2022 Rallye du Maroc – Stage One
FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship
The 2022 Rallye du Maroc has seen Hero mounted Ross Branch take an early lead after Stage One, finishing the stage 1m09s ahead of Husqvarna’s Luciano Benavides, while Australia’s Toby Price on his KTM was third – 2m31s off the lead.
Sunday marked real start of the competition, with the first stage leaving Agadir with a 241 kilometres liaison, followed by 316 kilometres of special stage on the way to Tan Tan, with a combination of hard and soft tracks, and focus on navigation.
Claiming the Stage One win leaves Ross Branch with the challenging proposition of opening Stage Two, leaving a target on his back and the one-minute lead looking meagre, with mistakes easily made from that position.
Covering ground fast, right from the start line and then chasing down the riders ahead, Benavides was quickest to the first checkpoint at kilometre 40. With times tight among the top five, he dropped down to fourth around the midway point of the special, but was able to maintain his safe, solid pace to the finish where he ultimately placed second.
Runner-up on the event’s prologue, Toby Price was the 11th RallyGP-class rider to enter the day’s stage. Immediately making ground on the riders ahead, Price reached the first checkpoint inside the top five on time.
Maintaining a solid pace over the demanding terrain and staying focused on his navigation, the two-time Dakar Rally winner was able to make up even more time in the closing kilometers to ultimately complete the timed special as third fastest.
Skyler Howes’ journey through the stage differed slightly to that of his teammate. The American star set off one place ahead Benavides but slowly built his pace as he progressed through the special.
Choosing to focus on his navigation early on paid off for Skyler and with the terrain becoming more predictable in the latter stages of the day, the FR 450 Rally rider was able to push and make up time on those ahead.
Securing a strong fourth-place result, just over three minutes down on the eventual stage winner, means that Howes has three riders to chase down on tomorrow’s day two.
GasGas’s Sam Sunderland got his 2022 Rallye du Maroc off to a strong start, enjoying the mixed terrain in the early going, as well as a wide open 30-kilometer sprint down a beach, where the reigning Dakar champ showed stage-winning pace.
After holding down third place for much of the special, the Brit was frustratingly forced to slow his pace a little due to a little discomfort following a crash during testing prior to the event. Sam nevertheless held strong for a solid fifth-place finish.
Outside the top five for the stage, Ricky Brabec was the leading Monster Energy Honda rider in sixth, 5m37s off pace, followed more distantly by José Ignacio Cornejo. Hero Motorsports’ Franco Caimi was eighth, Adrien van Beveren ninth, and Kevin Benavides completed the top 10.
The current standings after the Prologue and Stage One have Branch leading Benavides and Price, with Howes and Sunderland completing the top five.
Michael Burgess (BAS World KTM Racing Team) was 22nd in the Rally2 class for Stage 1, with fellow Aussie D. Goodman (Duust Rally Team) 82nd.
Stage Two is a winding 315-kilometer special from Tan-Tan to Laâyoune, and the terrain is expected to mirror the conditions found throughout stage one.
Ross Branch – P1
“I started off a bit slow this morning – didn’t want to take too many chances on a bike full of fuel in the rocks. I was just trying to keep it safe and on two wheels – that’s my goal here. Obviously winning today means I will have to open tomorrow but that’s OK too because my navigation is not on point and there’s nothing like training when you’re racing. I’ll ride as fast as I can navigate. I know I’m going to lose time but I just need to keep my head.”
Luciano Benavides – P2
“It was a really good first stage for me. I started off well, focussing on my navigation and the terrain and found I soon started to catch some of the riders in front. It was a really technical stage with many rocks and stone on the pistes, so it was tricky to keep an eye on your road book while having to look ahead and judge the terrain all the time. I think I did a good job and was able to stay consistent for the whole stage. Towards the end we were able to ride across the beach for around 20 kilometres, which was good fun. I’m really happy with my result from today, but tomorrow will be a different challenge starting near the front. I’ll give my best as always.”
Toby Price – P3
“It’s good to get day one out of the way. The special was quite a challenge with a lot of tough navigation and a lot of dangers on the road book. It was difficult to take your eyes off the track ahead of you to check the road book, so you were always juggling out-and-out speed with focusing on your navigation. I’m happy with the day, I have a couple of riders to chase down tomorrow, so all-in-all a good start to the event.”
Skyler Howes – P4
“Stage one went quite well for me. I had a few tracks to follow, which made the job a little easier, but it was still quite tricky, and navigation was definitely key today. The terrain really suited me, so I felt right at home on the bike. I made a couple of smaller mistakes, and then one really big one that ended up costing me a few minutes, so it has been a bit of an up and down day, but I’m here, safe at the finish and ready to go again tomorrow.”
Sam Sunderland – P5
“That’s stage one in the books! It was a good but challenging day for me. Lots of navigation, mixed terrain, and even a 30-kilometer section on a beach, which was pretty fast! Towards the end it was a bit of a struggle. I hurt my wrist in a small crash last week and near the end it was a bit sore, so I had to back off my pace a little. But overall, I’m happy and fifth is a good start to the race, I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
Ricky Brabec – P6
“The day was quite long, we had to wake-up at 3 am, so I am pretty sure this was certainly one of the hardest days of the rally. I mean this for the body, mind and bike…but I am happy to be here at Tan Tan. I have done a good job along the way and we are in a good position for tomorrow. So let’s have some fun!”
José Ignacio Cornejo – P7
“This was not a bad day. Did not worked out as I wanted, but I knew I was loosing some time by riding a little bit more careful. I am sure we will be able to recover in the next four days, knowing that the hard tracks with rocks and sand will be a great preparation for the Dakar 2023.”
Adrien Van Beveren – P9
“Today I had my first race with Honda, so I was really excited and happy to ride the CRF450 Rally. I know I did some mistakes, but it’s ok – I release the pressure and I am ready for the first stage. The route was amazing, just the way I like – it was sunny and nice. So SSA1 is done and we have a good position for tomorrow so I am sure we will do our best.”
Kevin Benavides – P10
“Not the best result on paper for me today, but I’m happy with how I rode and navigated the stage. After about five kilometers into the special I had already made my way to the front, but was able to push all day. Ricky (Brabec) took the lead for around 15 kilometers, but other than that I led the whole way through the special. The navigation was really tricky, but I think I did a good job and lost the minimum of time to the guys behind. I have a good start position for tomorrow’s long stage two, so hopefully I can make up some good time.”
Pablo Quintanilla – P13
“There was a difficult navigation in the morning with many rocks, then we went close to the ocean in the beach and could speed up. Then we moved to off piste in a mix between rocks and sand in the dunes. Suddenly I saw a clean line in the bush and next when I realize I was flying over the handlebar. I hurt my shoulder and it was really painful to reach the end. I will be seen by the doctor and hope to be able to start tomorrow.”
2022 Rallye du Maroc, Stage 1 Results (Provisional)
| Pos | Rider | Team | Gap |
| 1 | R. BRANCH (BWA) | HERO MOTOSPORTS TEAM RALLY | – |
| 2 | L. BENAVIDES (ARG) | HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING | +00:01m09 |
| 3 | T. PRICE (AUS) | RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING | +00:02m31 |
| 4 | S. HOWES (USA) | HUSQVARNA FACTORY RACING | +00:03m20 |
| 5 | S. SUNDERLAND (GBR) | GASGAS FACTORY RACING | +00:04m33 |
| 6 | R. BRABEC (USA) | MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM 2022 | +00:05m37 |
| 7 | I. CORNEJO (CHL) | MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM 2022 | +00:09m01 |
| 8 | F. CAIMI (ARG) | HERO MOTOSPORTS TEAM RALLY | +00:09m24 |
| 9 | A. VAN BEVEREN (FRA) | MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM 2022 | +00:10m15 |
| 10 | K. BENAVIDES (ARG) | RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING | +00:11m32 |
| 11 | T. SCHAREINA (ESP) | BAS WORLD KTM RACING TEAM | +00:13m44 |
| 12 | L. SANTOLINO (ESP) | SHERCO TVS RALLY FACTORY | +00:17m01 |
| 13 | P. QUINTANILLA (CHL) | MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM 2022 | +00:18m58 |
| 14 | S. BÜHLER (DEU) | HERO MOTOSPORTS TEAM RALLY | +00:21m29 |
| 15 | HN. KOITHA VEETTIL (IND) | SHERCO TVS RALLY FACTORY | +00:28m46 |
| 16 | R. GONÇALVES (PRT) | SHERCO TVS RALLY FACTORY | +00:30m23 |
| 17 | J. RODRIGUES (PRT) | HERO MOTOSPORTS TEAM RALLY | +00:50m28 |
2022 Rallye du Maroc standings after Stage 1
| Pos | Rider | Total Time | Gap |
| 1 | R. BRANCH (BWA) | 4:46:24 | – |
| 2 | L. BENAVIDES (ARG) | 4:48:29 | +0:02:05 |
| 3 | T. PRICE (AUS) | 4:49:35 | +0:03:11 |
| 4 | S. HOWES (USA) | 4:50:48 | +0:04:24 |
| 5 | S. SUNDERLAND (GBR) | 4:55:05 | +0:08:41 |
| 6 | R. BRABEC (USA) | 4:55:21 | +0:08:57 |
| 7 | A. VAN BEVEREN (FRA) | 4:57:59 | +0:11:35 |
| 8 | F. CAIMI (ARG) | 4:59:16 | +0:12:52 |
| 9 | I. CORNEJO (CHL) | 5:00:29 | +0:14:05 |
| 10 | K. BENAVIDES (ARG) | 5:01:48 | +0:15:24 |
| 11 | T. SCHAREINA (ESP) | 5:02:48 | +0:16:24 |
| 12 | P. QUINTANILLA (CHL) | 5:07:46 | +0:21:22 |
| 13 | S. BÜHLER (DEU) | 5:10:41 | +0:24:17 |
| 14 | L. SANTOLINO (ESP) | 5:16:13 | +0:29:49 |
| 15 | R. GONÇALVES (PRT) | 5:22:19 | +0:35:55 |
| 16 | HN. KOITHA VEETTIL (IND) | 5:23:18 | +0:36:54 |
| 17 | J. RODRIGUES (PRT) | 5:39:16 | +0:52:52 |
