Bahrain Raid Xtreme return to desert action in the Rallye du Maroc at the weekend, with Sebastien Loeb and Orly Terranova both looking towards a repeat of last year’s milestone victory in the event for the Prodrive Hunter.
Nine-time World Rally Champion Loeb is reunited with Fabian Lurquin who has recovered from surgery for the final round of the 2023 World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC), while Terranova combines with a new co-driver, fellow-Argentine Bernardo Graue, in a second BRX Prodrive Hunter.
The 2,240km event gets under way with Friday’s prologue near Agadir on the Atlantic coast, before following a trail of five desert stages in an extreme test of human and mechanical endurance to the finishing point at Merzouga near the Algerian border.
It was in Morocco 12 months ago that another Frenchman, Guerlain Chicherit, took the Hunter to its maiden rally victory, with Loeb giving the car its first win for BRX just over two weeks later in Andalucia.
This will be Loeb’s first W2RC outing since April’s Sonora Rally in Mexico, where Lurquin broke his shoulder during a tumble into a dry riverbed, just 24 hours after the BRX pair had secured a splendid stage victory.
Since then, the WRC legend has remained busy and successful behind the wheel in Rallycross, Extreme E and rallying, but he is relishing the chance to pursue another desert rally triumph in his BRX Prodrive Hunter.
“To get back in the Hunter, I’m really looking forward to it,” said Loeb. “Morocco is a very good rally with tracks, dunes and a bit of everything, so it will be interesting once more.
“The nice dunes are in Merzouga, but I like the fast tracks too with the good grip, which are a bit like WRC in some places. That’s what I enjoy with this car.”
A close runner-up in Morocco last year, Terranova, is equally enthusiastic about stepping back into the freshly built Hunter, which has been modified at Prodrive’s UK base with the sole aim of a BRX victory in mind.
“Morocco was a great rally last year for me with a second place, and this time I aim to push just as strongly as we cross towards the dunes at Merzuoga,” said the Argentine. “I enjoy the tracks and the spirit of this rally, so I’m very much looking forward to the stages.”
Qatar’s Nasser Al Attiyah, who has won the rally six times, goes into the event holding a commanding 51-point lead over his nearest rival, Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed Al Rajhi, and is poised to retain the W2RC drivers’ title that he took ahead of Loeb last season.
Motor 283 is the biggest automotive website created by a team of automotive enthusiats and this author page is used to show the readers the press releases and news posted on Motor 283 website.
Aston Martin’s Aramco Formula 1® Team driver, Fernando Alonso, took to the streets of Monaco today, following delivery of his Aston Martin Valkyrie; the ultimate hypercar, a true F1® car for the road.
Aston Martin’s new Vantage GT3 recorded its maiden victory in the FIA World Endurance Championship [WEC] when partner team The Heart of Racing [THOR] took a brilliant win in the Lone Star Le Mans at the Circuit of the Americas [COTA], on Sunday.
Aston Martin makes a racing return to the Circuit of the Americas [COTA] and the Lone Star Le Mans 6 hours race – scene of extraordinary success for Vantage in the FIA World Endurance Championship [WEC] – as the newest Vantage GT3 prepares to take its Texas bow in the hands of partner teams The Heart of Racing [THoR] and D’station Racing, this weekend.
No other manufacturer boasts such a tremendous victory tally at the Austin venue, which returns to the WEC calendar for the first time since 2020 when Aston Martin also recorded a double-class victory. Indeed, the British ultraluxury sportscar brand has achieved no less than nine GT class wins in the six events COTA has staged since the series was formed in 2012. That’s a 75% win ratio, and four of those triumphs were double-class victories.