The Morocco Desert Challenge might not be on the World Rally-Raid Championship, but that doesn’t take away from it being the second largest rally raid in the world behind the legendary Dakar Rally. As such, it was the perfect stage for new vehicles to shine.
Pol Tarrés led the way on his Yamaha Ténéré 700 World Rally, the first twin-cylinder adventure bike to win the MDC overall. A month after setting the world record for highest altitude climb by a motorcycle, he continued his hot spring by winning six of eight stages. He led a Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team 1-2 finish in the M1.2 subcategory for bikes with over 601cc in engine displacement ahead of Stephane Poulet, who replaced Tarres’ usual team-mate Alessandro Botturi while the latter was competing in the Italian Motorally Championship.
“It is my first rally victory in Africa and it means a lot to me,” said Tarrés. “My GYTR-kitted Ténéré 700 World Rally has been amazing all rally and never missed a beat. I could attack on most stages because I had such a great feeling with the bike. The Morocco Desert Challenge certainly lived up to its tough reputation, but we did it, and we won, and I am delighted. Not just for me but for the whole team who have worked tirelessly to get us here. I learned a lot during the rally and cannot wait for the next one.”
Morocco marked the first international rally for the Can-Am Maverick R, which had been enjoying success in its native America but has yet to be homologated for FIA rally raid competition. Erik Van Loon, driving for South Racing Can-Am, won the first three stages in the Maverick R before battling with the Maverick X3 of Mitchel van den Brink until a late mechanical issue knocked Van Loon out. Van den Brink, normally a Dakar Truck racer, notched his second consecutive SSV win.
While the Maverick R’s run was cut short, Century Racing‘s new CR7 T1+ car thrived. The CR7 had struggled at the Dakar Rally with parts shortages, but Mathieu Serradori, who enjoyed success in the CR6 4×2 machine, scored six stage victories on the Car/Buggy side for back-to-back wins. Like last year, the MD Optimus of Simon Vitse finished second.
After coming up short in 2023, Igor Bouwens and his IVECO T-Way dominated the Truck class ahead of Claudio Bellina. Like van den Brink, he competed in the Trucks at Dakar but was eliminated by an engine failure halfway through.
“We have had a very good week,” Bouwens stated. “The truck didn’t struggle, we just had to change tyres. The rest of the crew had almost no work. That’s how it should always be. This may partly be because I drove more carefully. We quickly had a nice lead and from then on there was no point in pushing. We accelerated a bit when we took a wrong turn on the penultimate day. The biggest difficulty came when I felt very ill for a day and a half with stomach and intestinal complaints, then it got tough. The final stage consisted of fast slopes. I just rode a good pace and still won.
“This victory makes up for the disappointment of the Dakar, although we have never actually talked about it here in Morocco. It has been a very pleasant week.”
Following the tragic events of 2023, the 2024 race was mainly focused on ensuring competitor safety. The Malle Moto class was dropped while medical evaluations were emphasised beforehand.
Stage winners
| Stage | Bike Winner | Time | SSV Winner | Time | Car/Buggy Winner | Time | Truck Winner | Time |
| 1 | Pol Tarrés | 1:12:18 | Erik Van Loon | 1:04:54 | Mathieu Serradori | 59:57 | Igor Bouwens | 1:16:46 |
| 2 | Pol Tarrés | 4:35:12 | Erik Van Loon | 4:36:50 | Mathieu Serradori | 4:02:01 | Igor Bouwens | 5:19:15 |
| 3 | Pol Tarrés | 4:34:10 | Erik Van Loon | 4:33:08 | Mathieu Serradori | 4:07:17 | Igor Bouwens | 4:58:32 |
| 4 | Bertrand Gavard | 4:08:16 | Mitchel van den Brink | 3:50:32 | Simon Vitse | 3:32:55 | Igor Bouwens | 4:37:17 |
| 5 | Amaury Baratin | 4:17:19 | Mitchel van den Brink | 3:45:6 | Mathieu Serradori | 3:39:04 | Claudio Bellina | 4:37:01 |
| 6 | Pol Tarrés | 3:30:23 | Nico Gründmann | 2:49:52 | Imre Varga | 3:03:12 | Claudio Bellina | 3:59:36 |
| 7 | Pol Tarrés | 6:33:34 | Gert Huzink | 6:28:06 | Mathieu Serradori | 5:55:57 | Claudio Bellina | 6:56:42 |
| 8 | Pol Tarrés | 1:10:05 | Fernando Álvarez | 1:01:51 | Mathieu Serradori | 54:06 | Igor Bouwens | 1:04:13 |
