Nasser Al Attiyah drives during the fourth stage.
Doha, Qatar: Qatari driver Nasser Al Attiyah and his French co-driver Mathieu Baumel’s hopes of securing a seventh Rally of Morocco title were dashed on Stage 4, when their usually highly reliable GR DKR Hilux T1+ developed a problem with one of its rear drive shafts.
This forced the crew to use front-wheel-drive only for a large part of the stage, but the continued stress on the front drivetrain eventually caused a problem with the right front driveshaft, just 11km from the end of the stage.
As a result, the crew had to halt and complete field repairs, before setting off towards the finish near the city of Merzouga. They were the first car into Stage 4, following their victory on the previous stage, but they lost more than 1hr 20min due to the problem, and have tumbled down the overall standings as a result.
“I would have loved to win another Rally of Morocco title, but this time it is not to be. We are very disappointed, but still proud of winning the previous stages; winning the World Rally-Raid Championship title; and competing at the very highest level. Tomorrow, we’ll push to finish the event in style,” Al Attiyah said.
His navigator, Baumel said: “Stage 4 was always going to be a tough one, but we were ready for it. The navigation had gone smoothly throughout the day, and we were feeling confident. Unfortunately, a problem with the driveshaft forced us first to slow down, and later to stop completely, which was a very disappointing end to our stage.”
The top-performing Toyota Hilux T1+ crew in Stage 4 was Juan Yacopini and Daniel Oliveras, who recorded the third-fastest time on the day. They had Denis Krotov and Konstantin Zhiltsov just 37sec behind them on the stage; with Yazeed Al Rahji and Timo Gottschalk following a further 10sec back, also in a Toyota Hilux T1+. This result catapulted Yazeed and Timo to the top of the overall standings, with the Saudi driver and his German co-driver now locked in a final-stage battle for victory. Their lead over Audi’s Stephane Peterhansel is 3min 49sec, which may seem like a narrow margin.
However, Peterhansel triumphed in Stage 4, and will have to open the road on the final stage. Yazeed and Timo will be the sixth car on the road (provisionally), which is a much stronger road position. With that said, the final stage is 152km in length, and while this is significantly shorter than all of the other stages in the 2023 Rally of Morocco, anything can still happen.
The final stage will start and end near the bivouac at Merzouga, bringing the rally to a close after five competitive stages, and a total distance of 2,240km, including liaisons.
