Dacia Sandriders Win Rallye Du Maroc
The Dacia Sandriders ended an action-packed Rallye du Maroc with a double celebration that also marked the first anniversary of the team’s debut. Sébastien Loeb and navigator Édouard Boulanger delivered a commanding drive to repeat The Dacia Sandriders’ victory from 12 months ago after five gruelling days of rally-raid competition in the Sahara Desert. At the same time, Boulanger clinched the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship for Navigators for the second consecutive season, underlining the team’s progress in the W2RC.
The 46-year-old Frenchman began the season as Nasser Al-Attiyah’s co-driver and won February’s Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge with the Qatari before switching to Loeb ahead of last month’s Rally-Raid Portugal. He then finished third with his countryman at the penultimate round and converted that momentum into victory in Morocco to secure the coveted FIA title.
Loeb took the rally lead on Wednesday’s third stage and never relinquished control. His triumph marked his second win in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship and the third overall for The Dacia Sandriders. The team concluded the 2025 season as a two-time event winner and runner-up in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship for Manufacturers, strengthening its status among Morocco rally contenders and Dakar hopefuls.
Nasser Al-Attiyah endured disappointment at the Rallye du Maroc and missed a fourth straight FIA World Rally-Raid Championship for Drivers title by nine points. The Qatari ran on course for the crown after completing the opening part of today’s fifth stage in third place with navigator Fabian Lurquin, according to the virtual rankings. Still, officials handed the crew a one-hour time penalty for unintentionally missing the final stop point. As a result, Al-Attiyah finished the season as runner-up, with Lurquin fourth in the navigators’ standings.
Spaniards Cristina Gutiérrez and Pablo Moreno gained valuable mileage in the third sustainable-fuel Dacia Sandrider. They finished Rallye du Maroc a strong ninth overall in only their fourth outing in the W2RC’s headlining Ultimate category, adding depth to the team’s programme and its Dakar Rally preparations.
Rallye du Maroc serves as the ideal dress rehearsal for the Dakar Rally, which takes place in Saudi Arabia from January 3 to 17 and marks the start of the 2026 World Rally Championship (WRC) season. The Dacia Sandriders will now accelerate preparations for motorsport’s toughest event, approaching Dakar with belief and determination built on this Morocco win and consistent FIA World Rally-Raid Championship form.
Cristina Gutiérrez, Driver, The Dacia Sandriders, said: “It was a huge opportunity to drive in Morocco because it was the perfect race to train for the Dakar. I am thrilled and congratulate the entire team, including the engineers, mechanics, and staff, as well as everyone who is doing an incredible job. There are a lot of people behind us working so hard, so everything is for them, and I’m thrilled to head to the Dakar like this.”
Sébastien Loeb, Driver, The Dacia Sandriders, added: “It was an excellent rally for us. We had a good rhythm from the beginning of the rally, with no mistakes and no problems. We worked together with Édouard, refining our collaboration and improving it, as we had only done one rally together before this. However, the experience was delightful with the Dacia Sandrider and the stages, and we were able to push from start to finish. It was the perfect rally for us. Édouard is the world champion navigator. He started the season with Nasser and finished it with me, and he's got the most points, so it’s good. I’m happy for him; he deserved it and did a great job here. This rally is good preparation for the Dakar; we were here for that. Currently, everything is going very well. It’s only my second cross-country rally win, and I’m thrilled.”
Édouard Boulanger, Navigator, The Dacia Sandriders, said: “World champion sounds very good, second time in a row. This year was special for all of us at The Dacia Sandriders. Switching navigators during the season is not common, but we had extreme races with Sébastien in Portugal and Morocco. In Portugal, we just touched a tree, which slowed us down a little, but here we had a powerful race, and that’s a really nice feeling for our relationship. For preparing for Dakar, we cannot ask for more. We have the feeling that the job is well done, and now we have to continue working in this direction.”
Rallye du Maroc Stage 5 Ultimate Category results (unofficial) from Erfoud to Erfoud, Stage Distance 249 km, Liaison Distance 99.6 km, Total 348.6 km: 7th Sébastien Loeb and Édouard Boulanger, two h 44 m 39 s; 10th Cristina Gutiérrez and Pablo Moreno, two h 45 m 30 s; 32nd Nasser Al-Attiyah and Fabian Lurquin, three h 40 m 01 s. Overall after Stage 5 (unofficial): 1st Sébastien Loeb and Édouard Boulanger, 15 h 11 m 40 s; 9th Cristina Gutiérrez and Pablo Moreno, +44 m 46 s; 13th Nasser Al-Attiyah and Fabian Lurquin, +1 h 02 m 56 s.
The Dacia Sandriders in numbers: Titles 1 for Édouard Boulanger, Event Wins 2 for the season with Nasser Al-Attiyah 1 and Sébastien Loeb 1, Event Podiums 3, Stage Wins 13 with Al-Attiyah 10 and Loeb 3. What’s next: the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia opens the 2026 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship from 3 to 17 January, followed by Rally-Raid Portugal from 17 to 20 March, Desafio Ruta 40 in Argentina from 24 to 29 May, Rallye du Maroc from 28 September to 3 October, and Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge from 22 to 27 November.
