The penultimate round of the 2026 World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC), held on the demanding route between Agadir and Zagora, turned into a real endurance test for the Dacia Sandriders team. The Rally of Morocco offered five days of extremely tough competition, punctuated by technical failures, energy waste in dense dust and mechanical incidents at crucial moments.
Although all three prototypes managed to cross the finish line, none of the crews made it into the top ten competitors in the overall standings, significantly altering the equation in the fight for the world drivers' title.
The rally did not start well for Frenchman Sébastien Loeb and his co-driver Édouard Boulanger. On the first special stage, a failure in the 48V electrical system left the prototype without power steering and without engine cooling in the middle of the dunes, significantly dropping it down the standings.
Even though the Frenchman had been pushing hard in recent days to make up ground and aim for stage wins, the fifth and final stage brought the final blow. Riding in the thick dust kicked up by the cars in front and trying to maintain a competitive pace, Loeb violently hit a huge boulder in a riverbed, just 1,000 meters before the finish line. The impact completely destroyed the right-front suspension.
An attempt to complete the final kilometer on three wheels was thwarted by a complete loss of steering. With no spare parts on the route, the French crew had to wait for the support vehicle to be towed to the finish, finishing the rally in 36th place overall.
"We were in the fight for the stage win, but during the test we had to drive in the dust kicked up by another competitor and we encountered difficulties. In the last kilometer we reached a very difficult area, with a steep descent into a riverbed. I saw the obstacle and reduced speed, but I landed on a large boulder, which damaged the front suspension. We only had one kilometer to go, but the car was no longer drivable. We tried to continue, but it was not possible. We wanted to change the damaged component, but we did not have the necessary spare part, so we were towed to the finish," explained Sébastien Loeb.
There were reasons for temporary satisfaction in the team camp. Brazilian Lucas Moraes, seconded by Pablo Moreno, demonstrated remarkable speed and even took the lead of the rally after the second stage. Unfortunately, an accident on the third special stage shattered his chances of a high result in the general classification.
Moraes came back strongly on the final special stage, where he set the third fastest time, demonstrating that the car's potential remains at its highest level. At the end of the five days, the Brazilian ranked 31st overall.
"It was a very good day for us and I think we did an excellent job. The only regret is that we caught up with Mitch Guthrie and couldn't overtake because of the dust. Even though the final result is not what we wanted, we showed that we can be as fast as anyone and that we were at the top of the rally until the accident. I'm very happy to be fighting for the top positions again and I'm looking forward to Abu Dhabi," said Lucas Moraes.
On the other hand, multiple champion Nasser Al-Attiyah and his co-driver Fabian Lurquin saw their chances of victory evaporate on stage two when a major transmission/gearbox issue left them stranded with just a few kilometres to go. Despite the massive delays, the Qatari gritted his teeth, clocked fifth fastest time on the final stage and took the car to the finish in 16th place overall.
"It was a difficult week for Dacia Sandriders, but the important thing is that all three cars reached the finish line and today we did a good job. It was not an easy race, but we have only one more round of the championship, in Abu Dhabi, and we will try to achieve the best possible result," pointed out Nasser Al-Attiyah.
The breakdowns and technical problems of the rivals were exploited to the fullest by American Seth Quintero (Toyota Gazoo Racing). Co-driver Andy Short, Quintero won the 2026 Rally of Morocco — his second consecutive victory in the championship — and climbed to first place in the overall drivers' standings. The podium of the Rally of Morocco was completely monopolized by Toyota, through João Ferreira (2nd place) and Henk Lategan (3rd place).
With this result, Quintero has 135 points in the W2RC, 14 points ahead of Sébastien Loeb. Nasser Al-Attiyah remains in third place in the world standings with 115 points.
Despite the points lost in the drivers' category, Dacia Sandriders remains in first position in the world constructors' ranking, maintaining a 47-point lead over the Toyota pursuers.
| Category | W2RC Standings Leader | Dacia Sandriders / Drivers Position | Points |
| Drivers | Seth Quintero (Toyota) | 2nd Place: Sébastien Loeb | 121 pts (-14 pts) |
| 3rd Place: Nasser Al-Attiyah | 115 pts (-20 pts) | ||
| Manufacturers | Dacia Sandriders | 1st Place | 372 pts (+47 pts vs Toyota) |
The 2026 World Rally-Raid Championship will decide its champions during the final round of the season, the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, scheduled to take place between November 22 and 27, 2026.
The stakes are huge: Dacia Sandriders must protect their advantage in the constructors' standings and attempt a spectacular recovery in the drivers' hierarchy, in what will be the last official outing on the track for the Romanian team before the end of this competition program.