The Dacia Sandriders had double reason to celebrate the conclusion of an action-packed Rallye du Maroc, which marked the one-year anniversary of the team’s debut.
Sébastien Loeb and navigator Édouard Boulanger delivered an outstanding performance to repeat The Dacia Sandriders’ Rallye du Maroc victory of 12 months ago following five days of gruelling competition in the Sahara Desert.
At the same time, Boulanger celebrated clinching the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship for Navigators for the second year in a row.
The Frenchman, 46, began the season as Nasser Al-Attiyah’s wingman, celebrating first place on February’s Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge with the Qatari, before he joined forces with Sébastien Loeb ahead of last month’s Rally-Raid Portugal.
Alongside his countryman, Boulanger finished third on the penultimate event of the season prior to their victory on Rallye du Maroc to secure the coveted FIA title.
Loeb’s triumph, after he took the lead on Wednesday’s third stage, was his second in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) and the third in total for The Dacia Sandriders, which finished the 2025 season as a two-time event winner and runner-up in the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship for Manufacturers.
However, there was Rallye du Maroc disappointment for Nasser Al-Attiyah who lost out on a fourth consecutive FIA World Rally-Raid Championship for Drivers by nine points.
The Qatari was on course to win the coveted title after he completed the opening part of today’s fifth stage in third place alongside navigator Fabian Lurquin according to the virtual rankings. But a one-hour time penalty handed out after they unintentionally missed the final stop point means Al-Attiyah finishes the season runner-up with Lurquin taking fourth in the navigators’ standings.
Meanwhile, Spaniards Cristina Gutiérrez and Pablo Moreno gained more valuable experience onboard the third sustainable-fuel Dacia Sandrider by finishing Rallye du Maroc in a strong ninth overall, only their fourth appearance in the W2RC’s headlining Ultimate category.
Rallye du Maroc is considered the perfect dress rehearsal for the Dakar Rally, which takes place in Saudi Arabia from 3 – 17 January and forms round one of the 2026 WRC2 season. The Dacia Sandriders will now accelerate its preparations for the event – ranked as the toughest in global motorsport – full of belief and determination.
KEY QUOTES
Cristina Gutiérrez, Driver, The Dacia Sandriders, said: “It was a huge opportunity to drive in Morocco because it was the perfect race to train for the Dakar. I am very happy and congratulations to all the team, the engineers, mechanics, staff, everyone who is making an incredible job. There are a lot of people behind us working so hard, so everything is for them and I’m very happy to head to the Dakar like this.”
Sébastien Loeb, Driver, The Dacia Sandriders, added: “It was a very good rally for us. We had a good rhythm since the beginning of the rally, no mistakes, no problems. We worked together with Édouard, finding our collaboration and improving it because we did just one rally together before this. But, honestly, the feeling was really good with the Dacia Sandrider, with the stages and we could push from the start to the end. It was the perfect rally for us. Édouard is the world champion navigator. He started the season with Nasser and finished it with me and finishes the season with me most points so it’s good, I’m happy for him, he deserved it and did a great job here. This rally is good preparation for the Dakar also, we were here also for that, to prepare for Dakar. At the moment, everything is going very well. It’s only my second cross-country rally win and I’m really happy.”
Édouard Boulanger, Navigator, The Dacia Sandriders, said: “World champion sounds very good, second time in a row. This year was special for all of us at The Dacia Sandriders. Switching navigators during the season is not common but we had really strong races with Sébastien in Portugal and in Morocco. In Portugal we just touched a tree, which slowed us down a little bit, but here we did a really strong race and that’s a really nice feeling for our relationship. For preparing for Dakar, we cannot ask for more. We have the feeling that the job is well done and now we have to continue in working in this direction.”
RALLYE DU MAROC STAGE 5 ULTIMATE CATEGORY RESULTS (UNOFFICIAL)
Erfoud to Erfoud
Stage Distance: 249km | Liaison Distance: 99.6km | Total: 348.6km
7th: Sébastien Loeb (FRA) / Édouard Boulanger (FRA), 2h44m39s
10th: Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP) / Pablo Moreno (ESP), 2h45m30s
32nd: Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) / Fabian Lurquin (BEL), 3h40m01s
RALLYE DU MAROC STAGE 5 ULTIMATE CATEGORY RESULTS AFTER STAGE 5 (UNOFFICIAL)
1st: Sébastien Loeb (FRA) / Édouard Boulanger (FRA), 15h11m40s
9th: Cristina Gutiérrez (ESP) / Pablo Moreno (ESP), +44m46s
13th: Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) / Fabian Lurquin (BEL), +1h02m56s
THE DACIA SANDRIDERS IN NUMBERS
Titles: 1 (Édouard Boulanger)
Event Wins: 2 (Nasser Al-Attiyah (1) and Sébastien Loeb (1))
Event Podiums: 3
Stage Wins: 13 (Nasser Al-Attiyah (10) and Sébastien Loeb (3))
WHAT’S NEXT?
The Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia opens the 2026 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship from 3 – 17 January. It’s the first of five rounds and is followed by Rally-Raid Portugal (17 – 20 March), Desafio Ruta 40, Argentina (24 – 29 May), Rallye du Maroc (28 September – 3 October) and Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge (22 – 27 November).
Automobile Magazine-UK
