The Peninsula
Overdrive Racing and Toyota Gazoo Racing endured mixed fortunes in what turned out to be a dramatic Rally of Morocco, the final round of the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies.
South African driver Giniel de Villiers managed to claim the outright victory for the fourth time and the first with new Spanish co-driver Spaniard Alex Haro at the wheel of one of four Toyota Gazoo Racing Hiluxes.
Nasser Saleh Al Attiyah began the event with a nine-point lead in the FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies, but cruel engine issues on the fourth day cost the Qatari and French navigator Matthieu Baumel a useful lead they had built up over the first three days.
The Toyota Gazoo Racing pairing were relying on rival Stéphane Peterhansel finishing lower than fifth overall if they were to claim the world title again. The Frenchman managed to reach the finish in fifth place and snatched the title from the Qatari by a single point.
Two-time FIA Formula One World Champion Fernando Alonso gained valuable experience from his first ever FIA cross-country event and overcame punctures, a front axle breakage and everything that the Moroccan desert could throw at him to reach the finish in 27th position with five-time Dakar winner Marc Coma acting as his co-driver.
Al Attiyah said: “It was a hard day and tricky from the beginning with 100km of mountains. The last section was more open desert with a lot of rivers. We had one flat tyre, but I am quite happy to have this performance and to be winning the stage.”
The second stage was the first of three loops around the Aoufous (Erfoud) bivouac, ran for 386.49km.