Despite suffering a puncture in the early kilometres of the special, Repsol Toyota Rally Team driver Isidre Esteve and co-driver Txema Villalobos completed stage four in 25th place in Ultimate and 27th overall.
The Catalan pairing remain 21st in Ultimate and 25th overall in the provisional general classification.
“Today became a little more complicated for us, but I’m very happy with the performance of the Toyota. Txema did an excellent job and by the end of the stage we were able to recover our rhythm.”
The Repsol Toyota Rally Team completed another positive day at the 2026 Rallye du Maroc. Isidre Esteve and Txema Villalobos finished the fourth stage in 25th position in Ultimate and 27th overall, despite suffering a puncture at kilometre 20 of the special, which forced them to spend some time driving in the dust of the cars that had overtaken them.
Despite the setback, the Catalan crew maintained a solid pace and continue to hold 21st place in their category and 25th overall in the provisional standings.
The fourth stage, starting and finishing in Zagora, was shortened by around 60 kilometres compared with the originally planned route, leaving the competitors with approximately 320 timed kilometres.
The special combined very fast tracks with rocky sections and small dune sectors, demanding precise driving throughout. The combination of the high speeds reached by the Oliana driver — up to 170 km/h — together with repeated bumps and heavy braking placed a significant physical demand on Esteve, who operates adapted driving controls mounted on the steering wheel of his Toyota.
“Today became a little more complicated because we had a puncture almost immediately after the start, and afterwards we had to spend quite a long time dealing with the dust from the cars that overtook us. It was also a very fast special and we had to brake extremely hard, so I finished with very tired hands”, Esteve explained.
Despite the difficulties, the Catalan driver was able to continue working on the setup of the Toyota DKR GR Hilux. Esteve used the stage to test a new suspension setting, but the configuration did not deliver the expected results and the team will revert to the specification used the previous day.
“I wanted to try a new suspension setup and it didn’t work as I expected, so we’ll have to go back. But all these tests are important because they help us understand the car better and arrive at Dakar 2027 better prepared. The overall balance is positive. I’m very happy with the Toyota’s performance, Txema did an excellent job and, despite the initial incident, we managed to recover our pace”, said the driver, who is supported by Repsol, TOYOTA GAZOO Racing España, MGS Seguros, KH-7 and AD Parts.
On Saturday, 3 October, the 2026 Rallye du Maroc will conclude with its fifth and final stage, once again around Zagora. The route will cover 357 kilometres, including 259 timed kilometres, providing the Repsol Toyota Rally Team with one final opportunity to add more mileage and gather further conclusions ahead of the major challenge of Dakar 2027.
Source: Repsol Toyota Rally
