Four months since the last round of the 2024 World Rally-Raid Championship, it’s direction Morocco as the Monster Energy Honda Team riders assemble for the final push of the season.
As well as being on the verge of taking the FIM Manufacturers’ World Championship for a third successive year, Ricky Brabec and Adrien Van Beveren are also on the hunt for top spot in the FIM Riders’ Championship too meaning the Rallye Du Maroc will provide a stunning backdrop to an epic battle.
Last time out in Argentina the Monster Energy Honda Team riders took a spectacular top four clean sweep as Ricky Brabec added victory at the Desafío Ruta 40 to his Dakar win at the start of the year. Having competed in just the two rallies this season, his 100% win record has still put the American in the title fight as he sits just nine points behind points leader, Ross Branch. They will tie on points if Ricky takes victory and Ross finishes in third, but having won more rounds, the championship honours will go to the Californian on the tie break.
Also joining him in that battle is teammate Adrien Van Beveren after his consistent third place podiums at the rounds he’s ridden in this year. The Frenchman is sixteen points behind Branch and mathematically still able to overhaul the pair of them in Morocco if Adrien keeps the pressure on towards that top spot, so things will be tense for all concerned.
Not one to sit in the shadows the 2024 Rally-Raid Portugal victor, Tosha Schareina, heads into this round as the newly crowned FIM E-Xplorer World Champion, so although he’s out of the championship battle, the Spaniard will be looking to round out his season on a high with victory in the spectacular desert of the North African country.
Chilean rider Pablo Quintanilla has had a quiet year in terms of podiums and although he has consistently finished in the top six, he’s had some productive testing kilometres under his belt of late so he’ll be using this event to gain more experience on his Honda CRF450 RALLY and help him on the road to victory at the Dakar Rally in 2025.
Sitting this one out is Skyler Howes who sustained an ankle injury in August. Despite being back on the bike training, he’ll be watching from the sidelines as he gets himself fully fit for the start of the 2025 World Rally-Raid Championship season in Saudi Arabia.
A milestone introduction to the bike category at this event is the use of the digital roadbook and with the Monster Energy Honda Team testing this past week in Morocco, they have been using this time to not only get their bikes set up for the different terrain, but to also master this important new tech.
With a total 2,468 kilometres across a prologue and five stages, the Rallye Du Maroc kicks off in Marrakesh on Sunday 6th October and will finish up in Mengoub-Bouârfa six days later where the 2024 World Rally-Raid Champion will be crowned.
Ruben Faria
General Manager
We are here at the last round of the 2024 World Rally-Raid Championship with four riders, Ricky Brabec, Tosha Schareina, Pablo Quintanilla and Adrien Van Beveren. We have been in Morocco testing and the riders are happy with the bike and all feeling good knowing we can fight for the win on this rally. Ricky has a gap of just nine points to Ross Branch in the standings and Adrien is a further seven back, so he does still have a chance to win but it won’t be as easy. We’ll take it day by day and do our best as we can while in the manufacturers’ title we lead this by 22 points so that’s very encouraging.
It’ll be a tough rally as over the last month Morocco has seen a lot of rain in this area so the organisers will have to change some tracks as there’s a lot of water, but we’re all positive for this final round that we just want to start!
Pablo Quintanilla 7
We’ve been training really hard and these kinds of situations are what truly test our ability to adapt. The next six days will be intense but the team and I are focused on doing our best. This rally is the best training we can have before Dakar 2025 and I’m feeling very motivated.
Ricky Brabec 9
The past few weeks have been marked by intense rain which has left the terrain in pretty challenging conditions for us, however, that hasn’t affected our focus or determination. We know it will be a challenge but we’re mentally prepared to give our best during these six days. Plus, once we’ve overcome this test, we’re already thinking about the next big goal of the year, so the motivation is at an all-time high.
Adrien Van Beveren 42
I’m super happy to be back competing in Morocco after a few months off since the rally in Argentina. The place is incredible, the desert has different terrains and really tests us to the limit. The Dakar is just around the corner but we will still give our best to finish the season as best as we can, I’m sure it’s going to be a good battle.
Tosha Schareina 68
I’ve had to change my mentality in just a week after having competed in Switzerland with the Honda CR ELECTRIC PROTO, but I’m feeling good and strong and although I’ve had to get used to a change of climate from the cold at Crans Montana to the heat here, I can’t wait for the Morocco rally to start.
