The day came. After nine intense days of testing, this Saturday comes the Morocco Rallythe first acid test for the second year of the Audi and Carlos Sainz project with the RS Q e-Tron E2, with electric motorization, and in turn, the penultimate round of the FIA and FIM World Rally-Raid Championship.
Test for Audi
Last year, sainz and his companions Peterhansel and Ekstromthey came to Dakar without being able to compete in previous races and that weighed on them. In this course, Audi reduced the weight of its car by 80 kilograms, carried out more than 4,200 kilometers of tests in Morocco and, from this Saturday and for the next 5 days, it will measure itself head-to-head against Al-Attiyah’s Toyota T1+reigning champion of Dakareither sebastien Loeb, with the BRX Hunter T1+. All this, with an eye towards preparing for the 2023 edition of the toughest race in the world.
In cars, another incentive can be found Isidre Esteve with his new Toyota Hilux T1+first class vehicle.
“The biggest challenge is to keep discovering the car, gain confidence and find its limit. And this involves both me and Txema, because when you go faster, everything comes faster, also the navigation points. In the end, in a process of adaptation as intense as we started, every stage of the competition or test counts. The goal comes in January with the ability to ride at the speed that the new car allows from the first kilometer”, declared Isidre Esteve in a previous statement .
In total, the participants will complete 2,233 kilometers, 1,506 against the clock. This Saturday the prologue stage takes place and the Sunday, the first of the 5 stages that make up this Morocco Rally.
Motorcycles: Santolino, to add kilometers
On motorcycles, the Spanish Lorenzo Santolino as Sherco will look for another good result among all rivals against whom bronze will be lost in Dakar.
Santolino’s goal for this Morocco Rally is to start the competition and measure his pace with the best drivers participating in the FIM World Rally-Raid Championship after the intense preparation he has carried out this summer.
As reported by his team, during this summer the man from Salamanca continued his preparation in motorcycle training and in several weeks of tests of his brand in the Moroccan territory, where they tried some Sherco rally improvements.
Maximum emotions in World Rally-Raid
The battle for the FIA and FIM Rally-Raid World Championship title is exciting in this penultimate round of the course.
In cars, the rivalry for the world title is served at intervals Loeb and Al-Attiyah before the final round of the Andalucía Rally. Both face this Moroccan test separated by only one point, with Loeb leads with 112 to the Qatari’s 111.
on motorcycles, Sunderland, leader of the competition with 63 points, will fight to increase his 17-point lead over Quintanilla. Walkner (35) Brabec (34), Price (25) and Cornejo (24) will try to close the gap. Also Van Beveren (20), who will make his Honda debut as a replacement for Joan Barreda in the gold wing team for Dakar 2023.
while, In T3, Cristina Gutiérrez, second, will look to take a step forward against the leader, Vest López. The Chilean rules the classification of light prototypes with 141 points after his victories in Dakar and in Abu Dhabi. Cristina was second in both tests, so she has 116 points in second place in the standings.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
