“I don’t want to get in this car anymore,” thundered Nasser Al-Attiyah on the evening of the 10th stage of the last Dakar, disgusted by the multiple problems affecting his Prodrive Hunter T1+. Ten months later, the Qatari consoled himself, swallowed his resentment and got back into the British prototype to win a third consecutive world rally raid championship title.
His adventure with Prodrive, marked by only one missed Dakar (abandonment), ended before the start of the Morocco Rally in October. He swapped his Hunter for the new Dacia Sandrider, released for the first time in competition. The result was not long in coming: a controlled victory and a double for the Sandriders with second place for Sébastien Loeb.
Audi is no longer there, but Ford, Toyota and Mini are coming in force
The five-time winner of the Dakar and the Alsatian are full of confidence before the start of the 47th edition of the most famous rally in the world on January 3 in Bisha. They will arrive in Saudi Arabia as the favorite, even if other manufacturers will be there with ambition. The outgoing winner, Carlos Sainz, left Audi, which withdrew from the rally raid, for Ford. His first outing in Morocco was crowned with a stage victory and the Matador seems, at 62 years old, still as formidable.
At Toyota, Lucas Moraes, 3rd in 2023, must confirm his emergence and Yazeed Al-Rajhi, world rally raid vice-champion, must finally put everything together. Guillaume de Mévius, surprising runner-up to Sainz during the last edition, left the Japanese brand with a bang to join Mini. With the Frenchman Guerlain Chicherit, they will have a good card to play since they were respectively 2nd and 3rd in the Rallye du Maroc at the start of the last stage, before being victims of mechanical problems. Roll on January!
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To summarize
The Dacia Sandrider's first competitive outing on the Rallye du Maroc ended in a double with the victory of Nasser Al-Attiyah ahead of Sébastien Loeb. The two men are moving forward as favorites for the next Dakar, but be careful: the competition also has arguments to make.
