ROMA (ITALPRESS) – It was the perfect revenge after two busy days in the desert for the French crew. And with the victory of this stage, Loeb and Boulanger have set up five key points for their respective races to conquer the titles Pilots and Copilots of the FIA World Championship of Rally-Raid, of which they occupied the first place before the start of the fourth round of the season. Started 18th after a day of late Wednesday, Loeb and Boulanger dominated the demanding third stage characterized by a path with stretches of valleys, beds of rivers in dry, grassy stretches (recovered of “ camel’s hay”) and sand dunes, recording a time of 3 minutes and 34,51 seconds, going from 45° to 28° place in general classification. If for Loeb and Boulanger the Rally of Morocco, race that had already won in 2025, it was a reason for joy, for teammates Lucas Moraes and Pablo Moreno was a real disappointment, because they did not manage to avoid an accident less than 15 kilometers from the finish of the stop of 360 kilometers, while they were starting to keep the command firmly. Moraes and Moreno started the third stage with a 28-second lead in the overall ranking, after getting the second half on Tuesday and the fourth Wednesday on board their Dacia Sandrider powered by sustainable fuel. But the bad luck they had in the final of the stage unfortunately puts an end to the hopes of a dream result in their first contest played together. As a leader the day before, Moraes and Moreno have slipped to the 24th place in the general classification, with a detachment of 2h04m25s from the first grades. It turned out to be a third frustrating stage for Nasser Al-Attiyah and Fabian Lurquin, who had to stop due to a suspension damage after 213 kilometers, following the impact on a grassy tract. Although they managed to complete the stage after stopping twice to perform repairs, they lost more than 35 minutes compared to leaders, making this Rally of Morocco an experience to forget for the couple, having already lost about 45 minutes due to a transmission problem during the previous stage. Al-Attiyah and Lurquin now occupy the 2nd place in the general classification, with a detachment of 1h41m23s from the first place, after stopping also to help teammates Moraes and Moreno after the accident. As evidence of Dacia Sandrider’s excellent performance, a rugged, all-wheel drive prototype designed to withstand the most extreme conditions, the Dacia Sandriders had won the first, second and third place in the third stage, before the bad luck hit the crews of Al-Attiyah/Lurquin and Moraes/Moreno. The Rally of Morocco continues on Friday with the fourth time stage of 384 kilometers. It will be the penultimate round of the Rally-Raid World Championship. “The left front suspension broke. We gave the best today and held an incredible pace, but it seems not exactly our day; however we have two more days and we will try to conquer some points, at least to give a hand for the Championship”, said Nasser Al-Attiyah (Qatar), Dacia Sandriders driver. “It went well, it was difficult, a very long stage with many insidious traits for the tires and also for navigation. We made some navigation mistakes, but we managed to react very quickly and find the way, so overall, it was a good stop, with a good rhythm, constant, without errors, without puncture, a good day”, added Sebastien Loeb (francia), Dacia Sandriders driver.
– Photo press office Renault Group –(ITALPRESS).
