• The Spanixh driver and his co-driver Txema Villalobos improve the partial result of the day before with the Toyota Hilux T1+ and finish the penultimate stage in 12th place in the Ultimate category.
• In the overall standings, the Repsol Toyota Rally Team remains in 13th place in Ultimate and in the absolute classification rises to an excellent 18th place.
• “This penultimate special stage was beautiful, of total piloting. We were able to attack from the start. We have to stay focused and with a good pace, as we have been doing so far”.

The days go by and Isidre Esteve grows in each new stage of the Rally of Morocco. If on Wednesday the Repsol Toyota Rally Team was 13th in the Ultimate category, in what is considered the queen stage of the race, this Thursday he was 12th, in a special stage almost as long, of 315 kilometers. The driver from Lleida and his co-driver Txema Villalobos completed it in 3 hours and 21 minutes, just 15 minutes behind the leader. In the overall Ultimate, the Toyota Hilux T1+ with the colors of Repsol, MGS Seguros and TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Spain remains 13th, and in the absolute classification gains two places to climb to an excellent 18th position.

However, even more important than the results are the sensations, given that the goal of the Repsol Toyota Rally Team in Morocco is to prepare for the Dakar 2025. And the feelings of the whole team are unbeatable. “We have to maintain this line and stay focused and with a good pace, as we have been doing so far”, says the driver from Oliana (Lleida).

The rally headed north and the day's stage, a loop around the bivouac located between Mengoub and Bouârfa, was completely new, with tracks rarely used in races and with just 62 kilometers of liaison. Isidre Esteve enjoyed it from start to finish: “This penultimate stage was beautiful, of total riding. There were WRC (World Rally Championship) type tracks for many kilometers, and we had a lot of fun with the Toyota”.

Hilux T1+ number 222 had the 26th position in the starting order of the special, but Isidre Esteve was able to impose his pace from the start. “We were able to attack from the start. It's true that we started behind some side-by-sides (light prototypes of the Challenger category), but at kilometer 40 we had already overtaken three of them and from then on we had a clean track until the end. We really enjoyed it”, he insists.

The special stage was not easy in terms of navigation either, because there were many poorly marked tracks and it was necessary to know how to find them well. Once again, Txema Villalobos was a great support for his teammate and together they had another great day.

In the horizon of the Repsol Toyota Rally Team there is only one stage left to reach the finish line of the Rally of Morocco. But Esteve and Villalobos are not letting their guard down. “There is still one day of racing left. We know from experience that David Castera (head of the event and also of the Dakar) does not consider the race finished until we reach the end. So it's sure to be a complicated special stage, as always in this rally”, the driver predicts.

On paper, the approach of the fifth stage confirms Isidre Esteve's forecasts. It will not be a day of formality, as the route totals 376 kilometers, 273 of which correspond to the last special stage, which is quite long, in a new loop around Mengoub and Bouârfa, but totally different from Thursday's. It will be the last race test for Esteve. It will be the last race test for the Repsol Toyota Rally Team ahead of the Dakar 2025.

Automatic translation of the Spanish version
Source: Repsol Toyota Rally Team