Loeb returns to the lead in the Rallye du Maroc; Lategan wins the Erfoud stage

Toyota broke Dacia's three-stage winning streak on Wednesday at the Rallye du Maroc. Henk Lategan finished first in Stage 3, a 326-kilometer loop around Erfoud with 323 kilometers timed. Sébastien Loeb came in third, which was enough for him to regain the overall lead he had lost on Tuesday to Nani Roma.

Lategan completed the route 46 seconds ahead of Seth Quintero. Both Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC drivers had retired from Tuesday's stage after a rear differential failure. Loeb finished 57 seconds behind Lategan. Nasser Al Attiyah, who opened the road, finished fourth, 1 minute and 42 seconds behind.

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Lategan Wins But Remains Out of W2RC Title Fight

Lategan's stage victory earned him five points in the FIA championship. Lucas Moraes, ninth on the day, scored no points. Al Attiyah added two points with his fourth place. The three-time world champion now holds an 11-point lead over Moraes in the W2RC standings. Lategan closed to within 10 points of Al Attiyah, but his 16th position among the Ultimate entries registered for the world championship reduces his mathematical chances.

A Puncture Drops Moraes from Lead; Ekström Moves into Top 3

Roma, who had taken the overall lead on Tuesday, dropped to fourth overall. Moraes, who was third this morning, 3 minutes and 2 seconds behind Roma, maintains second place. Mattias Ekström from Ford M-Sport moved up to third. Loeb now leads Moraes by 3 minutes and 25 seconds and Ekström by 4 minutes and 33 seconds.

Moraes confirmed he had a puncture during the stage. "It was very slow and we tried to manage it, but in the end we had to change the wheel. I think Nasser gained some time on us, but tomorrow we will do our best," he commented.

Loeb acknowledged the difficulties of the route. "It was very tough. There were some really tricky areas to cross and some difficult wadis, which made the navigation quite hard. At times I was just following my own track; I didn't know where the others were going."

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Al Attiyah Climbs 15 Positions in Two Days and Gains Ground in the Championship

Al Attiyah arrived in Erfoud on Monday in twentieth place, 12 minutes and 40 seconds behind Loeb. On Tuesday he won the stage and moved up to seventh. This Wednesday he finished fourth. He is now fifth overall, 7 minutes and 8 seconds behind Loeb. In 2017, Al Attiyah was 12 minutes and 51 seconds behind Loeb in this rally and ended up winning.

"I had a good day. No problems, Fabian [Lurquin] navigated well, we started first and nobody caught us. Our stage result could be good for tomorrow," said Al Attiyah.

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Two Retirements Allow Navarro to Take Lead in Challenger

Pau Navarro of BBR Motorsport took advantage of the retirements of Yasir Seaidan from Race World - MMP and Charles Munster from BBR Motorsport to take the lead in the Challenger category. Navarro, third this morning, now leads Nicolas Cavigliasso of Vertical Motorsport by 1 minute and 13 seconds. Puck Klaassen of G Rally is third, 6 minutes and 8 seconds behind.

Dania Akeel of BBR Motorsport won the stage ahead of Paul Spierings of Rebellion Spierings (+2'20") and Abdulaziz Al Kuwari of QQMF Racing (+3'29"). Akeel extended the streak of female stage wins that Klaassen had started on Tuesday.

López Wins in SSV; Ferioli Extends Overall Lead

Francisco "Chaleco" López won in the SSV category ahead of Jeremías Ferioli (+1'55") and Kyle Chaney (+5'36"), all from Can-Am Factory. In the overall classification, Ferioli leads Hunter Miller by 10 minutes and 17 seconds. López moved up to third place, 11 minutes and 22 seconds behind, completing a 1-2-3 for Can-Am.

Martin Macik of MM Technology bounced back in the Truck category. Macik won ahead of Gert Huzink of Kuipers-Jongbloed Hybrid Dakar, who had ended the Czech driver's winning streak on Tuesday. Macik increased his lead in the overall standings.

Marc Coma, the rally director, described Stage 4 as "the most beautiful stage of the rally." Thursday's stage will cover 379 kilometers in total with 284 kilometers timed and will visit the landscapes of Djebel Zireg. "The special is fast, with predominantly sandy terrain. There are no big dunes this time, but several ridge crossings and technical, trial-like sections," Coma explained.

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