- The current Dakar Classic champions, Carlos Santaolalla – Jan Rosa (Toyota Land Cruiser HDJ80) have claimed victory in the second edition of this regularity and navigation rally-raid, that wasn’t decided until the last stage.
- Asier Duarte – Luís Barbero (Toyota Land Cruiser HDJ80) and Rafael Lesmes – Tabatha Romón – Albert Casabona (Mercedes 1844 AK) completed the overall podium, with Enrique Ruiz – Aran Sol (Seat Ateca Marathon) winnners of the Open category.
- Five demanding stages, with an increasing level of difficulty, have consolidated the event as an international reference as the Dakar Classic and the Africa Eco Race preparation.
After five stages and 1000 kilometres of route in Morocco, RallyClassics Africa 2024 already has its winners. The Spanish duo Carlos Santaolalla – Jan Rosa (Toyota Land Cruiser HDJ80), assisted by Pedregà Team, claimed the overall victory in their first participation in the rally. This is a new success for these off-road regularity specialists, who have already won the Dakar Classic in this year’s edition.
They were joined on the overall podium, reserved for classic vehicles manufactured up to 2005, by Asier Duarte – Luís Barbero (Toyota Land Cruiser HDJ80), as well as Rafael Lesmes, Tabatha Romón and Albert Casabona (Mercedes 1844 AK).
The second edition of RallyClassics Africa has once again established itself as an essential event for international off-road regularity. Nearly 40 teams from 12 different countries took part in this event that combines the precision of regularity with the intuition of navigation, all serving as a school for teams who want to learn and improve their skills.
The itinerary, designed in collaboration with Josep Maria Servià and Fina Román, was heavily impacted by the torrential rains that fell on the area in the previous days. Despite this and the last-minute modifications, the proposed route maintained the spirit in which it was initially created: with a clearly ascending level of difficulty and a great variety of terrains, ranging from rocky tracks to oueds, including chotts and the much-anticipated Merzouga dunes, which were visited in three of the five stages.
Exciting and high demanding competition until the last stage
The battle for the overall victory has been particularly intense and was not decided until the fifth and final day of competition. While Santaolalla-Rosa took the lead after the first stage, the Italians Ricciari-Morosi (Mitsubishi Pajero) did so after the first dunes faced during the second stage, while Rius-Jiménez (Seat Toledo Marathon) climbed to the top position at the end of the third stage.
Seat Históricos‘ hopes of revalidating their victory in RallyClassics Africa were cut short during the fourth stage, the „Marathon“, due to a mechanical failure in the Toledo, giving the lead back to the eventual winners. After fixing the breakdown and continuing only with front wheel drive, Rius-Jiménez finished in seventeenth position.
For Santaolalla – Rosa, “The rally has been demanding and we have had to be very focused and attentive in order to win. We have had a great time getting to know this regularity and navigation format, and it is perfect for us to prepare for the Dakar. We loved it.”
Santaolalla – Rosa have also claimed victory in the Classic Pre-1997 category, while Matías Rodríguez – Sandra Guasch (Toyota Land Cruiser KZJ90) did so in Classic Pre-2005. Enrique Ruiz – Aran Sol (Seat Ateca Marathon) won in the Open category, reserved for modern vehicles. It is the second consecutive edition that an Ateca from the Seat Históricos team, with Aran Sol as co-driver, has taken victory in this category. Lesmes – Romón – Casabona also won in Trucks. The MotorDona trophy for the best female team went to Amy Lerner – Sara Bossaert (Can-Am Maverick X3 Turbo).
For the first time, three Moroccan teams participated in the event, and they highly appreciated the experience of competing in a discipline new to them.
Argentine, North American, and other teams from different European countries also travelled to Morocco to participate in this increasingly popular and competitive event.
During the awards ceremony, held at the Hotel Xaluca in Erfoud, the dates for the third edition of RallyClassics Africa were officially announced. The next appointment for off-road regularity enthusiasts will be from 11 to 17 September 2025.
