2023 Rallye du Maroc results: Prologue crash puts Skyler Howes out – Tosha Schareina fastest
Results and video highlights from the 2023 Rallye du Maroc prologue at the final round of the World Rally-Raid Championship where Tosha Schareina puts Honda on top ahead of Ricky Brabec while their new teammate Skyler Howes crashes out of his debut on the HRC factory CRF450 Rally.
We’re getting used to writing this by now but the on-form Spaniard Tosha Schareina posted the fastest time on the a 19 kilometre-long prologue at the Morocco Rally. It was the traditional short leg stretching exercise to determine start order for day one on course just outside Agadir and the fastest non-official world championship rider in the world championship (go figure) topped the time sheets yet again.
First of those W2RC bike competitors Ricky Brabec was just 4/10ths of a second behind his Honda teammate (Ricky is in the official Monster Energy Honda squad while Tosha stands to the side on the same bike but without the Monster logos essentially).
The flying Botswanan Ross Branch was third for Hero MotoSports, two seconds back, with Toby Price fourth on the Red Bull KTM and Honda’s Pablo Quintanilla fifth. Bradley Cox (BAS World KTM Racing Team) was the first Rally2 rider home in 10th place.
W2RC points leader heading into this last round of the world championship, Luciano Benavides, was seventh which will give him a slightly worse starting position than his chief rival Toby Price with the top 10 riders getting to choose start position in today’s results order.
Old fashioned swap-out ends Howes’ debut
It wasn’t the Monster Energy Honda debut Skyler Howes hoped and dreamed of with a “ an old-fashioned swap out” crash during halfway through the prologue which puts him out of the race. In truth it rang alarm bells with shades of Matthias Bellino’s career ending crash on his Honda debut but thankfully the prognosis was back and knee pains but nothing so serious.
“I think about eight kilometres into the prologue I saw the photographers making signs to slow down and Skyler on the ground.” Explained Brabec. “I cruised past for about 400 metres. Skyler gave me the thumbs up so I carried on. Second’s not bad but I’m bummed that my teammate fell.”
2023 Rallye du Maroc Prologue results:
Full results: www.maroc.live.worldrallyraidchampionship.com
Photo Credit: DPPI Julien Delfosse
