Former Dakar champ and first American to ever win it, Ricky Brabec says he is glad to be back on the bike, even if the Monster Energy Honda Rally Team was hanging back and he had to settle for 13th in the opening classification for the Rallye du Maroc.
“The prologue was not the best for me, but we made it to the end,” claimed Brabec from the bivouac. “We didn’t do the right thing by stopping, because that was not long enough, so now it looks like tomorrow we’re starting in the front. It is what it is and we have five days racing – it’s a long race ahead of us – so let’s have some fun!”
Sunday is the “real” start of the Rally, with the first stage leaving Agadir to the south landscapes of Morocco. Day 2 starts early with a 241 kilometres laiason, followed by 316 kilometres of special stage. Destination: Tan Tan. Combining hard and soft tracks, navigation is expected to have a great importance in this kick-of.
2022 Rallye du Maroc – Stage 1A Provisional Classification
1. Ross Branch (Hero) 1:01:28
2. Toby Price (KTM) 1:02:08
3. Luciano Benavides (Husqvarna) 1:02:24
4. Skyler Howes (Husqvarna) 1:02:32
5. Adrien Van Beveren (Honda) 1:02:48
6. Pablo Quintanilla (Honda) 1:03:52
13. Ricky Brabec (Honda) 1.06:32
