Ross Branch (Hero MotoSports) has won the Rally GP world championship in Morocco and earned the Indian brand its first-ever title. Tosha Schareina (Monster Energy Honda) took the race and contributed to HRC’s successful manufacturer title defence. Bradley Cox (BAS World KTM Racing) claimed the Rally 2 race and beat Romain Dumontier (Team Honda) and Konrad Dąbrowski (Duust Rally) to secure his first title. Local hero Souleymane Addahri (Africa Rallye Team) bagged the Rally 3 trophy ahead of John Medina (Xraids Experience), who took the crown. Antanas Kanopkinas (CFMOTO Thunder Racing) clinched the race in the quad class, where Manuel Andújar had built an unassailable lead in the championship.
Nasser Al Attiyah (The Dacia Sandriders) nabbed his third FIA W2RC title ahead of Yazeed Al Rajhi (Overdrive Racing) and Lucas Moraes (Toyota Gazoo Racing). Eryk Goczał (Energylandia Taurus Factory Team) opened his Challenger account in Morocco, but it was Rokas Baciuška (Can-Am Factory) who topped the championship podium. Yasir Seaidan (MMP) succeeded the Lithuanian in SSV (BE Racing) at the end of a thrilling duel with Sebastián Guayasamín (BE Racing). The 2024 FIA-FIM World Rally-Raid Championship is a wrap. The Dakar will get the 2025 W2RC season the under way from 3 to 17 January.
FIM: BRANCH GOES DOWN IN HISTORY
Ross Branch had had his work cut out for him to withstand the Honda onslaught ever since he had seized the Rally GP lead at the end of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge in March. Ricky Brabec moved within nine points of the Botswanan after winning the Desafío Ruta 40 YPF Infinia, but a knee injury in stage 1 of the Rallye du Maroc knocked him out of the race and the fight for the title. Branch turned on the autopilot. Cruising alongside his trusted Hero wingman Nacho Cornejo, he steered clear of turbulence and crossed the finish line in third place among the W2RC entrants, right behind Tosha Schareina and Adrien Van Beveren. That made him the third Rally GP world champion —a historic moment for Botswana and Hero, none of which had ever won a FIM title before. Silver went to Van Beveren and bronze to Schareina, whose Moroccan triumph catapulted him to the podium at the last minute.
The Spaniard claimed his second win of the season, after the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal, ushering in the promise of a thrilling 2025 season. Monster Energy Honda picked up its third consecutive manufacturers’ title. The new Rally 2 champion also reigns down in Africa —specifically South Africa, which is joining the W2RC calendar next season. Bradley Cox scored a double whammy by winning the rally and the title. Michael Docherty and Tobias Ebster helped to lock out the podium for BAS World KTM Racing. Cox snatched the championship at the eleventh hour from Romain Dumontier (Team Honda), who was riding a new mount.
The Frenchman came in second and Konrad Dąbrowski (Duust Rally) third. The Southern Cone stole the show in the Rally 3 championship, with the Chilean John Medina prevailing over his Argentinian teammate Eduardo Alan. Local hero Souleymane Addahri finished third thanks to his victory on home soil this week, the Africa Rallye Team’s third in Morocco. Manuel Andújar (7240 Team) had sewn up the quad title at the Ruta 40, but the other podium spots hung in the balance in Morocco. The Lithuanian Antanas Kanopkinas (CFMoto Thunder Racing) beat Kamil Wiśniewski (Orlen Team) in the rally, but the Pole clung on to second place in the championship.
FIA: NASSER AL HAT-TRICK
Nasser Al Attiyah took a gamble when he decided to switch vehicles near the end of the season. Even so, the Qatari never lost control of the situation and flew towards a hat-trick in his “well-designed” Dacia Sandrider. He bagged his third FIA W2RC crown with a flourish, scooping up his seventh Rallye du Maroc along the way. It was a barnstorming performance in his new car, raising the stakes for a gripping 2025 season. Al Attiyah got the better of another promising signing, Guillaume de Mévius, who jumped ship to X-raid Mini JCW. These two squads gave Toyota a run for their money. The Japanese maker took third in the rally with Yazeed Al Rajhi. The Saudi also became the W2RC runner-up for the second time, with Lucas Moraes on the bottom step of the podium.
Each Hilux did its bit to make sure the manufacturers’ championship stayed with Toyota Gazoo Racing. The drivers’ title will go up for a rematch in 2025! As for the co-drivers, Édouard Boulanger (The Dacia Sandriders) succeeded his compatriot Mathieu Baumel (X-raid Mini JCW) after guiding Al Attiyah to victory like an absolute legend. Timo Gottschalk (Overdrive Racing) and Armand Monleón (Toyota Gazoo Racing) escorted him on the podium. In the Challenger race, the Goczał family smashed the opposition to smithereens in its return to competition, whitewashing the stages and scoring a 1-2 in the overall with the wunderkind Eryk and his father, Marek. The Saudi Dania Akeel stood next to them on the podium of a class where women shone brighter than ever. Valentina Pertegarini claimed the co-drivers’ title and became the first woman to take the W2RC. Her driver, Nicolás Cavigliasso, got silver, while his teammate Marcelo Gastaldi had to settle for bronze. Rokas Baciuška was simply too good for the BBR drivers. Much like Al Attiyah, the Lithuanian added a third title to his collection.
He hit the ground running in his first season in Challenger after dominating the SSV class in the two previous seasons. He is also the first driver to emerge victorious in two different classes. The real nail-biter of the season was the SSV championship. Yasir Seaidan, six points behind Sebastián Guayasamín as the engines revved up in Morocco, turned the tables on his Ecuadorian rival to clinch the title by a measly two points! The Italian Rebecca Busi (OnlyFans) came in third. Fernando Acosta, riding shotgun with Guayasamín, won the co-drivers’ title. DID YOU KNOW? Stage 1 of the Rallye du Maroc, the 100th day of racing in the history of the W2RC, went to the two champions: Ross Branch in the motorbike race and Nasser Al Attiyah in the car competition.
The Qatari has been the most prolific stage hunter so far in the FIA classes, with 40 notches on his belt. His counterpart in the FIM classes is Adrien Van Beveren, with 15 victories to his name, the most recent one being stage 3 of the Rallye du Maroc. Today brought down the curtain on the third season of the W2RC. The 2025 season will get off the ground at the Dakar from 3 to 17 January, followed by the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge from 21 to 27 February. Next, the championship will make its first foray into the South African Safari Rally from 18 to 24 May before heading to Europe for the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal from 22 to 28 September. Last but not least, the caravan will double back to Africa for the finale at the Rallye du Maroc, scheduled for 10 to 17 October.
