The Monster Energy Honda HRC team heads into the Rallye du Maroc, one of the most demanding and decisive events on the rally-raid calendar, ready to chase not only stage wins but also crucial momentum ahead of the Dakar Rally.
Long regarded as the ultimate desert rally-raid test, the Rallye du Maroc pushes riders and machines to their limits across the vast dunes of the spectacular Sahara Desert.
Fresh off the Rally-Raid Portugal two weeks ago, the team has been fine-tuning their setups in Morocco ahead of the event’s fourth consecutive start in the northern city of Fez. Today, both riders and bikes successfully passed administrative and scrutineering checks before the rally kicks off tomorrow.
After claiming second place in Portugal, Tosha Schareina arrives in Morocco hungry for the top step of the podium. Following his runner-up finish here last year, the Spanish rider will be one to watch as his raw speed and precision across the shifting desert terrain make him a serious contender for victory.
Ricky Brabec, who has yet to finish higher than third in Morocco, enters the event determined to end his World Rally-Raid Championship season on a high. Locked in a tight battle for the championship runner-up spot with Luciano Benavides and Schareina, separated by just three points, Brabec’s experience and consistency could prove decisive.
Skyler Howes, the 2022 Rallye du Maroc winner, returns to one of his favourite rounds of the season. Aiming for a strong, consistent week aboard his Honda CRF450 RALLY, Howes will look to build confidence and rhythm ahead of the Dakar.
Meanwhile, despite his heavy fall in Portugal, Adrien Van Beveren has been testing his Honda CRF450 RALLY bike over the last few days and knowing that the Dakar is just around the corner, he will give it his all to be in the best possible shape for the race.
This year’s Rallye du Maroc covers a total of 2,299 km, with 1,478 km of timed special stages. The action begins tomorrow with a prologue in Fez, followed by five gruelling stages looping in and out of the oasis town of Erfoud in eastern Morocco.
Ruben Faria
General Manager
We’re here at the last race of the World Championship in Morocco. It’s a tough rally, with lots of rocks, rough sections, and tall dunes, although not very extensive.
The team is in good shape. Adrien is coming back after his crash in Portugal, and if he can find his rhythm, he can do a solid race and use it as good training to fully recover.
Ricky and Tosha are fighting for the final podium of the championship. They’re both feeling strong after a good shakedown and are ready to push hard from the start.
Skyler had a very good shakedown and is feeling great to be able to fight for the win.
We’re finishing the last preparations before the start tomorrow. The team atmosphere is great and everyone’s highly motivated.
Ricky Brabec 9
I’m happy and with a good feeling to be back in the desert after Portugal, it was a fun one, but not with the best result on our side. I am feeling a little bit more comfortable being back in the desert at one of my favourite rounds of the championship.
As the final round before the Dakar, the team has been working hard since Portugal doing road book training and working on the HRC factory rally bike. The feeling is good, now we are locked and loaded for the race and hope for a good result after a positive direction with testing. After this rally it will be time to buckle down, figure out some training plans before Dakar and arrive to there happy, healthy and 100% all in to fight.
Skyler Howes 10
Rallye du Maroc is one of my favourite races for the year, it has a special place with me as it was my first World Rally-Raid Championship victory. I like this race a lot, being out in the open desert with proper navigation. It’s quite challenging as well which I like a lot and I think it will be an exciting year just because David Castera sold the event, so this is his last time organising this race and I think it might be something special. I’m looking forward to continuing to build with the team, we’ve been putting in a lot of work testing and training. Coming directly off of Portugal and straight into this race has been a lot of work, but the team has been really focussed, myself also and I’m looking forward to this race a lot. I think it’ll be mostly rocks, maybe a little bit of sand, which can make the navigation quite challenging and can be tough on the body and the bike
Adrien Van Beveren 42
The crash in Portugal was really hard with a vertical impact I had never experienced before. I suffered a fractured rib, another one broken and a shoulder dislocation, but luckily I recovered quickly in Andorra with intensive treatment.
I’m back on the bike in Morocco and although I still feel a bit stiff, I’m able to ride properly. The doctors have given me the green light to race the Rallye du Maroc, with no major risks.
I’m not going there to win, but to reconnect with the bike, turn the page after the crash and prepare for the Dakar, which remains my main goal.
Tosha Schareina 68
I’m excited to race again just two weeks after Portugal. We were close to taking the victory there so we’ll try again this time. We have been training and testing this past week on completely different terrain and all the team are pushing in the same direction and that’s always good as we aim to reach our goals.
