TOYOTA GAZOO Racing W2RC on the Stage 3 podium in Morocco

• Two DKR GR Hilux in the overall top five after a challenging day on Rallye du Maroc

• Seth Quintero and Andrew Short are second overall after finishing third today

• Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings are fifth overall, despite ending Stage 3 in 12th

• Akira Miura and Armand Monleón ran inside the top 10 before a mechanical issue

• Friday’s penultimate stage is the longest of the rally with 384 km of competitive action

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing W2RC (TGR W2RC) overcame a demanding Stage 3 of the Rallye du Maroc to strengthen its chances in the fourth round of the 2026 FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC).

Harsh conditions and changing surfaces put the crews to the test on an incident-filled day in the Moroccan desert, which ended with two DKR GR Hilux pickups in the top five.

The 363 km timed section of Stage 3 took crews on a loop north-east towards Errachidia, initially on treacherous rocky tracks. The route then passed through sand dunes on the northern edge of the Sahara Desert during a fast final section on the return to Zagora.

Seth Quintero and navigator Andrew Short stayed on course to close the gap to the World Championship leaders. They lost three minutes very early on Stage 3 but responded well with consistent pace to regain ground. The #203 DKR GR Hilux took third place in the final kilometres and is now second overall, just 3 mins 20 secs behind the new leaders, Carlos Sainz and David Oliveras (Ford Racing)

After winning Stage 2, Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings faced the additional difficulty of being the first car on stage today. They ran in the podium positions early on but slipped back due to a combination of a puncture, a one-minute penalty and navigational challenges. Despite finishing the stage in 12th, the #202 DKR GR Hilux remains well placed in the overall standings in fifth, just over two minutes off the podium with two stages and 643 km of timed action remaining.

Akira Miura and Armand Monleón initially continued their strong form in Morocco and ran inside the top 10 for much of Stage 3. However, their good progress ended in the final 100 km when their #204 DKR GR Hilux stopped with a mechanical issue. They resumed after a long delay, and are now 44th overall.

Only two stages remain in this year’s Rallye du Maroc. Friday’s action features the longest timed stage of the event, at 384 km, which heads north-east of Zagora on a loop. The rally concludes on Saturday with a 259 km competitive section.

Quotes:

Henk Lategan: “It wasn’t a good day for us. We had to open the road, which is always tricky, especially today in the dunes. We were going well, and the times were looking good, until just after 100 km. Then it started to go wrong. It was tricky opening the dunes because there were no lines and it was very difficult to see the route. We made it safely through, but then we missed the road in one spot, then had a puncture, then got lost again. We lost a lot of time, and it wasn’t our cleanest day, but we’re still in it and we’ll push flat-out tomorrow.”

Seth Quintero: “It was a decent day for us, but it was very difficult. There were a lot of dangers that were not well marked. The team did an amazing job to get the car to the end without problems on a stage like this. It’s very impressive and shows the durability of the DKR GR Hilux. We managed as best we could and ended up third on stage and second overall. So, everything is still to play for, and the championship is looking better every day. I’ll keep working hard to keep this going.”

Akira Miura: “We had some bad luck today, unfortunately. We were pushing a bit more than yesterday and we were looking good, with some strong pace. But we suffered a technical problem with less than 100 km left in the stage, which was a pity. But we are still in the rally and we’ll keep pushing tomorrow.”

Rallye du Maroc – Provisional Stage 3 result*

Rallye du Maroc – Provisional standings after Stage 3*

*Correct at time of publication