TOYOTA GAZOO Racing W2RC continue to fight at the front on Stage 2 in Morocco

• TOYOTA GAZOO Racing W2RC remain in podium contention following a challenging second Stage in Morocco
• Lucas Moraes and Armand Monleón moved up to second overall after finishing third
• Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings suffered a problem with their rear differential as did Seth Quintero and Andrew Short putting both crews out of contention
• Wednesday at Rallye du Maroc sends the crews on the longest competitive section, a 322 km loop for Stage 3

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing W2RC (TGR W2RC) remain firmly represented at the front of the Rallye du Maroc in the season finale of the 2025 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship.

Stage 2 saw the GR Hilux EVOs face more demanding terrain and more rocky sections but also, for the first time on Rallye du Maroc, the sand dunes. Visibility was a challenge for all the crews as the course took them towards the border with Algeria. 

- Advertisement -

Lucas Moraes and Armand Monleón in the #202 GR Hilux EVO built on their impressive Stage 1 performance, maintaining a strong presence at the top of the leaderboard throughout the day. Their speed and tactical mastery over the dunes earned them another third-place Stage finish, elevating them to second overall in the standings. 

Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings were also set to move further up the order, but with 110 km remaining, just before tackling the largest sand dunes, a rear differential failure forced the crew to continue with only front-wheel drive, nursing their #204 GR Hilux EVO to the finish.

Seth Quintero and Andrew Short likewise looked on course for a strong finish as the pairing set competitive times throughout the stage and were closing in on the top positions, but as they approached the dunes their #205 GR Hilux EVO suffered the same technical issue as their teammates but they were unable to finish the stage.

Stage 3 on Wednesday sees the crews once again set off from Erfoud to tackle a 322 km loop, the longest and most demanding stage of Rallye du Maroc featuring expansive dunes, challenging rocky sections and rugged terrain to navigate. Wadis and camel grass also await, and a combination of slow technical sections and high speed action.  

Quotes:

Henk Lategan:

“I think today was a really bad day for us. Mechanical failure, a rear diff failed with a lot of kms still to go which was obviously far from ideal, especially as we had a lot of dunes to cross as well. It was very difficult, almost impossible to cross some of them so basically today ended our realistic world championship hopes so it’s a sad day. We at least are still in the rally, we can restart tomorrow, and the car can be fixed so we will carry on and gain experience for the future and we have something for when we return next year.”

Lucas Moraes:

“That was a very nice stage and the car performed very well all day. Today we met the first dunes and it was a challenge as visibility on the dunes was crazy hard and then right at the end we caught Ekström but we decided not to pass him and just to follow to avoid any problems with the dunes and use him as a reference to see the drops. I think it was a good one and I’m thankful to the team for the car. Let’s keep going.”

Seth Quintero:

Really good day for us at the beginning, smooth, consistent, easy pace and we were leading for most of the stage and then just before the first dunes we unfortunately lost the rear diff and had to pull out of the stage which ends our Morocco rally. Taking away the positives, working really well with Andrew, happy with him and the way he’s holding himself and doing really well in the car. My driving has felt the best it ever has, and I feel like I’m only continuing to go faster and I think the times are showing. So I am very happy.”

Rallye du Maroc 2025 – Stage 2 Result*

Rallye du Maroc 2025 –  Standings after Stage 2*