Morocco, Stage 4: Daniel Sanders (KTM) back in the lead after stage win

The bivouac in Zagora once again served as both the starting point and the finish for the penultimate stage of this year’s Rally du Maroc. With a special stage of 321 km and a liaison section of 132 km, Stage 4 was similar in length to the previous day’s stage. The region’s spectacular gorges provided the backdrop, with riders having to navigate technical and sandy sections as well as dunes and rocky stretches.

As the winner of Stage 3, Luciano Benavides (Red Bull KTM) led the way, followed by Tosha Schareina (Honda) and Nacho Cornejo (Hero), who started at three-minute intervals. After around 180 km, Schareina had caught up with the Argentine and also benefited from the bonus system for the rest of the route.

However, the time bonus for leading the way did not offset the advantage enjoyed by the later starters. Daniel Sanders (KTM), who started in eighth place, literally flew across the terrain and built up a massive 9-minute lead over his Red Bull team-mate by the finish. In 3:14:31 hours, the Australian clocked the fastest time and secured the stage victory ahead of Edgar Canet (KTM) and Adrien van Beveren (Honda).

Incidentally, Sanders reclaimed the overall lead; Canet follows in second place, 1 minute and 32 seconds behind. The fifth and final stage is likely to see a showdown between the two KTM riders, as the third-placed rider – Honda’s Ricky Brabec – is already 8 minutes behind.

In fifth and sixth places, Nacho Cornejo and Michael Docherty delivered a strong result for Hero on Stage 4. In the overall standings, the Chilean and the South African occupy eighth and ninth places respectively.

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Rally2 rider Neels Theric brought the Kove home in ninth place, 10 minutes behind (eleventh in the rally classification).

The ZXMoto riders Skyler Howes (11th/RallyGP) and Tobias Ebster (19th/Rally2) are continuing to gain experience on the Chinese motorbike and are holding their own in the race.

Rallye du Maroc 2026: Stage 4 results

1. D. Sanders (AUS) – GP – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 3:14:31 (hh:mm:ss)

2. E. Canet (ESP) – GP – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – +3:01 (mm:ss)

3. A. Van Beveren (FRA) – GP – Monster Energy Honda HRC – +3:17

4. R. Brabec (USA) – GP – Monster Energy Honda HRC – +6:51

5. I. Cornejo (CHI) – GP – Hero Motosports Team Rally – +7:21

6. M. Docherty (RSA) – R2 – Hero Motosports Team Rally – +8:25

7. T. Schareina (ESP) – GP – Monster Energy Honda HRC – +9:27

8. L. Benavides (ARG) – GP – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – +9:58

9. N. Theric (FRA) – R2 – Kove Factory Racing – +10:00

10. M. Ventura (POR) – R2 – Monster Energy Honda HRC – +10:36

11. S. Howes (USA) – GP – Zxmoto Joyride Factory Rally Team – +12:16

12. L. Santolino (ESP) – GP – Sherco Tvs Rally Factory – +13:32

13. T. Mulec (SLO) – R2 – Bas World KTM Team – +14:06

14. B. Crivilin (BRA) – R2 – Monster Energy Honda HRC – +14:58

15. P. Campbell (USA) – R2 – Monster Energy Honda HRC – +15:33

16. B. Bozzo (ESP) – R2 – Pedregà Racing Team – +17:36

17. A. Pellicer (ESP) – R2 – Xraids Experience – +17:45

18. D. Karka (LTU) – R2 – Duust Rally Team – +19:31

19. T. Ebster (AUT) – R2 – Zxmoto Joyride Factory Rally Team – +19:32

20. P. Lucci (ITA) – R2 – Bas World KTM Team – +21:31

2026 Rallye du Maroc: Standings after 4 of 5 stages

1. D. Sanders (AUS) – GP – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 13:45:03 (hh:mm:ss)

2. E. Canet (ESP) – GP – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – +1:31 (mm:ss)

3. R. Brabec (USA) – GP – Monster Energy Honda HRC – +8:09

4. L. Benavides (ARG) – GP – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – +9:53

5. M. Ventura (POR) – R2 – Monster Energy Honda HRC – +13:44

6. A. Van Beveren (FRA) – GP – Monster Energy Honda HRC – +21:36

7. T. Schareina (ESP) – GP – Monster Energy Honda HRC – +26:42

8. I. Cornejo (CHI) – GP – Hero Motosports Team Rally – +32:04

9. M. Docherty (RSA) – R2 – Hero Motosports Team Rally – +43:09

10. P. Campbell (USA) – R2 – Monster Energy Honda HRC – +48:19

11. N. Theric (FRA) – R2 – Kove Factory Racing – +53:35

12. T. Mulec (SLO) – R2 – Bas World KTM Team – +58:05

13. L. Santolino (ESP) – GP – Sherco Tvs Rally Factory – +1:04:10 (hh:mm:ss)

14. B. Crivilin (BRA) – R2 – Monster Energy Honda HRC – +1:07:18

15. R. Barbosa (CHI) – R2 – HT Rally Raid – +1:11:31

16. B. Bozzo (ESP) – R2 – Pedregà Racing Team – +1:12:43

17. P. Lucci (ITA) – R2 – Bas World KTM Team – +1:18:24

18. A. Pellicer (ESP) – R2 – Xraids Experience – +1:21:11

19. T. Ebster (AUT) – R2 – Zxmoto Joyride Factory Rally Team – +1:32:52

20. D. Karka (LTU) – R2 – Duust Rally Team – +1:33:35