Isidre Esteve and Txema Villalobos have passed the prologue stage of the Rally of Morocco without any setbacks. The Repsol Toyota Rally Team drivers have faced the day as a contact with the test on the ground before the first real stage of the last round of the World Rally-Raid Championship is held this Saturday. The Morocco Rally is the second race of the season for the Spanish team, after the Baja Aragon, and the last one before the big goal of the campaign, the Dakar 2024.
The tightness of the times at the front shows the high level and the great equality among the large peloton of favorites. Esteve and Villalobos will start this Saturday's first stage of the rally in 42nd place in the starting order after having completed the 19-kilometer prologue in this position, just 1 minute and 48 seconds behind the first, and in 23rd place in the T1 category.
"The T1 is a very difficult category and the Morocco Rally is a race that I like very much, but it is very demanding, with five quite long stages. And this year, moreover, with record participation in all categories," said a moderately satisfied Esteve at the end of the day. These first kilometers were his reunion with the Toyota Hilux T1+ backed by Repsol, MGS Seguros, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Spain and KH-7, which in Morocco bears the number 227.
The day's special stage was "a bit longer" than normal for this type of section, explains Esteve. "It had a fast part at the beginning and a bumpy area at the end, very broken, where we preferred to be conservative. Everything went well; we didn't make any mistakes, and the car is perfect; as a first contact with the race, it was fine", says the driver from Oliana.
"We hope to fight every day to be as high as possible and, above all, enjoy this magnificent rally", ventures the driver, whose Toyota Hilux T1+ uses Repsol lubricants and renewable fuel (the latter, with 75% of materials of non-fossil origin).
The Morocco Rally is a decisive event in preparation for the Dakar, because the organization usually puts into practice the characteristics that will later be applied in the Dakar, with an emphasis on navigation, changes of pace, and the variety of tracks. In addition, this year in Morocco, there will be heat to contend with, as maximum temperatures of 40°C are expected.
"Morocco will be complicated, as always. What I like most is the navigation; we are looking forward to the next few days", admits the Catalan rider, who won this race twice on a motorcycle and last year finished seventh overall with the Repsol Toyota Rally Team.
This Saturday, the first of the five stages of the Rally of Morocco will cover a total of 711 kilometers and will take the caravan from Agadir to Zagora. The day's special stage will consist of 314 timed kilometers. "The section has a fast area at the beginning, then some small dunes and a lot of navigation at the end, quite complicated. It's the kind of special stages I like," said Isidre Esteve.
Automatic translation from the original Spanish version
Source: Repsol Toyota Rally
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