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Concerns about the weather impacting the Rallye du Maroc were well-founded, as it quickly became a reality.
Severe flooding after Sunday’s Prologue resulted in a standstill on the liaison stage for competitors traveling from Ouarzazate to the next bivouac in Zagora. Local authorities halted the caravan until the river subsided, leaving everyone stranded in the meantime.
Due to many participants arriving late, race organizers decided to switch the routes for Stages #1 and #2. The “new” Stage #1 on Monday, a circuit starting and ending in Zagora, has been shortened from the original 317 kilometers in Selective Sections to just 180 km for FIM riders and 178 km for FIA drivers.
In September, Morocco experienced unprecedented torrential rain and flooding that claimed the lives of over twenty people in the country and neighboring Algeria. Rally organizers ODC Event had anticipated the possibility of adverse weather affecting the race, dispatching crews to assess the environmental damage along the route. The Baja Morocco, a separate cross-country rally held the week before the Rallye du Maroc, also had to make route adjustments.
Driver Isidre Esteve observed days before the race that “the chotts have flooded, and lakes have formed in front of the dunes of Merzouga, something I’ve never seen before. All the main tracks, which used to be visible, have disappeared.”
The start of Stage #1 was also delayed to accommodate the disruptions. José Ignacio Cornejo will be the first motorbike to commence the Selective Section at 10:05 AM, instead of the original time of 7:40, while Guoyu Zhang will be the first car to start at 12:39 PM rather than 10:18. This adjustment, in addition to the reduced distance, aims to ensure that everyone can participate in the stage without finishing too late in the day.
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