. A Leetchi was launched on Tuesday to raise money to support his family.

“When we arrived, we learned that the driver didn’t make it and passed away at the hospital in Zagora. The entire rally deeply mourns this loss,” Andújar continued. “All my respect and condolences to the family.”

João Ferreira had a nightmare start to the Rallye du Maroc when his ERTF navigation and GPS devices malfunctioned during Stage #1 on Monday. Fortunately, the FIA heard his pleas on Tuesday and corrected his time, reducing it from 3:27:16 to 2:19:52.

The first GPS unit suddenly stopped working 76.62 kilometres into the opening stage, as did the secondary unit at KM 88.36. Unable to figure out where they were going, Ferreira and co-driver Filipe Palmeiro stopped to contact Race Control to inform them of the issue. They were advised to follow other competitors in the meantime, but this proved difficult with the Sentinel system, which warns them of nearby dangers, offline.

“In some places it was really dangerous because of the dust and without the Sentinel they couldn’t overtake us,” Palmeiro explained to Cross-Country Rally News after Stage #1. “It was really tough, but we finished.

“I think some work needs to be done on this GPS issue, but that’s racing. Anyway, we did a very good job in these conditions. It wasn’t easy because of the rocks and dunes, but Joao drove very well.

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t push in this situation and we’re no longer in contention for a good result. I think that the FIA, the ERTF and everyone involved will have to rethink what’s happening, because it’s not normal.”

Mathieu Serradori has been disqualfied from the Rallye du Maroc after FIA stewards found two of the wheels on his Century CR7-T were underweight and had beadlocks installed.

At the end of Stage #1 on Monday, two of Serradori’s wheel rims were subjected to a random inspection. When measuring them, both were under the minimum weight of twelve kilograms with one weighing in at 11.006 kg and the other at 10.946 kg. Article 285-11.6 of the FIA’s International Sporting Code Appendix J stipulates that “only rims made from aluminum alloy and weighing more than 12 kg are authorised.”

An underweight wheel would usually just result in a fine, though the wheels were also found to have screws attached to keep the tyre’s beads secured to the wheel. Such a process is known as beadlock. ISC Appendix J’s Article 285-8 states the “use of any ‘Beadlock’ type device is forbidden” for four-wheel-drive cars like the Century.

Serradori’s team explained they had used beadlocks at the Baja Morocco, which took place a week before the Rallye du Maroc and is not under FIA sanction. According to the stewards’ report, they also admitted they were unaware of their ban from FIA events and that they “did not know anything about minimum weight limits. […] They have a person in the team responsible for tyres and rims, but this person also did not warn them about any weight limits.”

The misunderstanding can likely be attributed to the fact that Serradori previously drove the Century CR6, a two-wheel-drive machine where beadlocks are allowed and are not subject to weight requirements.

The folks at MCE-5 Development and Wevers Sport must be elated at how their creation fared in Tuesday’s Rallye du Maroc stage. Taurus T3 Max drivers swept the top eight in the Challenger category, while their new works programme EnergyLandia Taurus Factory Team finished first, second, and third in class with Michał Goczał leading the way.

The Goczał family dominated Stage #2 from start to finish. Michał and his brother Marek Goczał battled for the lead throughout the day, while the latter’s son Eryk Goczał fell behind early due to a tyre puncture but worked his way back up the order. He passed his father halfway before both of them got by Taurus colleague Mitch Guthrie of Red Bull Off-Road Junior Team in the final sixty kilometres.

BBR Motorsport drivers filled the next spots with Marcelo Gastaldi, Khalifa Al-Attiyah, Nicolás Cavigliasso, and Dania Akeel. The Arcane T3 of Hans Weijs Jr. and G Rally OT3 of Rui Carneiro rounded out the top ten.

Even without the Taurus onslaught, Tuesday was an uncharacteristically bad outing for Can-Am in Challenger. Points leader Rokas Baciuška finished eleventh after the belt on his Maverick snapped twice, but maintains his advantage in the standings because Cavigliasso’s sixth means he missed out on bonus points awarded to the top five. Baciuška leads Cavigliasso by 42 points and can secure the Challenger title if he beats the latter at any point or Cavigliasso fails to win two of the last three legs.

Al-Attiyah’s brother Nasser Al-Attiyah battled with his former ride at Toyota Gazoo Racing, now piloted by Lucas Moraes, for the Ultimate stage win. Although Nasser rapidly closed the gap after the final waypoint, he ran out of time as Moraes beat him by thirteen seconds. His Dacia colleague Sébastien Loeb joined him on the class podium after holding off Guillaume de Mévius with a fifteen-second edge.

Tragedy befell the Rallye du Maroc on Monday when Frédéric Baudry fell in the dunes during Stage #1, succumbing to his injuries later in the afternoon. He was 46 years old.

The Frenchman was making his second World Rally-Raid Championship start after finishing seventy-third in the Rally2 category at the 2023 Rallye du Maroc, with hopes of eventually doing the Dakar Rally. Riding a Kove 450 Rally prepared by Noamde Racing, he finished ninety-second in class in the Prologue on Sunday.

The accident occurred roughly ninety-seven kilometres into the stage, just past halfway. According to race director David Castéra, Baudry was unconscious when medical help arrived. He was airlifted to hospital in Zagora but died at 4:45 PM local time.

“This evening, the entire team is deeply shaken by the tragic loss of Fred,” reads a statement from Nomade Racing. “Our sincerest thoughts go first to his wife and children.

“Fred, prepare some beautiful tracks for us up there! We would have loved to support you all the way to the end of your Dakar dream…”

After Ricky Brabec‘s crash in Stage #1, Ross Branch simply needs to reach the finish on Friday to secure the World Rally-Raid Championship in RallyGP.

Brabec entered the Rallye du Maroc trailing Branch by nine points, but exited after the first day when he hurt his right knee on a landing at KM 77. He was able to ride to the finish, but the pain was too much for him to continue.

“I caught Pablo (Quintanilla) early on and we were riding really well together but then soon as we got to the dunes, I jumped a dune but when I landed I bottomed the frame out on the moguls that was on the other side,” Brabec explained. “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 stage I then 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.”

Honda team-mate Adrien Van Beveren is the only other rider with a mathematical chance at the title as he trails Branch by sixteen points. Even then, his chances are slim as he would have needed Branch to finish last among the seven points-eligible riders while he won. With Brabec dubiously taking that spot instead, Van Beveren’s only hope now is to finish top two while Branch retires.

Of course, Van Beveren can only control his own performance. He described the first stage as a “tough day” after starting fifth and struggling to navigate with the new roadbook tablet. Van Beveren settled for seventh.

Everyone feared weather would impact the Rallye du Maroc, and it certainly did not take long to do so.

Severe flooding following Sunday’s Prologue caused a deadlock on the liaison stage for competitors as they tried to travel from Ouarzazate to the next bivouac in Zagora. Local police stopped the caravan from proceeding until the river died down, but this left everyone stuck in the meantime.

With so many people arriving late, race organisers opted to swap the routes for Stages #1 and #2. The “new” Stage #1 on Monday, a loop starting and ending in Zagora, has also been shortened from the original 317 kilometres in Selective Sections to just 180 km for FIM riders and 178 km for FIA drivers.

Morocco was hit by torrential downpours and flooding at historic levels in September, killing over twenty people in the country and neighbouring Algeria. Rally organiser ODC Event anticipated inclement weather to potentially interfere with the race, sending crews to the route to analyse the damage to the environment. The Baja Morocco, an unrelated cross-country rally held the week before the Rallye du Maroc, also had to adjust its route accordingly.

Driver Isidre Esteve noted days before the race that “the chotts have flooded, and lakes have formed in front of the dunes of Merzouga, something I’ve never seen before. All the main tracks, which used to be visible, have disappeared.”

The highly anticipated Dacia Sandrider made its competition début in Sunday’s Prologue of the Rallye du Maroc. It was probably not ideal then that Sébastien Loeb ended up in a ditch with his.

A roadbook miscommunication between Loeb and co-driver Fabian Lurquin got them trapped in a trench with a broken right front suspension arm. Fortunately for them, Marcos Baumgart, who is racing a Prodrive Hunter (the predecessor to the Sandrider), wound up in the ditch himself moments later and decided to help once he was able to get out.

Once Loeb and Lurquin made the necessary repairs, they brought the car to the finish in fortieth of forty-one in the Ultimate class. While they finished 22:45 back of leader Guerlain Chicherit, Prologue times do not count towards the overall for FIA classes. As such, they will have a brand new slate on the leaderboard for Stage #1, though they will still be starting further back due to their position.

“We should have stayed more to the right of the track, but Fabian didn’t have time to give me the information,” Loeb explained. “There were a lot of notes immediately after one another in such a short time. We came to the ditch, deep but not wide, I saw it and slowed down but we still fell in.”

Dacia team-mate and current World Rally-Raid Championship leader Nasser Al-Attiyah finished thirteenth after taking a more conservative approach, not wanting to be the first car on the road. Their other colleague Cristina Gutiérrez, being an Ultimate newcomer, pushed and was fourth.

Dakar Team Spierings has formed a partnership with Rebellion Racing for the 2025 Dakar Rally, both parties announced Sunday. Their collaboration, called Rebellion Spierings, will entail fielding Rebellion’s Toyota Hilux as well as two cars in the Challenger category from Spierings.

Spierings previously teamed up with Roger Grouwels to create Dakar Team Spierings RaceArt for the 2024 Dakar, where the former finished tenth in Challenger and the latter bowed out after halfway. Grouwels has since moved on to focus on the Ultimate category alongside Janus van Kasteren in 2026.

January’s Dakar was Spierings’ sixth overall, third on four wheels, and first in Challenger. He raced on a bike from 2019 to 2021 before switching to an SSV out of safety concern. Rebellion Timepieces, the parent company of Rebellion Racing and the official watchmaker of the Dakar Rally, has long sponsored his cars.

“We proudly picked up our new buggies last week, and they are now being made completely in our new style at Vughts Reclame,” reads a statement from Spierings.

Rebellion Racing is primarily known for their successes in the FIA World Endurance Championship, winning six championships across LMP1 and LMP2 during the 2010s as well as the LMp1-L class at the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans. Despite plans of becoming Peugeot’s Hypercar factory team, the programme was shut down after the 2020 Le Mans 24.

Eryk Goczał and Martin Koloc will be without their co-drivers for the Rallye du Maroc due to last-minute emergencies. Goczał’s usual navigator Oriol Mena is staying home in Spain to attend to a family matter, while Koloc’s partner David Schovánek opted to sit out the race citing what Koloc said was “acute health complications.”

Álex Haro has been entrusted with calling the shots for Goczał in the #307 Taurus T3 Max, while Mirko Brun will make his debut in a T1+ car as the navigator for Koloc’s Red-Lined REVO+ GT-R.

Haro has worked as a navigator for over a decade, with the 2024 Dakar Rally marking his tenth start in the event when he was the co-driver for Nani Roma. The Spaniard has two Dakar stage wins to his name, both with Giniel de Villiers. In April, he linked up with X-raid Team to work with Dakar winner Carlos Sainz at the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid, finishing fourth.

“I want to really greet Oriol’s father, because unfortunately in Rallye du Maroc Oriol will not be driving with me, he cannot,” Goczał told Cross-Country Rally News. “Although I will be joined in the team by Álex Haro, a T1 co-driver, which I think also gives me a great opportunity to get a step further into the T1 world, to learn more.

“I truly cannot say how happy I am to be back racing after the Dakar. I think we are much more prepared than the Dakar and we’ll give it all we’ve got.”

After being the final rider to complete the Dakar Rally on a Kawasaki motorcycle, Patricio Cabrera has rejoined the marque with factory backing for November’s Baja 1000 and the 2025 SCORE International season.

Cabrera is the current SCORE Pro Moto Ironman points leader, holding a five-point edge over Brian Roberts entering the fourth and final race of the season. Although 2024 is his first year in the series and riding on his own, he and his KTM have proven stout with three consecutive runner-up finishes at the San Felipe 250, Baja 500, and Baja 400.

Prior to desert racing, he was a motocross champion in his native Chile. In 2013, he made his Dakar début on a Kawasaki KLX450R with backing from Kawasaki Chile CIDEF and finished eighty-fourth overall. He switched to a Kawasaki KX450F in 2017, where his thirty-third was his best career finish during the Dakar’s South American run.

When the Dakar moved to Saudi Arabia in 2020, Cabrera improved to twenty-eighth overall. After Kawasaki eased back its rally programme, he continued to race the event on a KTM 450 Rally in 2020. His tenth and most recent Dakar was a twentieth in Rally2 in 2023; at 32 years of age, he is the youngest person to hit the ten-start benchmark, which classifies him as a “Dakar Legend”.

Beto Verber will oversee Cabrera’s #745X team as lead mechanic and manager. Verber has over three decades of SCORE and desert experience, including a seven-year stretch riding for Kawasaki Team Green from 1990 to 1996. Other team members include Carlos Valenzuela,
Mauricio Hernadez, and Cabrera’s father Patricio Cabrera Sr.

Should discussions be fruitful, the World Rally-Raid Championship will have a title for the best bike team in 2025. The FIM Jury delivered a notice to all team managers inviting them to discuss the proposal on Tuesday morning in the Rallye du Maroc bivouac.

The FIM currently awards W2RC trophies to the champion rider and manufacturer. Only the premier RallyGP class has the latter, while the top rider wins a title in all four categories (RallyGP, Rally2, Rally3, and Quad).

At first glance, the manufacturers’ title might make it redundant to have a team championship, at least in RallyGP. After all, the class is reserved for factory-level riders, meaning their teams are usually the marques themselves. For example, the 2024 manufacturers’ championship is a duel between Honda and Hero, whose RallyGP entries exclusively and respectively race for Monster Energy Honda Rally Team and Hero MotoSports.

However, the 2024 points battle only featuring two teams (compared to five in 2023) means the FIM is likely hoping to add a team-based title to include privateers and others. Such a decision would also be more practical for Rally2, where there are a plethora of outfits and riders are more likely to switch bikes while staying under their own banner.

A team trophy does not exist on the FIA side of the W2RC, though the FIA Baja Cups have them. The European and Middle East Baja Cups also had category-specific team championships for SSVs before being expanded to all divisions in 2024. On the other hand, there is no such award in the FIM Bajas World Cup.