2022 Rallye du Maroc – Stage Five
FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship
Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Skyler Howes has stormed to second place on the fifth and final stage of the 2022 Rallye du Maroc, for the overall win, securing his first ever FIM World Rally-Raid Championship victory.
Taking top honours for the stage was French Monster Energy Honda Team rider Adrien Van Beveren proving fastest in the final stretch.
American Howes completed five days of racing in the Moroccan desert to finish just over seven minutes ahead of overall runner up Luciano Benavides.
The comeback to Agadir meant a total 379 kilometres to cover, 89 km in laiason and 290 kilometres of special stage. It was time to enjoy a last sprint along the Atlantic Ocean, with sand on the way and most of all rocky and hard pistes. Just before arriving, participants got back on the beach and showed all their style along Plage Blanche.
The highlight of the day for Honda was another stage victory for Adrien Van Beveren, while Ricky Brabec claimed the final position on the overall podium despite finishing the day in 19th. Van Beveren meanwhile was fourth overall.
As the sixth rider into the day’s stage, Skyler had an excellent opportunity to chase down and catch the riders ahead and in turn make up the valuable minutes he needed to finish on the podium, which proved true with the leading group facing major issues with an early waypoint.
Howes delivered an impressive ride on the route back to Agadir, making the minimum of errors to place second on the stage, six seconds behind leader Van Beveren.
Finishing stage five in third, nine seconds behind teammate Howes, Luciano Benavides cemented himself into second place in the overall results.
Pablo Quintanilla and Ignacio Cornejo took fourth and fifth respectively for the stage, ahead of Ross Branch, who in his second appearance in Hero colours delivered a stellar performance, while a time penalty that he picked up in one of the earlier stages cost him a good overall finish.
Continuing his steady performance all through the race, Franco Caimi finished the day’s stage just ahead of Ross in the sixth position, in the Rally GP class. Having constantly improved his performance throughout the six days of continuous racing, the Argentine has earned himself a commendable ninth place on the final Rally GP Class rankings table.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Kevin Benavides completed the 2022 Rallye du Maroc in sixth place overall, but one waypoint early in the timed special caused some issues for many riders, which ended up in a group of four riding together, including Benavides. As such, it was difficult for the KTM 450 RALLY racer to pull ahead and make up the time as planned ultimately completing the stage in eighth place.
The downside to Sam Sunderland’s impressive runner-up finish on Stage 4’s special was that he was the second rider into the final stage. After making a quick start, the same troublesome waypoint allowed many of his chasing competitors to catch up. With a group of riders formed, Sam kept his cool despite the frustration of riding through dust for the remainder of the day, finishing 11th, for fifth overall.
Michael Burgess finished the final stage in 13th, with Goodman 84th.
In the overall championship standings, Sunderland leads by 22 points, while Quintanilla is now second (52 points) and Brabec third (50 points).
Unfortunately crashing out of the rally on stage four, Toby Price was thankfully given the all-clear by medical staff and sustained no serious injuries, but wasn’t able to complete the 2022 Rallye du Maroc.
Skyler Howes – 2022 Rallye du Maroc winner
“We’re at the finish of the Morocco Rally and I finished first, which is super cool! The final stage was quite technical actually, it wasn’t a walk in the park. The navigation was tricky, and I did a couple of circles out there which slowed me down a little bit. I was still able to finish second on the stage, which was enough to win the overall, and I have to admit it’s the coolest thing of my whole life! Honestly, I’m over the moon. It’s a dream come true to take the win here in Morocco, and the plan is to carry this momentum on to the Dakar Rally.”
Adrien Van Beveren – Stage 5 Winner
“Today it was a goods stage for me, I started in 5th position and that was great to reach the front group soon. The first kilometres were not easy, but I tried to be accurate in the navigation and lost much less time than the group upfront. The feeling was good, the terrain was nice – a lot more technical – and I went really fast. This was my first race with Honda and day after day I felt more comfortable in the bike. I know I am doing all the right steps to reach the next Dakar at the highest level.”
Luciano Benavides – 2022 Rallye du Maroc Runner-Up
“We’ve finished stage five, the last day of the rally. I really wanted to go for the stage win today but made a small mistake that ended up costing me some time. Nevertheless, I finished third on the stage, really close to the winner and second overall, which is amazing. I can’t describe this moment – I have worked so hard since last year to be in this position right now, and to have such a good feeling on the bike. It’s not only me, but the whole team have also done an incredible job on the bike and have worked so hard here in Morocco. This result is a big thank you to them. I can’t wait for Andalucia now, the next round, and of course the Dakar in January.”
Ricky Brabec – Third Overall
“The rally was great, overall it was good for the team to get together, do some testing, read some road books. The team did a good job working together. Today it was a bit tricky for us, we had to open the stage and try not to loose a minute. It’s really tough in rally to do that, so it was difficult for us. In the end we’re happy that we are on the podium, we are happy that the team is working great together. We’re looking forward to go to Andalucia and try to improve our speed and navigation.”
Pablo Quintanilla
“Personally for me this was a very hard rally right from the start, with lots of rocky tracks. I was quite limited after the first day due to a crash that affect my shoulder and put me into a lot of pain. Even with this handicap, I was able to ride in a great rhythm from start to the end. This was not the perfect rally for me, but I know I did my best and it was worth all the dedication here in Morocco. Now let’s chill and rest one week because Andalucia is just there!”
José Ignacio Cornejo
“We are done with Rallye du Maroc 2022, it was a hard one with a lot of stones and rocks. The level was quite high among the riders, who were really competitive. I know I could have done better, but the most important is that I have learn my lesson. We still have another race to do in the world championship so now that will be the main focus, being sure that preparation for Dakar 2023 is going well.”
Sam Sunderland
“That’s the Rallye du Maroc done for another year. It’s been a tough one and I haven’t been at my best this week. But day by day I improved and with some small changes to the bike things got better as the race went on. All week there were some tricky navigation points and today was no exception. Seven kilometers in and quite a few of us couldn’t validate it and then we were all just riding in dust which made us all slow our pace. It was frustrating but all in all, I’m happy and I didn’t try to force the issue or take any risks. Fifth is good for the championship and now it’s on to Andalucia in a couple of weeks.”
Ross Branch
“It’s been some time since I finished a rally, and I’m extremely happy to be here at the finish of the Maroc rally! I’m glad how the whole week turned out – we had some great times, and of course some unfortunate things, but that’s all part of racing. The team is incredible, and we are in a really good position; I know our future is bright. Personally, I’m much more confident now with my speed, and very comfortable with my bike. Looking forward to Andalucia, and of course the big one, the Dakar.”
Franco Caimi
“Rallye Du Maroc was a really challenging race, almost like the Dakar, and I’m happy to reach the finish. Today was a good stage, and I ended up with a good feeling on the bike – which is really important. I have been working daily on my navigation skills, and there are still some areas to improve. However, I’m very happy with what we could achieve – the improvements and the overall performance. Eager to race again in a week’s time, in Andalucia.”
Sebastian Buhler
“I’m happy to have finished yet another Rally. Overall, it was a good race for me, and for the team. It has been so long for us – without any racing, and also any desert action. Each day here I have been gaining my confidence back. I feel much better now than at the beginning, and I’m grateful for that. We will continue working hard to get in the best shape for Dakar.”
Kevin Benavides
“Although I’m really happy with my riding and how the bike feels, I didn’t have the best finish to my rally today. I started third, but then early on at around kilometer 15, a group of us struggled to find one waypoint and that ended up in all of us riding together for the whole stage. After that it was really tough to make up time because you were always in someone else’s dust. After the refueling we set off again to the finish and it was more like a motocross race with us all together. All-in-all I’m happy with my performance here in Morocco. After leading out the first stage, it was tough to get that time back and it made our strategy difficult too. But over the whole rally I think I opened over 600 kilometers, which is really good experience for my navigation and speed. Next up is the race in Spain before the Dakar early next year, so the team will continue to work hard and hopefully we can get back onto the podium.”
2022 Rallye du Maroc, Stage 5 Results (Provisional)
- Adrien Van Beveren (Honda) 1:37:30
- Skyler Howes (Husqvarna) 1:37:36
- Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna) 1:37:47
- Pablo Quintanilla (Honda) 1:39:00
- Ignacio Cornejo (Honda) 1:40:05
- Ross Branch (Hero) 1:41:14
2022 Rallye du Maroc Final Standings
(After Stage 5, Provisional)
- Skyler Howes (Husqvarna) 16:30:29
- Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna) 16:37:42
- Ricky Brabec (Honda) 16:41:17
- Adrien Van Beveren (Honda) 16:42:36
- Sam Sunderland (GASGAS) 16:45:20
- Kevin Benavides (KTM) 16:50:40
