2024 Morocco Desert Challenge focused on “fun, safety, and 200% adrenaline”

The Morocco Desert Challenge returns for a ninth edition from 11 to 20 April, and organisers hope it will be both an exciting and safe adventure following tragic events that overshadowed the 2023 race.

After co-driver Laurent Lichtleuchter and rider Bram van der Wouden died during the 2023 MDC, the former in a fiery accident when his side-by-side was hit by another car and the latter from heat stroke, the 2024 edition has increased measures to ensure competitor safety. All registrants are required to pass a cardiac evaluation within the past year, while riders must wear an airbag vest and undergo medical tests while refuelling during each stage. The Malle Moto class for riders competing without teams, which van der Wouden was in, has been dropped. To mitigate the risk of another crash like Lichtleuchter’s, side-by-side vehicles are now limited to a top speed of 135 km/h.

Although the entry list has been capped at 200 from the usual 300, the race still expects to see roughly 850 to 900 people in the bivouac. Race days will start earlier than usual at 7 AM, which gives teams more time to work on their vehicles in the evening and for rally officials to check on the course.

To reflect these new policies, MDC general director Gert Duson told The Checkered Flag that the race’s goals for 2024 are to promote “fun, safety, and 200% adrenaline.”

155 teams across six categories are signed up, with fifty-three SSVs leading the fray ahead of forty-four cars, thirty-five bikes, and nine trucks. The other sixteen are in the non-competitive Raid classes, which run on an adjacent route from the Rally side.

Duson anticipates the SSV battle to be South Racing Can-Am versus everyone else. One of the top teams in the World Rally-Raid Championship, South will be facing a litany of drivers ranging from Dakar Rally Truck competitors Mitchel van den Brink and Gert Huzink, the husband-and-wife duo of Erik and Anja Van Loon, and W2RC SSV regular Enrico Gaspari. Fernando Álvarez, who finished third in the 2023 FIA European Baja Cup, will spearhead South’s effort. Van den Brink, who finished third in Truck at the Dakar Rally in January, is the defending SSV winner.

Mathieu Serradori headlines the Cars after holding off an onslaught of MD Rallye Sport Optimuses to win the 2023 race in his Century CR6-T. Now upgrading to the CR7, he renews his rivalry with MD racers like runner-up Simon Vitse. The Toyota Hilux, a W2RC powerhouse, also hopes to spoil the party as well as Red-Lined Motorsport’s Nissan VK line.

With Victor Versteijnen not defending his Truck crown, Igor Bouwens hopes to break through in 2024 on that side after finishing second.

A month after setting the altitude world record on a motorcycle, Pol Tarrés is one of the top names among the MDC’s Bike entrants. He finished third in 2023 behind Dakar racers and Sherco factory riders Lorenzo Santolino and Rui Gonçalves, neither of whom return for 2024. With Sherco out of the picture, Yamaha hopes to lead the way with Tarrés, Rodney Faggotter (fourth in 2023), and Stephane Poulet. Yamaha is also contributing heavily to the Bike Raid side with all but one of six riders participating in the Ténéré Spirit Experience.

Amine Echiguer, who won the Carta Rallye in Morocco in February, hopes to challenge the Yamahas.

Although not part of the W2RC or other international championships beyond the domestic series, the Morocco Desert Challenge is a recognised event by the FIA via the Fédération Royale Marocaine des Sports, which allows FIA members to take part without consequence even if the race is not overseen by the sanctioning body. Many competitors use the MDC as additional practice for the Dakar Rally, which takes place in the desert-heavy Saudi Arabia, without having to enter the W2RC.

Administrative checks will begin on 11 April at Place Al Amal in Agadir and run for two days before racing commences on 13 April. The rally will head from “coast to coast”, beginning along the Atlantic coast before concluding after eight stages by the Mediterranean in Saïdia, covering roughly 1,959 kilometres in Selective Sections.

2024 Morocco Desert Challenge route

Stage	Start	Finish	Selective Sections	Road Sections	Date
1	Agadir	Plage Blanche	85 km	282 km	13 April
2	Plage Blanche	Tadachacht/Assa	363 km	66 km	14 April
3	Tadachacht/Assa	Tissint	361 km	0 km	15 April
4	Tissint	Tazzarine	261 km	108 km	16 April
5	Tazzarine	Merzouga	261 km	0 km	17 April
6	Merzouga	Merzouga	205 km	0 km	18 April
7	Merzouga	Borj de Bel Fraïssat	310 km	140 km	19 April
8	Borj de Bel Fraïssat	Ain Bni Mathar	113 km	166 km	20 April

Entry list

Bikes and Quads

Number	Rider	Team	Vehicle
101	Rodney Faggotter	Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team	Yamaha Ténéré 700
102	Matthew Roach	Desert Rose Racing	KTM 500 EXC-F
103	Richard Dors	Desert Rose Racing	KTM 450 Rally Replica
104	Hugo Raes	Raids Aventure et Sport	Husqvarna FE 450
105	Lucas Raes	Raids Aventure et Sport	KTM 450 EXC-F
106	Giorgio Papa	Jazz Tech Off-Road	KTM 450 EXC
108	Amaury Baratin	Horizon Moto 95	KTM 450 Rally
109	Fernando Moctezuma	Nomadas Adventure	KTM 450 Rally
110	Attilio Fert	France Road Book	KTM 450 Rally Factory Replica
111	Benjamin Bourdariat	RS Concept	KTM 450 EXC-F
112	Amine Echiguer	Maroc FRMM	KTM 450 EXC-F
113	Pol Tarrés	Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team	Yamaha XTZ690D
114	Jason Adams	Nomadas Adventure	BMW 850 Rallye
115	Dennis Mildenberger	Nomadas Adventure	KTM 450 Rally
116	Bertrand Gavard	RS Concept	Husqvarna 450 Rally Replica
117	Marek Lój	Perfectmoto.pl	Yamaha Raptor
118	Xavier Cailhol	Rev2Gos	KTM 450 EXC
119	Clement Artaud	France Road Book	KTM 450 Factory
120	Pierpaolo Vivaldi	Jazz Tech Off-Road	GasGas RX 450F Replica
121	Valentin Sertilhanges	Horizon Moto 95	KTM 450 RALLY
122	Stephane Poulet	Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team	Yamaha XTZ690D
123	Erik Orlanzzini	Nomadas Adventure	KTM
124	Fraser Woolley	Desert Rose Racing	KTM 500 EXC-F
125	Chris Walker	Desert Rose Racing	Beta RR 4T 480
126	Nemo Hvengaard	Max Hunt Racing	Husqvarna 450 Factory Replica
127	Guillaume Jaunin	Nomade Racing	GasGas RX 450 F Replica
128	Jason Lan	Desert Rose Racing	Beta 480 RR
129	Yunus Sahin	Evasioni Rally Raid Services	Fantic XEF Rally 450
130	John Rowley	Desert Rose Racing	KTM 450 Rally Factory Replica
131	Henrik Haldorf Halkaer	Max Hunt Racing	Husqvarna FE 450
132	Eric Coulaud	Nomade Racing	KTM 450 Rally
134	Patrick Heffron	Desert Rose Racing	Beta RR 4T 480
135	Oscar Skovgaard Soerensen	Max Hunt Racing	Husqvarna FE 450
136	Deniz Algun	Evasioni Rally Raid Services	Husquvarna FE 501
138	Pierrick Babin	RS Concept	KTM 450

SSVs

Number	Driver	Co-Driver	Team	Vehicle
201	Mitchel van den Brink	Bart van Heun	QFF Racing	Can-Am Maverick X3
202	Gert Huzink	Rob Buursen	QFF Racing	Can-Am Maverick X3
203	Fernando Álvarez	Xavier Panseri	South Racing	Can-Am Maverick X3
204	Erik Van Loon	Sébastien Delaunay	Van Loon Racing	Can-Am Maverick R
205	Marc Lauwers	Wout Lauwers	Art of Speed ML	Can-Am Maverick X3
206	Stephane Zosso	Caroline Zosso	ZZ Kustom racing	Can-Am Maverick X3
207	Carlos Vento	Carlos Ruiz	Patriot Racing	Can-Am Maverick X3
208	Kees Box	Renee Box	QFF Racing	Can-Am Maverick X3
209	Godfried Lintjens	Henk Schnackers	De Lint	Can-Am Maverick X3
210	Gert-Jan van der Valk	Branco de Lange	Arcane Racing	Arcane T3
211	Ruud Vollebregt	Milou Vollebregt	QFF Racing	Can-Am Maverick X3
212	Anja Van Loon	Wouter de Graaff	Van Loon Racing	Can-Am Maverick X3
214	Enrico Gaspari	Aku Facundo Jaton	R Team/TH Trucks	Polaris RZR Pro R
215	Rene Van Eerd	Joel Ebbers	Van Eerd Racing	Can-Am Maverick X3
216	Floor Meijer	Rudolf Meijer	QFF Racing	Can-Am Maverick X3
217	Pascal Seite	Bernard Nanchen	ZZ Kustom Racing	Can-Am Maverick X3
218	Davy Lenaerts	Koen Slegers	Art of Speed SL Motorsport	Can-Am Maverick X3
219	Roger Grouwels	Sander Derikx	QFF Racing	Can-Am Maverick X3
220	Patrick Becquart	Ghislain Becquart	Mercier Racing 2024	Can-Am Maverick X3
221	Janus van Kasteren Sr.	Thijs Heezen Sr.	Boss Racing	Can-Am Maverick X3
222	Gerrit Meijer	Nico Gründmann	QFF Racing	Can-Am Maverick X3
223	Dario De Lorenzo	Aldo De Lorenzo	Furistradaitalia 0039	Polaris Pro R
224	Grzegorz Brochocki	Grzegorz Komar	Overlimit	Can-Am Maverick X3
225	Felipe Fernandez	Jonathan Lurquin	One-Raid	Can-Am Maverick X3
226	Bert Van Druten	Patric Brinkman	QFF Racing	Can-Am Maverick X3
227	Gregory Pichon	Paul Pichon	Mercier Racing 2024	Can-Am Maverick X3
228	Thijs Heezen Jr.	Sam Van Kemenade	Van Eerd Racing	Can-Am Maverick X3
229	Stanislaw Kopczyk	Artur Janda	Perfectmoto.pl	Can-Am Maverick X3
230	Willem Meijer	Corné Christianen	QFF Racing	Can-Am Maverick X3
231	Henri van Steenbergen	Daan van Ooijen	Oryx Rallysport	GPR Sport Oryx GPR22
232	Josep Rojas Almuzara	Joan Rubi Montserrat	Buggy Masters	Can-Am Maverick X3
233	Artur Brzozowski	Maciej Albinowski	Perfectmoto.pl	Can-Am Maverick X3
234	Adam Kus	Marcin Pasek	Akpol Recykling	GRally OT3
235	Jori Panhuijzen	Tom Panhuijzen	Green Team	Can-Am Maverick X3
236	Daniel Kersbergen	Simon van der Heden	Orange Bull	GPR Sport Oryx GPR22
237	Peter Goossens	Geoffroy Noel de Burlin	Art of Speed ML	Can-Am Maverick X3
238	Patrick Hillewaere	Wim Vanmassenhove	Art of Speed ML	Can-Am Maverick X3
239	Hans den Ouden	Dirk Goris	Echt hé	Can-Am Maverick X3
240	Rine Streppel	Albert Kraai	Arcane Racing	Arcane T3
241	Jeroen van Kasteren	Rik Vaessen	Boss Racing	Can-Am Maverick X3
242	Nick van Geloven	Max Van Empel	Racing team Strong	Can-Am Maverick X3
243	Harrie Van Empel	Stefan Van Ras	De Run Trading	Can-Am Maverick X3
244	Igor Klaja	Łukasz Łaskawiec	Perfectmoto.pl	Can-Am Maverick X3
245	Richard Aczel	Allan Harryman	Arcane Racing	Arcane T3
246	Stefano Bosio	Paolo Sala	Jazz Tech Team	Polaris RZR Pro
247	Lenka Hlavata	Nikola Verbicova	Heels on Wheels	Can-Am Maverick X3
248	Paolo Scalzotto	Roberto Zattera	Jazz Tech Team	Polaris RZR Pro
249	Arno van Lieshout	Duco Tollenaar	Rally Team Oudewater	Can-Am Maverick X3
250	Jose Maria Cami Matesanz	Cristian Cami Matesanz	Scuderia Actahotels	Can-Am Maverick X3
251	Stefan Slootjes	Sam Slootjes	Slootjes Racing	Can-Am Maverick X3
252	Wastl Bayer	Stefan Henken	utvparts.de	Southracing T3 Widespec
253	Felix Plaza	Mario Plaza	Bemar	Can-Am Maverick X3
254	Bastien Paquereau	Benjamin Salah	Human Sport	Can-Am Maverick X3

Cars and Buggies

Number	Driver	Co-Driver	Team	Vehicle
301	Mathieu Serradori	Loïc Minaudier	Serradori Racing Team	Century CR7
302	Simon Vitse	Frederic Lefebvre	MD Rallye Sport	MD Optimus
303	Vincent Thijs	Tom De Leeuw	RT Offroad	Toyota Hilux Overdrive
304	Mike van Eikeren	Marcel Snijders	MP Rallysport	Century CR6
305	Ronald van Loon	Erik Lemmen	Oase Motorsport	Red-Lined VK
306	Herve Toscano	Christophe Crespo	MD Rallye Sport	MD Optimus
307	Maik Willems	Robert van Pelt	MP Rallysport	Toyota Hilux Overdrive
308	Erwin Imschoot	Olivier Imschoot	IMS racing	MD Optimus
309	Pedro De Uriarte	Eduardo Vanzzini	Mexico – Pedro	Ford Overdrive
310	Rik Van den Brink	Gydo Heimans	SRT	Century CR6-T
311	Vincent Vroninks	Dave Berghmans	Desert Foxx	Red-Lined VK56
312	Christian Femont	Christophe Van Dessel	Desert Foxx	MD Optimus EVO 5
314	Anne Schol	Didier Dhondt	Mexico	Ford Cruiser
315	David Gerard	Pascal Delacour	Les fous du volant	MD Optimus
316	Jan De Vos	David Jansen	Desert Foxx	Red-Lined VK56
317	Antoine Galland	Estelle Kazmierczak	Off Road Concept	Century CR6
318	Agostino Rizzardi	Umberto Fiori	Countrysideways	Porsche 911 Carrera
319	Imre Varga	Jozsef Toma	Varga Racing Team	Toyota Hilux Overdrive
320	Jos Bijnens	Patrick Bijnens	Bijnens	Toyota Hilux
321	Hugues Moilet	Mayeul Barbet	Off Road Concept	MD Optimus
322	Gregg Docx	Jurgen Van den Brande	Geolock	Red-Lined VK50
323	Simon Tacx	Mark Laan	MP Rallysport	Toyota Hilux Overdrive
324	Thierry Bunel Gourdy	Antony Pes	ST Racing	Fouquet WB11Z5
325	Paul van Boekel	Eddy Bens	B&B Rallyteam	Toyota Land Cruiser 100
326	Lieven De Brabant	Lucke De Brabant	De Brabant Rally Team	Bowler Bulldog
327	Thierry Porte	Jerome Doudard	MD Rallye Sport	MD Optimus
328	Ernst Amort	Adolf Ruhaltinger	Pircher Williams	Land Rover Tomcat
329	Raf Van der Steen	Kris Van der Steen	Garage Robert Ranst	Nissan Navara
330	Bart De Paepe	Frank De Doncker	Windox Racing	Volkswagen Taro
331	Johan Jongen	Bart Mignolet	Desert Foxx	Bowler Bulldog
332	Andrew Wicklow	Kirsty Wicklow	Peake Motorsport	Toyota Hilux
333	Hartger Van loon	Erik Van der zijden	BLP Rally	Bowler Bulldog
334	Holly Wicklow	Dannielle Scarr	Peake Motorsport	Land Rover Defender
336	Sam Heyvaert	Krzysztof Zolty	Desert Foxx	Red-Lined VK56
337	Gerard van lieshout	Arno Van Bakel	T4F Rallyteam	Toyota Land Cruiser 200
338	Diego Delespaux	Julie Verdaguer	Dunbee by GRallyTeam	Volkswagen TDI DB2
339	Marcel van de Kamp	Arjen van Asselt	Hamer Rally Team	Rally Raid UK Desert Warrior
340	Hervé Quinet	Marie-Laure Quinet	Les Clérimois Auto Sport	Barbry Factory Némésis V8
341	Nicolas Delencre	François Béguin	Dunbee by GRallyTeam	Volkswagen TDI DB2
342	Evangelos Bersis	Exarchos Konstantinos	R Team / TH Trucks	Mitsubishi Pajero
343	Aran Sol	Carlos Santaolalla	Factory Tub	Toyota Land Cruiser KZJ95
344	Jerome Cambier	Alain Brousse	MD Rallye Sport	MD Optimus
345	Luciano Andreetto	Filippo Andreetto	R Team / TH Trucks	Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution
346	Wietse Tates	Piet van Maris	Kort door de bocht	Bowler Wildcat

Trucks

Number	Driver	Co-Driver	Mechanic	Team	Vehicle
501	Igor Bouwens	Syndiely Wade	Ulrich Boerboom	Gregoor Racing	IVECO T-Way
502	Eimbert Timmermans	Marcel Blankestijn	Koen Hendriks	Ex-Dakar	DAF 75
503	Claudio Bellina	Andrea Bellina	Ettore Vitali	MM Technology	IVECO Torpedo
504	Paul Verheyden	Kurt Keysers	Bjorn Burgelman	Ex-Dakar	DAF CF
505	Egbert Wingens	Marije van Ettekoven	Marijn Beekmans	DDW Rallyteam	IVECO Torpedo
506	Steve Ingels	Arthur Ingels	Victor Ingels	RR Belgica	MAN 480 TGA
507	Giso Verschoor	Pascal de Baar	Alfred Sturm	Van Dongen Rally Sport	Renault K520
508	Fons Jans	Hans Heerema	Renaldo Schrave	Hamer Rally Team	DAF FAV 75
509	Mike Panhuijzen	Bert Van Loon	Pieter Kuypers	Green Team	MAN TGA

Raid classes

Bikes

Number	Rider	Team	Bike
451	Christophe Edouin	Ténéré Spirit Experience	Yamaha XTZ690
452	Laurent Edouin	Ténéré Spirit Experience	Yamaha XTZ690D
453	Marc Girardin	Ténéré Spirit Experience	Yamaha XTZ690D-B
454	Alexandre Gomes	Ténéré Spirit Experience	Yamaha XTZ690D-B
455	Franck Mutin	Ténéré Spirit Experience	Yamaha XTZ690
456	Herve Brice	Patator	KTM 350 EXC F

Cars and Buggies

Number	Driver	Co-Driver	Team	Vehicle
401	Laurens Meijer	Robbert Visser	QFF Racing	Ford Raptor
402	Neil Bainbridge	Ross Bainbridge	BBB 4×4	Land Rover BBB SVO
403	Peterjan Verhaest	Yves Spillebeen	Q&S Motorsport	Nissan Navara AT32
404	Guy Pasmans	Ken Joris	Escuderia Manuport	Porsche 911 Tuthill
405	Freek van Erp	Luuk Schmitz	Always on the Move	Mitsubishi Pajero
406	Henry Stenner	James Harrason	BBB 4×4	Toyota Land Cruiser
407	Marien Vermeulen	Wendy Kruijthof	W&M Desert Adventure	Jeep Wrangler
408	Will Flanders		Mid Life Crisis	TOYOTA Landcruiser Prado