2024 Rallye du Maroc: Rokas Baciuska clinches Challenger championship in Stage 3

The Taurus T3 Max has been dominant on the Rallye du Maroc to this point, but it surely was not sufficient for Nicolás Cavigliasso to make a last-minute cost for the World Rally-Raid Championship within the Challenger class.

Stage #3 was Cavigliasso’s final likelihood to shut the hole on Rokas Baciuška for the title. He went into Wednesday trailing by 42 factors, which means he would have wanted to win at the very least two of the final three levels and end increased than third within the different to overhaul him.

Though Tauruses swept the Challenger prime seven to observe up their 1–2–3–4–5–6–7–8 on Tuesday, Cavigliasso failed to attain any stage factors as he completed sixth. Consequently, even when he wins Phases #4 and #5 (which award 5 bonus factors apiece) and the general (thirty factors) whereas Baciuška fails to document any factors in any way, he nonetheless falls brief by two factors.

Regardless of issues with the shock absorbers and a puncture, Baciuška completed eighth. Coupled together with his SSV title in 2023, he’s the primary driver with a W2RC crown in a number of courses.

“It is a historic occasion,” mentioned Baciuška. “It’s exhausting to think about that it’s doable to realize this, however total, it’s nice to change into a world champion.

“The targets are being achieved even right this moment. On a day like this within the forest, the largest problem was most likely a headache. I really feel a bit of sick, however in a very good temper, and turning into a world champion for the third time is wonderful.”

Challenger is the third class to have its factors battle wrapped up earlier than the tip of the season finale after Quad and Rally3. Quad was received by Manuel Andújar on the earlier spherical in Argentina, whereas John Medina clinched by merely beginning Morocco. Ross Department can also be on the verge of securing the RallyGP championship however nonetheless wants to succeed in the end (no matter place) to take action.

Andújar, now an SSV driver, completed third within the Experimental UTV class. Hunter Miller, a Can-Am ambassador and former King of the Hammers winner, notched his first stage win as a rally raid driver.

In RallyGP, Department continued to race conservatively to guard his bike and was seventh. Tosha Schareina initially took the stage win however had 13 minutes added to his time for exiting the neutralisation zone too quickly. Daniel Sanders inherited the win for his maiden stage victory with Crimson Bull KTM Manufacturing facility Racing.

As he has since Monday, Yasir Seaidan continued to be the best-finishing W2RC driver in SSV as he positioned second behind Alexandre Pinto by two minutes. This halved his deficit on Sebastián Guayasamín to only two factors because the latter completed third amongst points-earning racers as a consequence of Rebecca Busi nipping him by a minute.

At 325 kilometres, Stage #3 is the longest of the 5. Regardless of the size, the Final stage victory got here down to only nineteen seconds as Sébastien Loeb lastly notched his first with Dacia forward of Guillaume de Mévius.

His team-mate Nasser Al-Attiyah beat Yazeed Al-Rajhi for fifth and one other essential bonus level. The 2 at the moment are separated by 31 factors.

Stage #2 winner Lucas Moraes had a damaged throttle pedal 140 kilometres into the leg that dropped him to twenty-sixth. Additionally within the class, Aliyyah Koloc retired from the race after her REVO Crimson-Lined T1+ slid right into a ditch 5 metres deep; she and her co-driver Sébastien Delaunay have been unhurt.

“We flew over a horizon and tried to get on the bridge. Sadly it was too slippery and we didn’t handle to interrupt and cease fast sufficient and fell into an enormous gap,” Delaunay defined.

Jongbloed Dakar Group‘s Renault hybrid vehicles, the one Open Truck entries, had a troublesome day. The nostril on Gert Huzink‘s truck got here free a number of occasions, prompting him to go away it behind and hold going just for the engine to overheat due to the shortage of correct airflow; this pressured him to exit the race for the day. His cousin Kay Huzink misplaced the observe rod within the ultimate 100 kilometres adopted by a damaged shock absorber with ten km to go that snapped an air hose.

Mathieu Serradori was the quickest of the three Open Vehicles, having converted from the usual Final class following his disqualification on Tuesday. Martin Koloc withdrew after his daughter’s accident.

Stage #3 winners

Leaders after Stage #3