Toby Price crashes out of Rallye du Maroc Stage Four

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

Australia’s Toby Price had shown great form at this years Rallye du Maroc, heading into Stage Four placed third overall, just a few minutes off the lead. However that’s all come crashing down after a nasty crash saw Price sent to hospital for check-ups, after losing it in low visibility in the dust.

With no serious injuries, and the checks coming back fine, Price has admitted he’s still in the clouds as a result of the big crash, but his Rallye du Maroc campaign is over for this running.

Tony Price

“Not much to say other then I really 🤬 up. Made a mistake early and lost 3 minutes on time, so was in some dust and moved out to see better but went back into some dust and not 100% sure what I hit but was on the ground after this. Big thanks to Bell Helmets for keeping my head safe but sure pissed I wrecked a new helmet, and Alpinestars for the protection. Was seeing some stars but was back on the bike and at the refuel I was sore in my neck with bruise on my forehead and both wrists/hands. When they saw my helmet I couldn’t continue with a split it had in it and wanted to check me out. So helicopter ride out and all checks come back fine luckily. Just feel I’m still in the clouds a little. Sorry to the team for all the hard work they put in, we were sitting in a great spot and I threw that one away and I’m bummed I let you all down. Thanks for always following the journey sometimes it’s good and this one is shit. Hospital was pretty rough and dirty but thanks to everyone getting me sorted.”

Ricky Brabec takes the stage win and lead

The longest stage of this year’s Rallye Du Maroc was dominated by the Monster Energy Honda Team. Until kilometre 200, Pablo Quintanilla ruled.

Then it was time for his teammate Ricky Brabec to shine: the 2020 Dakar winner reached the bivouac in Tan Tan with a four minute advantage over the second place. With this performance he is now the new leader of the competition.

The fourth stage of the Rallye Du Maroc saw a great variety of landscapes, between plateaus, rivers and little mountains. The dunes were this time out of the equation during the 565 kilometres covered – 346 of those racing the special section that connected Laayoune region and Tan Tan.

American Ricky Brabec showed his unique style with a great performance that had major implications in the general standings with a single day left to race, with teammate Adrien Van Beveren fifth, José Ignacio Cornejo seventh and early leader Pablo Quintanilla ending the day in ninth.

GasGas’s Sam Sunderland clocked the second-fastest time to move up to third in the provisional standings, upping his pace once he’d passed the first checkpoint.

Setting off eighth into the day’s stage, Kevin Benavides’ plan was to push from the beginning of the special to make up time on those ahead. Suffering pain in the foot that he had injured on day three, the Argentinian was forced to maintain a solid pace over the faster opening kilometres of the stage, but was still able to remain inside the top four on time.

Making a couple of mistakes early on in the stage, Ross Branch picked up pace after refuel, and his strong recovery helped him finish just outside the top three. However, a 15-minute time penalty from the previous day pushes the Botswanan down to the seventh place in the overall Rally GP class rankings table.

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Skyler Howes was also able to stick to a strong pace and was lying fifth on time one-third of the way through the stage. However, with teammate Benavides almost matching him for speed and navigating well over the fast terrain of the special, Howes didn’t catch the Argentinian until after kilometre 300.

Taking the lead for the final 50 kilometres, Skyler reached the finish line having secured a sixth-place result, eight and a half minutes down on the eventual stage winner. Despite losing time, Howes still lies second in the standings and will enjoy an advantageous start position for Thursday’s final stage of the event.

Following his stage win on day three, Luciano Benavides did an incredible job of opening the first 300 kilometres of today’s 350-kilometre stage, losing the absolute minimum of time to the chasing pack.

Completing the special just under four minutes down on his teammate, was impressive having navigated almost the whole timed special on his own from the front, without making any major errors, demonstrates the quality and form of the young Argentinian. Luciano now lies fourth overall, and will also be aiming to deliver a solid ride on the Rallye du Maroc’s final stage to put himself in contention for an overall podium position.

Aussie Michael Burgess finished the stage fourth in the Rally2 class, while Goodman was 90th.

Brabec now leads the Howes into the final stage by 1m11s, while Sunderland, Luciano Benavides and Adrien Van Beveren complete the top five, sixth placed Kevn Benavides just outside the 15-minute mark off leading pace.

With just one day to go, the final stage of Rallye Du Maroc will be much shorter and for sure intense in the way back to Agadir. There will be a total 379 kilometres to cover, 89 km in liaison and 290 kilometres of special stage.

Ricky Brabec – P1

“Today was good and I am very happy with the result, considering this was the longest stage. I had the energy to make the push in such a long day. The stage was rocky like every rally in Morocco, the desert is great and there is quite a variety of terrain. This year is more or less rocky and fast, we haven’t spent much time on the dunes. Tomorrow we’re going to have an open stage so it will all depend on the way we race. Looking forward to get back to Agadir, cross our fingers and let’s hope we have a good stage tomorrow and end up somewhere on the podium. It’s not over until is over, because this is rally!”

Sam Sunderland – P2

“Today was the longest stage and it definitely felt like it! It was fast out there with a lot of difficult terrain, but after making a few small adjustments to the suspension on my bike, it really made a difference and I felt much more comfortable. I was able to attack a little more and that really helped. Things in rally can change quickly so it’s important to take things day by day as my good friend Toby crashed out today, but fortunately he’ll be ok. My focus is now on tomorrow and the final stage and I’m excited for it.”

Kevin Benavides – P3

“Overall, I’m happy with today and how the stage went for me. I set off eighth, and after hurting my foot yesterday I did have a little pain at first and I think that slowed my pace a little. As the adrenalin kicked in and the stage progressed, I started to feel a little better and was able to push harder. I’m happy with third position for that stage, especially as everyone was pushing hard today on the longest stage of the race. I’m lying sixth overall, but I don’t think that position really shows my performance for the race as I had to open stage one and that has forced me to try and catch up each day. I will now focus on tomorrow, the last day, and try to make up more time and finish the race strong.”

Ross Branch – P4

“We’re done for the day, and it’s great to be back in one piece. This morning started really bad – I lost a little bit of focus on my navigation while trying to ride fast, and I ended up getting lost twice. But then I pulled myself together at refuel, and soon after, Ricky Brabec came along setting a great pace, and I pretty much rode with him till the finish line. Overall it was a good day for me – even though I thought the morning’s mistakes would cost me a lot, I was able to make up for it in the latter half. My Hero has been performing really well so far, and I hope to finish the race well tomorrow.”

Adrien Van Beveren – P5

“I was expecting navigation mistakes from the riders opening the stage and that did not happen. I knew I had to concentrate a lot on the road book, because there were really a lot of notes, so my head is down and it’s not easy to go fast. Overall I had a good performance. Sometimes navigation pays off, when the others make mistakes, but that was not the case. Tomorrow for sure we will push to the end and try to go as fast as possible.”

Skyler Howes – P6

“Today was tough, because when you set out near the front, you’re almost always guaranteed to lose a bit of time. But with Luciano and myself starting first and second, we had this game plan to ride together and share the opening of the stage. The problem was Luciano’s pace from the front was so fast it took me most of the stage to catch up to him. I was able to lead the final 50 kilometres or so and that helped, I think. It’s frustrating to lose the overall lead in the rally, but we have a good starting position for tomorrow, so I’ll give it everything I have and hopefully come out with a good result.”

José Ignacio Cornejo – P7

“It was a good stage, quite a long one. My plan was to stay solid and consistent along the way. I felt really good and was able to race in a good rhythm. In the end I kept the same position I had, so I’m sure tomorrow it’s time to speed it up and reach Agadir in a position that allow us to keep our leadership in the championship.”

Luciano Benavides – P8

“Today was a really nice day for me in this rally. I didn’t think I would open so much, I think I led for the first 300 kilometres, so I did a pretty good job I’d say. I felt really good and was able to focus on my navigation while keeping up a good speed and I didn’t think about the others behind. The stage was really fast in some sections, but I think those sort of tracks suit me and my style. Also, the navigation was quite tricky, but I was able to get through without making any big mistakes. Overall, the race so far has been really positive for the team, it has shown we have the pace and are well in the fight for the podium. I’ll try my best tomorrow on the final stage and see where we end up.”

Pablo Quintanilla – P9

“This morning I felt great and started with a good rhythm. I was leading the stage, but then I had a small technical problem that made me stop. I am happy that I was able to fix it and keep racing. This is also part of the race, I’m happy I could get back to the bivouac. I felt strong and powerful and I will give my best tomorrow. ”

Franco Caimi – P11

“Today was the longest and quite a hard stage as well. I was feeling good with my bike at the start, and maintained some great pace, until I made an error taking a wrong piste for almost 4km. I lost a bit of time finding my way back to the track. Anyway, we’re still in the race and pushing further every day. I’m taking in all the positives, and even more, the shortfalls – so I can improve myself and get better with each day.”

Sebastian Buhler – P12

“The stage today was long, but also a fast one. It was enjoyable, but at the same time had a lot of fast sections and danger zones where we had to ride very carefully. I’ve been regaining my rhythm and feeling better with the bike daily, so I’m happy with how things have been turning out. One more day to go!”

2022 Rallye du Maroc, Stage 4 Results (Provisional)

2022 Rallye du Maroc standings after Stage 4