• Physique not at 100 percent: Yazeed Al-Rajhi/Timo Gottschalk struggle with tough conditions at the Morocco Rally
• No luck on board: technology lets the “Dakar” victories from January down in Morocco too
• Two more preparatory rallies in Saudi Arabia before the 2026 Dakar Rally

Erfoud, Morocco (October 17, 2025) – Yazeed Al-Rajhi/Timo Gottschalk are not yet back to 100 percent after the Morocco Rally. The final round of the FIA Rally Raid World Championship (W2RC) served as a yardstick for the current Dakar Rally winners to gauge their form – in the face of an enormously demanding terrain and the assembled “Dakar” competition. After their five-month injury break, the Saudi-Arabian-Brandenburg duo are on a personal “Road to the ‘Dakar'”. Contrary to expectations, however, the Morocco Rally did not turn out to be a comeback at absolute world-class level. After a slow start, technical faults and physically demanding routes, Al-Rajhi/Gottschalk played no part in the Morocco Rally when it came to the daily successes and overall placings. Victory went to Sébastien Loeb/Edouard Boulanger (FRA/FRA, Dacia) ahead of Lucas Moraes/Armand Monleon (BRA/ESP, Toyota). In a dramatic finish over the last few meters, Lucas Moraes took the drivers’ title and Edouard Boulanger the co-drivers’ title.

Yazeed Al-Rqajhi and Timo Gottschalk did not find their usual rhythm right from the start. After a slow start in the prologue, they had to open the route on the first day and thus bought themselves the tangible disadvantage of having to clean the route for those following. On the following days, however, they struggled with visibility in the dust of the riders in front – and shied away from the risk of going full attack in this hard, stony terrain with an unpredictable road book. Instead, with every kilometer they gained insights into the areas in which they need to work further before the Dakar Rally – including on their own physical condition.

Instead, Yazeed Al-Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk have two more preparatory rallies in Saudi Arabia, where the Dakar Rally will also be held in January.

QUOTES

“The terrain was hard and rocky and we had to contend with minor problems – both in terms of our physical condition and our technique. The Morocco Rally was not ideal – but we are pleased with the insights it gave us on our ‘Road to the ‘Dakar’. We will continue on the road to defending our title, even if it was rocky in two senses on this section.”
YAZEED AL-RAJHI

“Quite clearly, that was not the top condition in which we achieved victory in the Dakar Rally. We weren’t 100 percent prepared to take the final risk and the rally didn’t really go our way. But we’ve put in a lot of kilometers on challenging terrain and know where we still need to work before the title defense at the ‘Dakar’ in January. And that’s what we’ll do.”
TIMO GOTTSCHALK