Daniel Sanders has claimed victory over Adrien Van Beveren and Pablo Quintanilla on stage three of the 2024 Rallye du Maroc.
Demonstrating exceptional skill in the dunes of today’s timed special, the Australian has taken the provisional rally lead with an advantage of one minute and 35 seconds after three full days and more than nine hours of intense competition.
The route of the longest day of this year’s Rallye du Maroc headed out of Zagora into the Oriental region but unlike the previous stages, the rain had not made as much of an impact on the route. 327km of timed special awaited the competitors as the stage made its way north via the breathtaking Merzouga and Erg Chebbi dunes, which rise over 500 feet at their peak. It was going to be as spectacular to ride as they were to see, especially as the recent rainfall had created glimmering lakes that nestled in amongst the dunes. With half of the stage made up of stony tracks caution was still advised as riders headed to the final destination of Mengoub Bouârfa.
As the third rider into the special, Daniel Sanders had two targets ahead of him in the form of Tosha Schareina and Adrien Van Beveren, both of whom he caught by kilometer 104.
Having made up good time on his rivals over the first half of the special, Sanders maintained a solid but safe pace over the second half, which consisted primarily of washed-out riverbeds and fast, rocky tracks. Making little in the way of errors over the long stage, and despite not earning any bonus time, Sanders rode home safely as fastest on the special. After well over nine hours of racing against the clock, Sanders holds a one-minute-and-30-second advantage at the front of the field.
“That’s stage three done! Another very long day on the bike with over 200 kilometers done in the morning and then well over 300 kilometers of special,” Sanders said. “It’s been super-hot, very dusty, and very demanding. I felt really good today and got off to a strong start. I caught the two guys ahead by the neutralization then pushed through the dust a little bit and got into the dunes. One of the guys ahead made a little mistake, but it meant it was difficult to get out front and collect any time bonus, so as the terrain turned a little rockier, I just played it smart and made sure I brought the bike home safely. We have a new area to race tomorrow, so I’m looking forward to it.”
With two stages remaining, Adrien Van Beveren isn’t giving up in the title fight just yet and took a spirited second place finish. Although nearly five minutes behind his teammate Schareina, today’s result has moved him up from fifth to third overall and with scenes reminiscent of Saudi Arabia’s Empty Quarter coming up on the last two stages, this terrain will favour the Dakar 48 Hour Chrono winner.
“Today I had a good stage, I was in Tosha’s dust for a while, then Daniel Sanders caught me so I spent half of the stage in a lot of dust,” the Frenchman explained. “It was a bit frustrating to not be able to push in my own rhythm but I then focused, accepted the situation and kept more or less the same distance to Daniel. The last part was really stony but I enjoyed the ride, the bike is really safe and this is an important factor in this race because there is a lot of dangers and risk. I felt comfortable, I had good rhythm without the need to go faster than normal, so now I will remain focused for the next couple of days.”
With a better set up on his bike, Pablo Quintanilla was on a charge from the off posting the quickest time 33km into the stage. After a committed ride through the Merzouga dunes, his consistent pace paid off with the third fastest time of the day.
“Well the first part of the stage was really fun to ride, there were some fast pistes in the valleys, with mixed terrain alternating between hard pack and sandy sections,” Quintanilla explained. “Then we got to the classic Merzouga dunes which were really fun to ride until the refuelling. After that we started with the rocky section in the hard packed piste and I was pushing and feeling quite good. Then in the rocky sections it was a bit dangerous and I didn’t want to take any risks. I’m feeling better on the bike day by day with a good setup, so I’m happy.”
Maintaining a strong pace over the varied terrain of stage three, Luciano Benavides set off fifth into today’s 327-kilometer special and held that position to the finish where he now lies fourth overall in the provisional rally standings and is focused on making the best use of his seat time on the bike in race conditions to build his confidence and speed ahead of the upcoming Dakar Rally next January.
“It feels good to get stage three done – it was a really long stage and quite tough, similar to a Dakar stage,” Benavides said. “There were a lot of broken pistes and rocky tracks, and I found it tricky to settle into a good rhythm. The pace isn’t quite there yet, but we’ll keep on working on some things and improve the set-up as the rally goes on.”
Tosha Schareina carried on fighting hard to the finish line where his grit and determination had paid off to be quickest by 52 seconds. However, after the organisers had analysed Schareina’s GPS, he was found to have left the mid-stage neutralisation zone too early and was given a 13 minute time penalty which dropped him down to fifth and second overall.
“I made a big mistake six kilometres into the stage so I then had to try and fix something on my bike which meant I lost a bit of concentration and around four minutes in time,” Schareina explained. “Adrien was coming and I tried to chase him, I then passed him and continued to push during the rest of the stage. Daniel is putting a lot of pressure on, so with two more days to go I will keep focussed and go for it.”
The penultimate stage tomorrow loops around Megoub Bouârfa with 315km against the clock as the route takes them west wards from the Algerian border where the desert terrain will make riders feel like they’re back at the Dakar. This will be a good warm up for the 47th edition of the famous rally that takes place in January.
Provisional Results – 2024 Rallye du Maroc, Stage 3
1 Daniel Sanders (AUS), KTM, 3:27:03
2 Tosha Schareina (ESP), Honda, 3:29:20 +2:17
3 Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Honda, 3:31:24 +4:21
4 Pablo Quintanilla (CHL), Honda, 3:35:52 +8:49
5 Luciano Benavides (ARG), KTM, 3:36:04 +9:01
Provisional Standings – 2024 Rallye du Maroc (after 3 of 5 stages)
1 Daniel Sanders (AUS), KTM, 9:27:08
2 Tosha Schareina (ESP), Honda, 9:28:43 +1:35
3 Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Honda, 9:41:29 +14:21
4 Luciano Benavides (ARG), KTM, 9:43:20 +16:12
5 Pablo Quintanilla (CHL), Honda, 9:43:38 +16:30
