After a blazing Prologue performance Ricky Brabec stretched his lead on Stage 1 on Tuesday, edging his Dakar Rally rival Daniel Sanders by 00:23 seconds. The Monster Energy Honda HRC racer has been a bridesmaid at the Rallye du Maroc before, but is looking to add this event to his two Dakar wins.
The first full stage of this year’s rally was a demanding one, with organizers describing it as being in the mould of a Dakar stage. An early start saw the riders leave Agadir at 4am for a lengthy 264 km road section before the real competition began with 272 km against the clock. The Top American wasted no time getting to grips with the Moroccan terrain. Like in Dakar, Brabec battled current World Rally-Raid Championship leader Sanders all day. In fact, Ricky was three seconds behind “Chucky” after 35 km before taking control of the Stage and eking out a 23 second advantage.
“The stage was good. It was a fast day and I spent a lot of time riding in the dust, but overall I’m happy with how it went,” said Brabec from the bivouac in Zagora. “We had a good mix of terrain with rocks, sand and riverbeds, so it’s great to come away with the stage win. It’s only stage one, though, so we need to keep the momentum going, keep pushing and see what tomorrow brings.”
Today Stage 2 runs up into the Atlas Mountains. The demanding loop from Zagora features 300 km of timed competition and 123 km of liaison.
Rally GP Result – Stage 1
Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Time/Gap
1 Ricky Brabec 9 USA Monster Energy Honda HRC 02:39:57
2 Daniel Sanders 1 AUS Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team + 00:23
3 Edgar Canet 73 SPA Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team + 00:44
4 Luciano Benavides 77 ARG Red Bull KTM Rally Factory Team + 01:53
5 Adrien Van Beveren 42 FRA Monster Energy Honda HRC + 04:55
6 Nacho Cornejo 11 CHI Hero Motorsports Team Rally + 06:11
7 Tosha Schareina SPA Monster Energy Honda HRC + 07:08
8 Lorenzo Santolino 15 SPA Sherco TVS Rally Factory + 11:02
9 Bradley Cox 7 RSA Sherco Rally Factory + 14:16
10 Skyler Howes 10 USA ZXMOTO Joyride Factory Rally Team + 01:10:03
