Brabec storms to final stage victory and Rallye du Maroc podium

Ricky had an amazing stage today. He pushed from the beginning, won the special and felt really good on the bike. We made some steps with the bike from yesterday to today and he could really feel the difference. We’re moving in the right direction towards Dakar. We still have Abu Dhabi before then, but seeing Ricky confident, enjoying the bike and happy with the team is the most important thing.
He had a few small problems during the rally and without those I believe he would have been right there fighting for the win. His performance today showed the speed is there and that he’s ready to fight.
Tosha had another strong stage today to finish in third. He showed really good pace and I’m very happy with how he has turned his rally around. He didn’t start the week in the best way and was struggling a little with his confidence, but over the last few days we’ve seen that confidence come back and his speed with it. He finished sixth overall, but what’s important for me is the progression he made during the rally. I believe he can arrive at Dakar really strong and that is our goal.
Adrien finished sixth on the stage today. It wasn’t the result he wanted, but I spoke with him afterwards and he understands where he needs to improve before Dakar. He is motivated to have a strong Abu Dhabi and after finishing fifth overall here, I know there is more to come from him.
Now we keep working hard and focus on the next races. The whole team has done a fantastic job throughout the rally and I’m really happy with everyone. The bike has worked well, the riders have shown strong pace and we’ve learned a lot that will help us continue moving forward towards Dakar.

The week was cool, but it was definitely demanding. We had a couple of roadbook and navigation mistakes and some really broken ground, so it’s good to come away from here healthy and in one piece. I’m happy with the bike and with the changes we made for the final day. I think we’re heading in a good direction and now we can go home and focus on preparing for the Dakar.
Overall, I’m happy. Today’s stage was quite short, so we didn’t have much opportunity to make a bigger push and the times were really tight. It’s always cool to battle with these guys, but the most important thing is that we’re going home healthy. We know the areas where we were lacking here in Morocco, so now we can work on those and make sure we’re ready for the Dakar.

It’s been a tough stage. I got a little confused with the navigation before the dunes and then Ricky caught up with me. I tried to push through the dunes and find a good rhythm, but once we reached the chott the navigation became really tricky. I tried to give my best and I let Ricky go because I didn’t want to bother him while he was fighting for the overall podium. After that, I was in the dust for a while and the conditions were really tricky, even a little dangerous in places, so the priority was to stay upright and keep focused. Towards the end I made a small navigation mistake, but that’s part of rally-raid and we keep learning. The main goal here was to prepare for the Dakar and we’ve gathered a lot of useful information about the bike, my physical preparation and the areas where I can improve my riding. Now I want to keep pushing and working really hard until the Dakar and then go for it.

It’s not the Rallye du Maroc we expected or wanted, but that’s part of the game. We’ve learned so much this week and everything we’ve experienced here will be really valuable as we prepare for the Dakar.
It’s the first time in two years that I haven’t finished on the podium, so of course I’m a little disappointed about that. But I’m really happy with how the last couple of days went and with the progress we’ve made throughout the rally. We’ve learned a lot, we know what we need to work on and now I’m ready to focus on the Dakar.