Al-Attiyah is the defending W2RC champion and a seven-time winner in Morocco. He takes a nine-point lead over South African Lategan into the start of the six-day event in Fez. Brazil’s Moraes is a further point adrift, although Toyota Gazoo Racing has already retained the W2RC Manufacturers’ title for the fourth time.

Al-Attiyah’s former co-driver Edouard Boulanger now sits alongside the Qatari’s team-mate and nine-time WRC champion Sébastien Loeb in the second Dacia Sandrider and has a 14-point cushion over Lategan’s navigator Brett Cummings in the quest to become the champion navigator. Spaniard Armand Monleón partners Moraes and is a further point behind. Cristina Gutiérrez and Pablo Moreno crew the third Sandrider.

Of the 107 entrants across the Ultimate, Challenger, SSV, Stock and Truck categories, 33 are registered for points in the W2RC. Twenty-two of those registrations are in the flagship Ultimate category with many of the teams carrying out final shakedowns before preparations begin in earnest for the Dakar Rally in January.

Ford M-Sport has entered every round of this year’s championship and will finish third in the W2RC Manufacturers’ Championship. The team fields the four Raptors it hopes will make history in January and win the Dakar for the first time. 

Carlos Sainz has won the Dakar on four occasions with other teams and lines up with Lucas Cruz in the lead Raptor with Mattias Ekström, Joan Roma and Mitch Guthrie driving the other three machines alongside their navigators Emil Bergkvist, Alex Haro and Kellon Walch. 

Seth Quintero, Saood Variawa and João Ferreira bolster the Toyota Gazoo Racing challenge and there is an Overdrive Racing Toyota entry for the defending Dakar champion Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Hilux IMT Evos run by SVR Racing for Juan Cruz Yacopini, Tomas Ourednicek and Marcos Baumgart. The latter two are not registered for the W2RC.

The Energylandia Rally Team has three registered Toyotas in the field for Eryk, Marek and Michal Goczal, while Lionel Baud and his daughter Lucie represent the X-Raid Mini JCW Team in a diesel-engined Mini.

Other registered drivers include Jean-Luc Ceccaldi in an Optimum MD Rallye, seasoned regular Mathieu Serradori in a Century CR7, Daniel Schröder (Volkwagen) and Czech veteran Martin Prokop (Ford).

Cavigliasso on the verge of W2RC Challenger glory  

Argentina’s Nicolas Cavigliasso is on the verge of confirming victory in the Challenger category in his Taurus T3 Max. He heads to the start with a healthy 29-point lead over Spanish rival Pau Navarro in the Drivers’ Championship. 

Saudi Dania Akeel is a further 13 points behind but rising Portuguese star Gonçalo Guerreiro was in with a shout of a podium finish to the season after his recent win in Portugal but has not made the trip to Morocco. Cavigliasso’s partner Valentina Pertegarini has already secured the Navigator’ title. Taurus T3 Max machines have dominated the category this season. 

Nine of the 26 Challenger entrants are registered for the W2RC. Dutchman Puck Klaassen and Portugal’s Rui Carneiro represent the G Rally Team in OT3s, Saudi Arabia’s Yasir Seaidan returns to action in his Race World Team MMP Rally-Raid and Adam Kuś represents the Akpol Recycling Team in a Taurus.

There are also a pair of the latest Taurus Evo Max machines entered by the QMMF Racing Team by Nasser Racing for Al-Attiyah’s brother Khalifa and last year’s FIA Middle East rally champion Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari.

Two-time Dakar-winning motorcyclist Kevin Benavides announced his retirement from competing on two wheels and the Argentine makes his debut on four-wheels at the rear of the Challenger category in a BBR Motorsport Taurus T3 Max.

There are also non-registered entries for the likes of Dutch all-rounder Kees Koolen (OT3), Saudi female racer Maha Al-Hamali (MMP Rally-Raid) and Charles Muster (Taurus).

Pinto guaranteed to seal SSV title; vital test session for Can-Am Factory Team

Portugal’s Alexandre Pinto is now assured to follow his navigator Bernardo Oliveira to SSV honours. His 20-year-old co-driver secured the Navigators’ Championship in Portugal recently but Pinto has had to wait until Morocco to confirm the title. He has a 33-point lead over Enrico Gaspari (Can-Am) in the Drivers’ Championship in his Polaris RXR Pro R Sport but his Italian rival has not made the trip to North Africa. 

Just two of the 30 SSV entrants are registered for the W2RC with the Argentine duo of Manuel Andujar and Andres Frini also seeking points in their South Racing Can-Am Maverick R. 

Despite the lack of W2RC entries in the SSV class, many top names are using the event as a pre-Dakar shakedown and both the Can-Am Factory Team and South Racing have returned with a vengeance. Chile’s Francesco Lopez has multiple Dakar honours to his name and he tops the category in a Can-Am with the American duo of Hunter Miller and Kyle Chaney and Argentina’s Jeremias Gonzalez Ferioli also representing the official factory team. 

There are additional South Racing entries for Portugal’s Luis Cidade, Saudi Arabia’s Hassan Jameel, Poland’s Maciej Oleksowicz, Argentina’s Gustavo Gallego, Briton Richard Azcel and South African Geoffrey Minnitt. 

Santag Racing is running three Polaris RZR Pro R Sports for João Dias, Helder Rodrigues and Rui Serpa.

The Stock category for series-production cross-country machines will come on stream in 2026 within the W2RC. Frenchman Ronald Basso and Japan’s Akira Miura are members of the official Team Land Cruiser Toyota Auto Body operation and are using the event as a shakedown before the Dakar Rally. The Land Rover Defender team is also scheduled to join the competition next year with the D7X-R and has carried out over 1,000km in testing in Morocco but is not present in the event.

There are five truck entrants at the rear of the field using the event as a pre-Dakar test.

This year's Rallye du Maroc starts in the historic city of Fez, which will host the 19km Prologue on Sunday, October 12th. The route then heads to the bivouac of Erfoud on Monday, October 13th and teams will tackle the first desert stage of around 300km (subject to final checks).

Erfoud will then be the base for the remainder of the event with four loop stages of around 300km, 322km, 284km and 216km being used to decide the outcome of this year’s W2RC. A Power Stage of 33km is also in the itinerary after the last of the desert specials.

A total of 2,299 kilometres are on the agenda, 1,478 of which will be timed against the clock.

2025 Rally du Maroc – entry list: 

Ultimate

200. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Fabian Lurquin (BEL)                                                   Dacia Sandrider*        

201. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (KSA)/Timo Gottschalk (GER)                                                             Toyota Hilux*                               

202. Lucas Moraes (BRA)/Armand Monleón (ESP)                                                              Toyota Hilux*

203. Juan Cruz Yacopini (ARG)/Daniel Oliveras (ESP)                                                          Toyota Hilux IMT Evo*

204. Henk Lategan (RSA)/Brett Cummings (RSA)                                                                Toyota Hilux*

205. Seth Quintero (USA)/Andrew Short (USA)                                                                   Toyota Hilux*

206. Saood Variawa (RSA)/François Cazalet (FRA)                                                              Toyota Hilux IMT Evo*

207. Jean-Luc Ceccaldi (FRA)/Guilhem Alves (FRA)                                                             Optimum MD Rallye*

208. Mathieu Serradori (FRA)/Loic Minaudier (FRA)                                                           Century CR7*

209. Daniel Schröder (GER)/Henry Kohne (RSA)                                                                  Volkswagen Amarok*

210. Eryk Goczal (POL)/Szymon Gospodarczyk (POL)                                                          Toyota Hilux*

211. Marek Goczal (POL)/Maciej Marton (POL)                                                                  Toyota Hilux*

212. Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP)/Pablo Moreno (ESP)                                                               Dacia Sandrider*

216. Tomas Ourednicek (CZE)/Rafal Marton (POL)                                                             Toyota Hilux IMT Evo

218. Michal Goczal (POL)/Diego Ortega (ESP)                                                                     Toyota Hilux*

219. Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Edouard Boulanger (FRA)                                                         Dacia Sandrider*

220. Marcos Baumgart (BRA)/Kleber Cincea (BRA)                                                              Toyota Hilux Evo

221. Martin Prokop (CZE)/Viktor Chytka (CZE)                                                                    Ford Raptor*

223. Brian Baragwanath (RSA)/Leonard Cremer (RSA)                                                        Century CR7                                 

224. Lionel Baud (FRA)/Lucie Baud (FRA)                                                                             Mini JCW Rally 3.0D*

225. Carlos Sainz (ESP)/Lucas Cruz (ESP)                                                                             Ford Raptor*

226. Mattias Ekström (SWE)/Emil Bergkvist (SWE)                                                             Ford Raptor*

227. Joan Roma (ESP)/Alex Haro (ESP)                                                                                Ford Raptor*

228. Mitch Guthrie (USA)/Kellon Walch (USA)                                                                    Ford Raptor*

230. Isidre Esteve Pujol (ESP)/José-Maria Villalobos (ESP)                                                  Toyota Hilux

233. Hernan Garces (CHI)/Juan Pablo Latrach (CHI)                                                            Toyota Hilux 

234. Janus Van Kasteren (NED)/Marcel Snijders (NED)                                                       Century CR7-T

235. Jourdan Serderidis (GRE)/Fréderic Miclotte (BEL)                                                       Ford Raptor 

236. Mark Mustermann (AUT)/Michael Jazc (AUT)                                                             Toyota Hilux

237. Maik Willems (NED)/Arjan van Tiel (NED)                                                                   Toyota Hilux

239. Laia Sanz (ESP)/Maurizio Gerini (ITA)                                                                          Ebro S800

240. Joāo Ferreira (POR)/Filipe Palmeiro (POR)                                                                  Toyota Hilux IMT Evo*

241. Rik Van Den Brink (NED)/Gydo Heimans (NED)                                                           Century CR7

242, Francesco Dracone (ITA)/Alessandro Verna (ITA)                                                       Toyota Hilux

243. Michiel Becx (NED)/Wouter de Graaff (NED)                                                               Century CR7

244. Tomasz Baronowski (POL)/Konrad Dudzinski (POL)                                                                      Toyota Hilux

245. Roger Grouwels (NED)Rudolf Meijer (NED)                                                                 Century CR7

246. Nathan Hayashi (CAN)/Shane Hairsine (CAN)                                                              Ford Branco Raptor

248. Ferran Jubany (ESP)/Marc Sola (ESP)                                                                           Optimum MD Rallye

249. Benôit Fretin (FRA)/Cédric Duplé (FRA)                                                                                         Century CR6

250. Lucas Del Rio (CHI)/Bruno Jacomy (ARG)                                                                     Optimum MD Rallye

251. Jérémie Renou (FRA)/Antoine Sanchez (FRA)                                                              Century CR6

252. Frédéric Chesneau (FRA)/Lionel Romanin (FRA)                                                         Century CR6

253. Mike van Eikeren (NED)/Jasper Riezebos (NED)                                                          Century CR6

Challenger 

301. Nicolas Cavigliasso (ARG)/Valentia Pertegarini (ARG)                                                 Taurus T3 Max*

302. Puck Klaassen (NED)/ Augusto Sanz (ARG)                                                                  G Rally Team OT3*

303. Pau Navarro (ESP)/Jan Rosa (ESP)                                                                                Taurus T3 Max*

304. Dania Akeel (SAU)/Carlos Sachs (BRA)                                                                         Taurus T3 Max*

306. Adam Kuś (POL)/Dmytro Tsyro (UKR)                                                                          Taurus T3 Max*

307. Khalifa Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Max Delfino (FRA)                                                                Taurus Evo Max*

308. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (QAT)/Stéphane Duplé (FRA)                                                      Taurus Evo Max*

312. Jayden Els (RSA)/Johannes Swemmer (RSA)                                                                Taurus T3 Max

314. Charles Munster (LUX)/Xavier Panseri (FRA)                                                               Taurus T3 Max

315. Kees Koolen (NED)/Jurgen van den Goorbergh (NED)                                                 G Rally Team OT3

316. Emilio Fernandez (CHI)/Ion Del Cid (ESP)                                                                     Taurus T3 Max

317. Paul Spierings (NED)/Jan Pieter van der Stelt (NED)                                                   Taurus Evo Max

318. Aurélien Bouchet (FRA)/Elisa Huguenin (FRA)                                                             PH-Sport Zephyr Phase 2

320. Alexandre Giroud (FRA)/ Armelle Henry (FRA)                                                            Taurus T3 Max

321. Rui Carneiro (POR)/Ola Floene (NOR)                                                                          G Rally Team OT3*

322. Pablo Copetti (USA)/Carlos Verza (ARG)                                                                                        MMP Can-Am

323. Louis Baudrand (FRA)/Valentin Sarreaud (FRA)                                                           Apache APH03

324. Pal Lonyai (HUN)/Alexey Kuzmich (UAE)                                                                     G Rally Team OT3

325. Lex Peters (NED)/Mark Salomons (NED)                                                                      Arcane T3

327. Oscar Ral (ESP)/Pol Ros (ESP)                                                                                       Taurus T3 Max

328. Rine Streppel (NED)/Lisette Bakker (NED)                                                                   Arcane T3

329. Luis Gonçalves (POR)/Hugo Magalhães (POR)                                                             Taurus T3 Max

330. Martin Benko (SVK)/Marek Sykora (SVK)                                                                     T3M by MCE-5 Development 

331. Maha Al-Hamali (KSA)/Xavier Fick (FRA)                                                                     MMP T3 Rally-Raid

347. Kevin Benavides (ARG)/Lisandro Sisterna (ARG)                                                         Taurus T3 Max

SSV

401. Francesco Lopez (CHI)/Alvaro Leon (CHI)                                                                    Can-Am Maverick R

402. Alexandre Pinto (POR)/Bernardo Oliveira (POR)                                                         Polaris RZR Pro R Sport*

403. João Dias (POR)/Nuno Morais (POR)                                                                           Polaris RZR Pro R Sport                

405. Helder Rodrigues (POR)/Gonçalo Reis (POR)                                                               Polaris RZR Pro R Sport

406. Manuel Andujar (ARG)/Andres Frini (ARG)                                                                  Can-Am Maverick R*

408. Hunter Miller (USA)/Jeremy Gray (USA)                                                                                        Can-Am Maverick R

410. Rui Serpa (POR)/Rui Pita (POR)                                                                                    Polaris RZR Pro R Sport

411. Jeremias Gonzalez Ferioli (ARG)/Gonzalo Rinaldi (ARG)                                             Can-Am Maverick R    

412. Luis Cidade (POR)/Sebastien Cesana (ARG)                                                                 Can-Am Maverick R

414. Juan Miguel Fidel (ESP)/Javier Ventaja (ESP)                                                               Herrator Buggy

417. Hassan Jameel (KSA)/Maciej Giemza (POL)                                                                 Can-Am Maverick R

418. Maciej Oleksowicz (POL)/Marcin Sienkiewicz (POL)                                                                      Can-Am Maverick R

419. Kyle Chaney (USA)/Jacob Argubright (USA)                                                                 Can-Am Maverick R

420. Gustavo Gallego (ARG)/Eugenio Arrieta (ARG)                                                            Can-Am Maverick R

422. José Oscar Nogueira (POR)/ Arcélio Couto (POR)                                                        Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR

423. Richard Aczel (GBR)/Wouter Rosegaar (NED)                                                              Can-Am Maverick R

424. Geoffrey Minnitt (RSA)/Rodney Burke (RSA)                                                               Can-Am Maverick R

425. Michael Devos (BEL)/Karim Ez-Zouaq (FRA)                                                                Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR

426. Joan Piferrer (ESP)/Xavier Blanco (ESP)                                                                       Can-Am Maverick R

428. Vic Flip (AUT)/Gerhard Schmiedberger (AUT)                                                             Can-Am Maverick R

429. Mindaugas Sidabras (LTU)/Ernestas Cesokas (LTU)                                                                       Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR

430. Phillippe Boutron (FRA)/Mayeul Barbet (FRA)                                                            Can-Am Maverick R

431. José-Maria Cami (ESP)/Cristian Cami (ESP)                                                                  Can-Am Maverick R

432. Oscar Masó (ESP)/Pedro Lopez (ESP)                                                                           Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR

433. Benôit Lepietre (FRA)/Peter Serra (FRA)                                                                      Can-Am Maverick R

434. Pedro Caparrós (ESP)/Abel Montoya (ESP)                                                                  Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR

435. Benôit Delmas (FRA)/Firdaouss Al-Fannane (MAR)                                                                       Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR

436. Rui Rodrigues da Silva (POR)/Francisco Peixoto (POR)                                                Polaris RXR Pro R Sport 

437. Juan Manuel Maña (ESP)/Giovanni di Blasi (ESP)                                                        Polaris RXR Pro R Sport

438. Raoul Fenestraz (FRA)/Serge Gounon (FRA)                                                                Can-Am Maverick XRS Turbo RR

Stock

500. Ronald Basso (FRA)/Julien Menard (FRA)                                                                    Toyota Land Cruiser

501. Akira Miura (JPN)/Jean-Michel Polato (FRA)                                                               Toyota Land Cruiser  

Truck

600. Martin Macik/Frantisek Tomasek/David Svanda (CZE)                                               MM Technology

601. Gert Huzink/Hugo Kupper/Mario Kress (NED/GER)                                                                      Renault C460

602. Claudio Bellina/Marco Arnoletti/Bruno Gott (ITA)                                                      MM Technology

603. Kay Huzink/Joel Ebbers/Martin Roesink (NED)                                                            Renault C460

604. Dariusz Lysek/Dariusz Rodewald/Jacek Czachor                                                          MM Technology

*denotes registered for W2RC

2025 W2RC Drivers’ Championship – after round 4:

Overall 

1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QAT)                                                140pts                       

2. Henk Lategan (RSA)                                                                  131pts

3. Lucas Moraes (BRA)                                                                 130pts

4. Seth Quintero (USA)                                                                 84pts        

5. Yazeed Al-Rajhi (KSA)                                                               77pts        

6. Sébastien Loeb (FRA)                                                               71pts, etc

Challenger 

1. Nicolas Cavigliasso (ARG)                                                         168pts

2. Pau Navarro (ESP)                                                                     139pts

3. Dania Akeel (KSA)                                                                     126pts

4. Gonçalo Guerreiro (POR)                                                        113pts, etc

SSV (top 5)

1. Alexandre Pinto (POR)                                                             223pts

2. Enrico Gaspari (ITA)                                                                  190pts

3. Michdle Cinotto (ITA)                                                               105pts

4. Claude Fournier (FRA)                                                              81pts, etc

Timetable of events

Friday, October 10

Administration checks                                                             Hotel Marriott, Fez (09.00-18.00hrs)

Scrutineering                                                                               Grand Stade de Fez (11.00-20.00hrs)

Saturday, October 11

Administration checks                                                             Hotel Marriott, Fez (08.00-15.30hrs)

Scrutineering                                                                               Grand Stade de Fez (09.00-17.00hrs)              

Pre-event press conference                                                  Hotel Marriott, Fez (18.30hrs)          

Sunday, October 12

Prologue: Fez – 19km                                                               10.45hrs

Monday, October 13

Stage 1: Fez to Erfoud – 300km                                            TBA

Tuesday, October 14 

Stage 2:  Erfoud to Erfoud – 304km                                    TBA

Wednesday, October 15

Stage 3: Erfoud to Erfoud – 322km                                                      TBA

Thursday, October 16

Stage 4:  Erfoud to Erfoud – 284km                                    TBA

Friday, October 17

Stage 5:  Erfoud to Erfoud – 216km                                    TBA

Power Stage: Erfoud to Erfoud – 33km                            TBA

Post-event press conference                                                 Erfoud bivouac (18.30hrs) 

Prize giving ceremony – Rally du Maroc                           Erfoud bivouac (21.00hrs)

Prize giving ceremony – W2RC                                             Erfoud bivouac (to follow above)