The World Rally-Raid Championship returned to action in Morocco for the penultimate round of the season, after a break of more than three months since the last round in Argentina. The Dacia Sandriders factory team lined up three crews at the start of this crucial competition, but the first special stage brought diametrically opposed moods in the garage: a remarkable performance for Lucas Moraes and a severe technical failure for the championship leader, Sébastien Loeb.
The first timed loop of the rally ultimately went to Portuguese Toyota factory driver João Ferreira. He was declared the winner of the special stage following an adjustment to the time by the race stewards after he stopped on the route to provide first aid to a crashed motorcyclist.
The excellent pace of the Dacia Sandriders team was marked by the crew of Lucas Moraes and his new co-driver, Spaniard Pablo Moreno. In his first race in this crew formula, Moraes finished the race in second place, being separated by only three seconds from Ferreira's time.
The Brazilian's journey was not without obstacles, however. After being in the dust generated by Nani Roma's vehicle for almost 100 kilometers following a breakdown, Moraes managed to overtake in the dune area, subsequently pushing the pace to the finish line.
Sébastien Loeb's main rival in the title race, Nasser Al-Attiyah (seconded by Fabian Lurquin), finished the first stage in eighth place. The Qatari took a conservative approach, aiming to secure a more favourable position on the route for the following stages.
Despite a slight navigational hesitation that cost him about three and a half to four minutes, Al-Attiyah said he was satisfied with the car's performance and his grid position for the following day.
For the crew of Sébastien Loeb and Edouard Boulanger, the first special stage turned into a real nightmare. Arriving in Morocco as the leaders of the general drivers' classification, the two were stopped at kilometer 202 of the stage due to serious electrical failures.
The vehicle's 48V battery completely discharged in the middle of the dunes. The crew's repeated attempts to transfer energy from the 12V secondary battery did not work in the long term, leaving the car without power steering and without a cooling system for the engine. Loeb eventually managed to bring the vehicle to the finish on the easier route, but the gap to the leader of more than two hours places him in 52nd place in the overall standings, dashing his chances of a final victory in this round.
| Position | Driver / Co-driver | Team / Make | Gap to Leader |
| 1 | João Ferreira / F. Palmeiro | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Leader |
| 2 | Lucas Moraes / P. Moreno | Dacia Sandriders | +0:03 |
| 8 | Nasser Al-Attiyah / F. Lurquin | Dacia Sandriders | +3:45 (est.) |
| 52 | Sébastien Loeb / E. Boulanger | Dacia Sandriders | +2:00:00+ |
The Rally of Morocco continues with the second special stage, which includes a 299-kilometer time trial. While Lucas Moraes and Nasser Al-Attiyah are in ideal positions to attack the podium, Sébastien Loeb will have to ride in a recovery mode and collect precious points in the stage standings to limit his losses in the fight for the world title.