Van Beveren takes Rallye du Maroc Stage 2 win | Price P5

2022 Rallye du Maroc – Stage Two
FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship

Stage Two of the Rallye Du Maroc saw riders forge into the southern desert close to Laayoune, bringing a great result for the Monster Energy Honda Team with the first stage win for Adrien Van Beveren.

Skyler Howes placed fourth on the day’s stage, finishing just over three minutes behind the day’s winner, but Howes’ result moves him into the provisional lead.

The wide desert landscapes from the south of Morocco finally arrived, as the convoy left Tan Tan in the direction of Laayoune. Riders had to face a total of 437 kilometres 122 km in laiason followed by 315 kilometres of special stage in this second stage.

It was time to embrace the plateaus, rocky tracks and much longer dune sections – the famous ergs. Bivouac was set up and the temperatures raised to 37ºC!

Van Beveren was the winner of the day’s stage, signing the first success of his career with Monster Energy Honda Team, with KTM’s Kevin Benavides delivering an outstanding ride posting the second-quickest time and finishing less than three minutes down on the day’s stage winner.

2020 Dakar winner Ricky Brabec was third, ahead of Skyler Howes who made the best use of his start position to make up time and catch the riders ahead. Skyler moved into the stage lead on time at around kilometre 87 and maintained that position for much of the day.

Falling foul of a particularly difficult to find waypoint, Skyler, and the group he was riding with, ended up losing several minutes to the chasing pack. However, with many riders suffering the same fate, Howes was able to regroup to finish his stage in a strong fourth place.

Toby Price also enjoyed a solid day in the Moroccan dunes, finishing fifth and moving up to second in the provisional overall rally standings, 1m40s off the overall lead.

Sam Sunderland placed sixth on stage two despite losing a little time locating a troublesome WPC, José Ignacio Cornejo was seventh, ahead of Franco Caimi.

Luciano Benavides showed excellent pace, able to match those around him and opening a good section of the route. Completing the day in ninth place, nine minutes and 13 seconds behind the stage winner, Luciano now lies in third place overall, three minutes and forty-two seconds behind his teammate and provisional rally leader, Howes.

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Pablo Quintanilla – who struggled with pain due to yesterdays crash – was 10th, while Ross Branch dropped to 12th.

In the Rally2 class Michael Burgess was 14th for the stage, with D. Goodman 83rd.

Tomorrow’s stage of Rallye Du Maroc consists on a circuit with departure and arrival in Laayoune. There will be a total 323 kilometres to cover, 23 km in laiason followed by 299 kilometres of special stage. More sand and dunes.

Adrien Van Beveren – P1

“It’s a great feeling to win a stage and this comes when I am just starting my collaboration with Honda – this is my first race with the team. I had a great day and I was able to navigate the best possible way. That was where I made the difference. This is very good news not only for me – sure it counts to my motivation – but also for the all team.”

Kevin Benavides – P2

“Today was a really good day for me, I tried to push all day. I felt really good on the bike and that is thanks to the team and all the hard work we have put in testing and developing. Unfortunately, I got stuck behind one rider and was forced to eat his dust for around 100 kilometers. I lost a little time there, which is frustrating. Then later on there was one waypoint that I think everyone struggled with. I lost a little more time there. After that I pushed on towards the finish and was able to finish second. Tomorrow will be tricky, but I’ll focus on my navigation and give it full gas as always.”

Ricky Brabec – P3

“Today I felt pretty strong, but at the begging I lost some time. I was off piste and I couldn’t find a way point control, so I guess I lost here around six minutes. Then my team mate Adrien Van Beveren arrived and we continue together. In the end it was not a bad stage. I have a delay of around 4 minutes and tomorrow everything can change. I believe we are still on contention for a podium position.”

Skyler Howes – P4

“I’m pleased with how I rode today – the bike is excellent and I’m happy with my navigation the whole way through the stage. The organisers really challenged us all today with some difficult to find waypoints and I think it was a tough day for everyone on the whole. There were some tracks with a waypoint at the end that were especially hard to find. The wind had hidden the tracks so much that it was really tricky to know if you were in the right place. After that we hit the dunes and that was also a real challenge. They were super soft, but there had been some rain too that made them extra difficult to ride. We were in a group of four when we got there and each of us took it in turns to open. With all the challenges, I’m happy to complete the stage with a good result, so now we’ll see what tomorrow brings.”

Toby Price – P5

“Stage two went well for me and I’m in a solid position in the overall. It was a good stage result finishing sixth, but not too far behind the guys in front on time, so that should work out well for tomorrow. Yeah, it was definitely a difficult day today – they certainly tried to make things tough and test us with the waypoints. There was one in particular that was really tough, it was like finding a needle in a haystack! When you’re trying to race at the same time it proves really difficult, but I think everyone struggled a little with that one. All-in-all I’m happy, I stayed on two-wheels all day and now I’m ready for day three.”

José Ignacio Cornejo – P7

“Today I felt much better than yesterday. I was quite comfortable in the bike and that made the difference. I have made a little mistake in the navigation when I was off piste in the bush, so I lost some minutes. In one word I can say I had a solid day.”

Luciano Benavides – P9

“Day two is in the books. A really good day, but a tough one for sure. I started off second and caught Ross (Branch) after a little while and ended up opening the faster pistes myself. After the refuelling we were in a group of four, including Skyler, and all of us led out a little. At one point one of the waypoints didn’t validate for me, so I had to turn around to get it. I was able to push and catch up with the others soon after in the dunes. Having the chance to open and still make up good time is really important for my confidence, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow now and hopefully I can keep this momentum.”

Pablo Quintanilla – P10

“This was a tough stage for me, because I was struggling with a lot of pain in my shoulder due to yesterday’s crash. I did my best to keep the focus on the riding but it was not an easy job, specially in the off piste sections. Now priority is keep doing a good race for the team trying to avoid mistakes. I am happy to be here in Morocco!”

2022 Rallye du Maroc, Stage 2 Results (Provisional)

2022 Rallye du Maroc standings after Stage 2