The Monster Energy Honda Team rider Toscha Schareina was the fastest rider across the 272 kilometres of the second stage of the Rallye Du Maroc today as he sped to victory which elevated him into the lead of the rally.

The stage route today was changed slightly due to the huge amount of rain that fell upon the area recently necessitating some kilometres swapped out for rocky tracks in order for the rally to continue. Tracks were hard to pick out for the riders heading the charge from dawn this morning with more waypoints than normal added in but for the Honda riders in the searingly hot conditions, all went well with them and their Honda CRF450 RALLY bikes.

A third of the way into the stage competitors would also have to tackle the Erg Chigaga, one of the most spectacular collection of dunes in the eastern region of Morocco with peaks of over 150 metres that cover an area nearly 30 kms long.

Ready to tackle these and setting off the line in third today, Tosha Schareina was looking to add to his prologue victory from two days ago and didn’t wait more than 43kms into the stage before he had got himself into the lead.After losing a little time mid-stage he got back to the top of the leaderboard at the 214km mark to hold that hard fought advantage to the finish line for the stage victory and a return to the top of the overall standings by 42 seconds after six hours of hard rallying.

With the title fight now between Adrien Van Beveren and the lead out rider Ross Branch, today’s stage was a chance for the Frenchman to capitalise on the speed he has to push hard and grab back some of the time that slipped away yesterday.Stopping to assist Sebastian Bühler who crashed out 142km into the special, Van Beveren (who was credited back the stationary time taken to assist an injured competitor) got going again to finish in an impressive second place and jump ahead of his championship rival in the overall standings.

2021 Rallye Du Maroc winner Pablo Quintanilla really gelled with his Honda CRF450 RALLY today, keeping the pressure on throughout the day to swap the lead of the stage at the halfway point with Schareina. On the run in to the finish line he kept the high pace and clocked fourth on the stage today just 2’22’’ behind his team mate.

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Daniel Sanders has stormed to third place on the long, 499-kilometer stage two of the 2024 Rallye du Maroc. Combined with his result from Monday’s stage one, the KTM 450 RALLY racer lies second in the provisional overall standings, just 42 seconds behind the leader. Luciano Benavides also enjoyed a strong day in the Moroccan desert, placing fifth on the stage and moving up to third overall with three days left to race.

Full of confidence and carrying his speed from Monday, Sanders was the second rider to enter today’s 272-kilometer timed special. Unfazed by the alterations to the stage, implemented due to the rain seen in the region over the past few weeks, Daniel once again delivered a fast yet calculated ride over the mixed terrain of the special.

Making his way to the front of the field by the checkpoint at kilometer 43, Sanders began to clock up the bonus time awarded to the rider opening the stage. In total, he would be awarded one minute and 34 seconds for his hard work – enough to secure the Australian third place on the stage. Daniel’s consistency is paying off – with two stages now complete, he lies second overall, less than one minute from the lead, and will have the advantage of chasing down the rally leader on Wednesday’s stage three.

Adapting well to his updated KTM 450 RALLY, Benavides delivered another consistent day of rally racing on stage two in Morocco. With so much of the route through today’s special damaged due to recent weather, especially in the rougher riverbeds and tracks, Luciano took extra care to concentrate on his road book and avoid making any mistakes. His attention to detail paid off. Securing fifth on today’s stage, the Argentinian moves up to third overall in the provisional rally standings.

Tosha Schareina: It was a good stage for me, the first 30km I tried to push but after that I made two big mistakes and I think I lost about a minute each time. After that I tried to push again, I caught Ross in the dunes and then before the refuelling I caught Daniel. It was so difficult with the dust, so I continued to ride smoothly, so as not to crash and be safe for stage three, which I will open tomorrow.

Daniel Sanders: “Stage two was a very long one – it was originally stage one but they were reversed due to the rain the other day. I started off second and then caught Ross (Branch) about 20 kilometers in. I opened from there till the refueling at kilometer 210, so that meant navigating on my own all the way through the dunes, which went pretty well, actually. Then Tosha (Schareina) caught me at the refueling and after that, I eased off just a little to make sure I didn’t have to open tomorrow. On the whole, the stage went well – got a few changes to make to the bike, and it’s going to be another long day tomorrow, but I’m looking forward to it.”

Luciano Benavides: “I’ve had a good day here in Morocco – I finished fifth today on what was a really tough stage. The terrain was really broken with a lot of hidden dangers, so I just tried to stay safe over the stage and focus on my navigation. I think my pace and my rhythm are steadily getting closer to the front guys. Today was better than yesterday and I hope we can continue to build and improve as the rally goes on. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow and I’m looking forward to it.”

Adrien Van Beveren: I started the stage in eighth position and I could see I was catching the guys in front of me, but unfortunately at about the 140km mark, I arrived and saw the bike of Sebastian Bühler on the ground, he'd had a really big crash in a bad stony section. For sure I stopped, but it was a really difficult moment to know what to do. When I got going again I tried to regroup and refocus because I knew that if I didn’t it would be easy to have that sort of accident too as the terrain was rough with a lot of difficult sections. I rode well to the end and am happy with the result today.

Provisional Results – 2024 Rallye du Maroc, Stage 2

1. Tosha Schareina (ESP), Honda, 3:23:44

2. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Honda, 3:25:03 +1:19

3. Daniel Sanders (AUS), KTM, 3:25:08 +1:24

4. Pablo Quintanilla (CHL), Honda, 3:26:06 +2:22

5. Luciano Benavides (ARG), KTM, 3:26:22 +2:38

Provisional Standings – 2024 Rallye du Maroc (after 2 of 5 stages)

1. Tosha Schareina (ESP), Honda, 5:59:23

2. Daniel Sanders (AUS), KTM, 6:00:05 +0:42

3. Luciano Benavides (ARG), KTM, 6:07:16 +7:53

4. Pablo Quintanilla (CHL), Honda, 6:07:46 +8:23

5. Adrien Van Beveren (FRA), Honda, 6:10:05 +10:42