World Rally-Raid Championship

2023 Rallye du Maroc: Jacquemain wins Rally3 for ART, Kurtaj scores championship

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Credit: Julien Delfosse/DPPI

Cheikh Yves Jacquemain is a seven-time champion of the Senegal Cross-Country Championship who has dreamed of racing the Dakar Rally, and was poised to take part in the 2008 edition before it was cancelled. While the race no longer runs through his home country of Senegal, he was more than eager to showcase himself on the global stage when the World Rally-Raid Championship arrived in Morocco for the Rallye du Maroc.

Competing for the Africa Rallye Team, a programme run by Rallye du Maroc organiser ODC Event to promote domestic rally competitors, Jacquemain did not take long to impress as he won the Rally3 category in his W2RC début by nearly an hour on the field. Fellow ART rider Souleymane Addahri joined him on the overall podium in third.

Jacquemain captured the momentum first by winning the Prologue and Stage #1, and never relinquished the overall lead for the rest of the race. Addahri and Richárd Hodola scored a stage win each, but Jacquemain finished on the podium in all five legs while his margins of victory were significantly greater than theirs. Hodola also completed the podium lockout, but his runner-up to Jacquemain in the first stage was by over eighteen minutes while his Stage #4 win over Jacquemain came by just thirty-three seconds. Addahri’s Stage #2 victory was also by less than a minute on his ART team-mate.

Although not a win, the silver medal is still a strong finish for Hodola after placing sixth in the 2022 edition. He was the lone Rally3 competitor from 2022 to return to the class as those like winner Amine Echiguer and second-placed Guillaume Borne moved up to Rally2.

Ardit Kurtaj was the only other rider with a stage podium when he finished second to Jacquemain in Stage #3, though he was over an hour behind Addahri in the overall. He woke up with an upset stomach for the fourth day, forcing him to ride more conservatively and finishing fourth.

The W2RC Rally3 title turned out to be a wonderful substitute for Pepto-Bismol as Kurtaj clinched the title over Alexander Chepurkó and Massimo Camurri. Kurtaj and Chepurkó entered all three Rally3 rounds in 2023, with the former finishing second to Camurri at the Sonora Rally and winning the Desafío Ruta 40. Both races only featured three entrants compared to the thirteen at Morocco.

Chepurkó placed fifth overall and over two hours back of Kurtaj. After skipping Argentina, Camurri’s title hopes were dashed by a crash in Stage #2; he trailed Kurtaj by twenty entering Morocco. Even though he ran just one race, Jacquemain’s win ranked him joint third in the championship with Camurri.

Rally3 overall results

FinishNumberRiderTeamTimeMargin
1164Cheikh Yves JacquemainAfrica Rallye Team23:41:39Leader
2154Richárd HodolaRichárd Hodola24:31:45+ 50:06
3165Souleymane AddahriAfrica Rallye Team24:41:59+ 1:00:20
4150Ardit KurtajXraids Experience25:43:32+ 2:01:53
5153Alexander ChepurkóMoto Technik Team Silk Rider28:18:26+ 4:36:47
6155Timothée VacherandTeam S-PassMoto31:23:19+ 7:41:40
7157Hugues DeliègeTeam S-PassMoto31:35:09+ 7:53:30
8156Mathilde DelsauxTeam S-PassMoto31:35:35+ 7:53:56
9162Romain MonnotRomain Monnot35:26:23+ 11:44:44
DNF151Massimo CamurriMcDonald’s Rally TeamDNFN/A
DNF158Alexis Van de WoestyneTeam S-PassMotoDNFN/A
DNF161Jean-Luc TaorminaTaorminaDNFN/A
DNF163Mamadou BoucoumAfrica Rallye TeamDNFN/A

Rally3 stage winners

StageRiderTime
PrologueCheikh Yves Jacquemain1:06:10.5 (13:14.5)
Stage #1Cheikh Yves Jacquemain4:58:31
Stage #2Souleymane Addahri4:42:48
Stage #3Cheikh Yves Jacquemain4:20:23
Stage #4Richárd Hodola5:34:09
Stage #5Souleymane Addahri2:44:51

Overall winners

ClassNumberCompetitorTeamTime
T1201Yazeed Al-RajhiToyota Gazoo Racing14:49:09
T2251Ronald Basso*Team Land Cruiser Toyota Auto Body22:14:17
T3315Marek GoczałEnergyLandia Rally Team16:22:12
T4403João FerreiraSouth Racing Can-Am18:26:24
T5506Michiel Becx*Team de Rooy21:32:34
RallyGP8Toby PriceRed Bull KTM Factory Racing15:56:43
Rally232Bradley CoxBAS World KTM Racing Team17:06:37
Rally3164Cheikh Yves JacquemainAfrica Rallye Team23:42:39
Quad186Alexandre Giroud*Drag’on Rally Team21:07:24
Open Auto601Jérôme Cambier*MD Rallye Sport21:21:46
Open SSV653Tomas Mickus*BRO Racing21:42:23
Road to Dakar Bike71Toby Hederics*BAS World KTM Racing Team19:11:16
Road to Dakar SSV420William Grarre*Team Horizon Off-Road21:50:39
* – Not competing in World Rally-Raid Championship

W2RC Rally3 standings

RankRiderPointsMargin
1Ardit Kurtaj58Leader
2Alexander Chepurkó27– 31
T-3Massimo Camurri25– 33
T-3Cheikh Yves Jacquemain25– 33
T-5Mauricio Cueva20– 38
T-5Richárd Hodola20– 38
T-7Leo Dari16– 42
T-7Souleymane Addahri16– 42
9Timothée Vacherand10– 48
10Hugues Deliège9– 49
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Justin is not an off-road racer, but he writes about it for The Checkered Flag.
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