Stage four of the Rallye OLA Energy du Maroc reshuffled the order once again and left both the FIA and FIM battles wide open heading into the final day. Mattias Ekström bounced back with a stage victory, Seth Quintero moved into the overall lead in the cars and Daniel Sanders responded to his difficult previous day by retaking control of the motorcycle classification.
Martim Ventura remains comfortably ahead in Rally2, while Alexandre Pinto strengthened his position at the head of the Challenger field. With the final stage around Zagora still to come, several victories, podium places and championship implications remain unresolved.
Ekström strikes back
Mattias Ekström started the day with his hopes of winning the rally already gone. A mechanical problem before the previous special had removed the Swede from contention while he was running fourth overall.
His response was emphatic.
The Ford Racing driver won stage four to claim his 11th W2RC stage victory. Henk Lategan finished only 35 seconds behind in his Toyota Hilux, while Mitch Guthrie put another Ford Raptor on the podium.
The result also gave Ford its first stage victory of this year's Rallye OLA Energy du Maroc and brought the manufacturer's W2RC stage-win tally to eleven.
Quintero takes the rally lead
Ekström may have won the day, but Seth Quintero emerged as one of its biggest beneficiaries.
The American was only sixth fastest, 3’10” behind the stage winner, but that proved enough to move him into the overall lead. Quintero now heads Toyota teammate Henk Lategan by 2’45” going into the final stage.
Toyota therefore enters the decisive day holding the top two positions and with an opportunity to take its first victory in Morocco since 2023.
Ford remains firmly in the fight. Carlos Sainz is 5’41” from the lead, Nani Roma 6’09” back and Mitch Guthrie less than seven minutes away, leaving three Raptors close enough to take advantage of any problem ahead.
João Ferreira also remains within reach of the leading group, giving Toyota another strong presence near the front.
Sanders turns the tables
The motorcycle classification changed again as Daniel Sanders produced a major response to his difficult stage three.
The Australian had lost more than ten minutes the previous day and surrendered the rally lead to Edgar Canet. Twenty-four hours later, Sanders was back on top after winning stage four.
Even a crash around kilometre 100 was not enough to derail his challenge. The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider eventually finished more than three minutes clear of his closest rivals, collecting his 36th RallyGP stage victory in the W2RC.
Canet now sits second overall, just 1’31” behind his teammate, setting up a direct KTM battle for victory on the final day.
Ricky Brabec remains third, although the Monster Energy Honda HRC rider is now 8’09” from the lead.
Opening the road costs Benavides
Luciano Benavides experienced the other side of rally-raid racing.
After winning the previous stage, the Argentinian faced the difficult task of opening the route. He lost significant time, finishing eighth at 9’58” and falling from second to fourth overall.
Benavides is now 9’53” behind Sanders, but the podium is still within reach. Ricky Brabec holds third with only a 1’44” advantage over the KTM rider.
Ventura strengthens his Rally2 position
Michael Docherty finally converted his strong pace into a Rally2 stage victory for Hero MotoSports, beating Neels Theric and Martim Ventura.
For Ventura, third place did little damage to his rally.
The Portuguese Monster Energy Honda HRC rider remains firmly in control of Rally2 and his advantage increased further when Docherty received a 15-minute penalty for an engine change.
Ventura now carries a 29’25” lead into the final stage and is in a commanding position to close out the Rallye OLA Energy du Maroc at the top of the category.
Pinto closes in on Challenger success
Alexandre Pinto strengthened Portugal's presence at the front by taking another Challenger stage victory after Paul Spierings withdrew.
The Old Friends Rally driver extended his overall advantage to 44’41” over fellow Portuguese competitor Rui Carneiro.
That leaves Pinto in a strong position not only to win the rally but also to make a significant move in the championship standings.
Nine seconds separate the SSV leaders
The SSV fight could hardly be closer.
Matthias Walkner won the stage and initially appeared to have moved into the overall lead by a single second. A ten-second speeding penalty changed the picture again, allowing Jeremías Ferioli to remain in front.
Just nine seconds now separate the pair ahead of the final stage.
Peterhansel stays in control of Stock
Rokas Baciuška took his first Stock stage victory of the week, but Stéphane Peterhansel retained control of the overall standings.
The Frenchman enters the final day with the chance to add another W2RC victory after previous successes at the bp Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal and the Desafío Ruta 40 YPF.
Martín's perfect run comes to an end
Albert Martín initially looked set to extend his unbeaten Rally3 run, but a 17-minute penalty for missing a waypoint and speeding changed the final classification.
Murun Purevdorj inherited the stage victory, ending Martín's sequence of wins stretching from the prologue through the opening three stages.
In the quad category, Antanas Kanopkinas remains perfect. The Lithuanian collected his fifth consecutive victory and is now just one stage away from completing a clean sweep of the Rallye OLA Energy du Maroc.
One final test around Zagora
The final stage will bring another change of character. Rallye OLA Energy du Maroc director Marc Coma has described the route around Chegaga as a classic special featuring more dunes and a different finish procedure.
A short transfer in Zagora will replace the traditional road section before the clock restarts for a competitive finish inside the bivouac.
In the cars, Quintero and Lategan give Toyota control of the top two positions, but Ford still has three Raptors close enough to threaten. On the bikes, only 1’31” separates Sanders and Canet.
After four days of constant movement at the front, the 2026 Rallye OLA Energy du Maroc reaches its conclusion with exactly what a final stage should provide: unfinished business and almost no room for mistakes.
Photo: A.S.O./DPPI/Frédéric Le Floch
