MERZOUGA (MOROCCO): Overdrive Racing’s Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk confirmed the runner-up spots in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) by winning the gruelling six-day Rally of Morocco.
Despite stopping in the dunes in the final stage and losing out on a possible ninth place, Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah did enough earlier in the event with stage points to confirm a second successive W2RC Drivers’ Championship.
The Qatari’s co-driver Mathieu Baumel had already won a second Co-drivers’ title and Toyota Gazoo Racing sealed the W2RC Manufacturers’ Championship at the previous round.
Overdrive Racing ran seven Hiluxes in North Africa and worked alongside Toyota Gazoo Racing to support Al-Attiyah’s challenge for yet another win in Morocco.
Despite winning two stages and leading for three days, Al-Attiyah suffered a delay in the dunes with a transmission issue on stage four and that time loss enabled Al-Rajhi to move into the lead.
The Saudi began the final day with a 3min 49sec cushion over Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel and, when the Frenchman stopped in the dunes after just 20km, Al-Rajhi was able to push on to the finish, setting the second quickest time on his way to victory by the flattering margin of 34min 17sec.
