Rallye du Maroc sets the stage for a tight FIM world title battle

The 27th edition of the Rallye OLA Energy du Maroc, round four of the championship, will take place between Agadir and Zagora from September 28 to October 3. The FIM entry list features 131 competitors: 8 in RallyGP, 110 in Rally2, 10 in Rally3 and 3 in Quads. After Argentina, the gaps between the top three motorcycle riders have narrowed considerably, setting up a close title battle ahead of the finale.

In the motorcycle category, after two consecutive RallyGP victories, reigning world champion Daniel Sanders is now neck and neck with Tosha Schareina (-3 points). But Luciano Benavides, the Dakar winner, is only 6 points behind the leader. In Rally2, Martim Ventura holds a 4-point lead over Toni Mulec. In Rally3, Murun Purevdorj and Alan Eduardo are separated by just one point. In the Quads, Antanas Kanopkinas, the defending winner of the race with his CF Moto, leads the championship and starts as one of the favourites.

FIM: Sanders–Schareina, the rematch?

In RallyGP, all three manufacturers competing in the championship are planning to field all their riders fit to start in Agadir.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (131 manufacturer points) with Daniel Sanders, Luciano Benavides and Edgar Canet. Monster Energy Honda HRC (126 manufacturer points) with Tosha Schareina, Ricky Brabec and Adrien Van Beveren. Hero Motosports (52 manufacturer points) with Ignacio Cornejo.

The top four in the championship (Sanders, Schareina, Benavides and Brabec) are also the four standout riders from the last two editions in Morocco. Sanders and Schareina battled for victory, with the Australian prevailing in 2024 and the Spaniard last year. Behind them, Benavides made the podium two years ago and Brabec last year. For the American, this will notably be his “last dance” in Morocco. Ricky has announced that the 2027 Dakar will be his final motorcycle race.

Conversely, for Skyler Howes, the last American to win the event (2022), the Rallye OLA Energy du Maroc will mark a new beginning. For him, but also for ZX Moto, the Chinese manufacturer already involved in Supersport and now making its debut in rally-raid.

In Rally2, the factory teams entered include Hero Motosports with Michael Docherty and India’s Shlok Ghorpade, Monster Energy Honda HRC with Martim Ventura and Preston Campbell, Sherco TVS with Harith Noah, and Kove with Sunier Sunier and Neels Theric. ZX Moto is also entering the second division with the returning Tobias Ebster.

Michael Docherty, who crashed on his Hero debut in Argentina, is no longer in contention for the championship. The South African, runner-up in Rally2 here last year (behind Edgar Canet, who has since moved up to RallyGP), will be eager to bounce back. The same applies to Duust rider Konrad Dabrowski, third in 2025, who finds himself in a similar situation. Tobias Ebster finished fourth at the time. But HRC factory riders Ventura (69 points) and Campbell (52 points) were discovering Morocco back then. They have since gained valuable experience and are already challenging Mulec (65 points), the privateer BAS World KTM rider who won Rally2 at the Dakar.