2023 Rallye du Maroc to span 2,240 km

The 2023 World Rally-Raid Championship will come to a close on 13–18 October with the Rallye du Maroc. The stage-specific breakdown was released Tuesday, over three months after the initial reveal, revealing the total route will run for 2,240 kilometres across five stages and the Prologue starting in Agadir before heading eastwards to Zagora and Merzouga. 1,470 km will be dedicated to racing as Special Stages.

The rally begins with a 90-km loop around Agadir along the east coast of Morocco as part of the Prologue. Agadir, a major urban centre and tourist resort of the country, will serve as the first hub like it did in 2022 when the rally began and ended there.

Stage #1 is the longest in both Special Stages and total distance as it goes to Zagora, totalling at 721 km with more than half of it being liaison to get to the racing area. Located in the Draa River valley, Zagora will be the bivouac location as competitors will spend the next two days there.

With Zagora as the main hub for the rally, Stages #2 and #3 both begin and end in the town. Unlike the Prologue, the route will not be a loop and instead run complex lines through the valley’s hills and mountains.

Stage #4 will take the field out of Zagora to the final stop in Merzouga. Situated near the Moroccan-Algerian border, the area will introduce Erg Chebbi, one of the largest ergs (a sweeping field of dunes and sand) in Morocco. The fifth and final stage is another loop of 152 km.

Guerlain Chicherit and Skyler Howes are the defending race winners.

2023 Rallye du Maroc route