HIBAPRESS – A. Mohayawi
The activities of the twenty-sixth edition of the Morocco Rally 2025, the most prominent event in the world of desert rallies, concluded in the city of Erfoud, after a week of challenge and excitement over a distance exceeding 2299 kilometers between Fez and Erfoud, within the final stage of the World Desert Rally Championship (W2RC).
The rally witnessed intense competition between a selection of world champions, and resulted in unexpected results that kept the breath of fans of motor sports until the last meters.
In the motorcycle category, Spaniard Tosha Schareina shined by snatching the title of the Morocco Rally after winning the fifth and final stage in a time of 2:24:35 hours, ahead of Australian Daniel Sanders by 42 seconds, and American Ricky Brabec by a minute and 53 seconds.
Despite his victory in the rally, Schareina came in second place in the overall world ranking, while Sanders was crowned world champion thanks to his superiority in the total points during the season.
As for the car category, Frenchman Sebastien Loeb wrote his name in golden letters, crowned with the title of the Morocco Rally for the first time in his career, along with his navigator Eduard Boulanger, with a total time of 15:11:40 hours.
Brazilian Lucas Moraes came in second place with a difference of 5 minutes and 43 seconds, ahead of Spaniard Nani Roma by approximately thirty seconds.
Despite his runner-up position in the rally, Moraes managed to snatch the title of the World Desert Rally Championship 2025, after benefiting from a severe time penalty that affected Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah due to a technical error that cost him a full hour delay, thus evaporating his chances of retaining the world title.
The Moroccan representation was honorable and distinguished in this edition, as the duo Ali Oubassidi and Hanan Amraoui were crowned with the title of the Open category, while Omar Ben Hayoun achieved third place in the Open SSV category. Also, the racer Ashraf Zoulati excelled in his first participation, by obtaining fourth place in the Rally 3 category, confirming the emergence of a new generation of Moroccan champions in the world of rallies.
The Morocco Rally was not just a sports competition, but a dazzling human and tourist experience, which showed the diversity of the stunning Moroccan nature from the golden Merzouga dunes to the mountainous tracks of Fez.
The racers praised the Moroccan hospitality and the splendor of the organization, stressing their desire to return to the Kingdom not as drivers this time, but as tourists with their families to discover its quiet charm away from the noise of the races.
The event also received unprecedented media coverage, as its footage was broadcast through more than 100 international channels and platforms, recording more than 100 million views around the world, in an achievement that reflects the rising position of Morocco on the global sports map.
The Morocco Rally 2025 concluded its season with great success on all levels: a tight organization, a global presence, and a sophisticated tourist promotion… so that this major sporting event remains an ambassador for Morocco in the skies of international sport, and an annual appointment that reflects the image of the flourishing Kingdom before the world.
