Honda secures World Rally-Raid Championship for Manufacturers’ at Rallye Du Maroc
| A brilliant day of rallying from Monster Energy Honda Team’s Tosha Schareina saw him equal the all-time record of ten World Rally-Raid Championship stage wins in a season as Honda also rounded out 2024 with the FIM Manufacturers’ title.
With the curtain falling on the Rallye du Maroc, Schareina and Adrien Van Beveren put in gutsy rides across the 273km special stage which started and ended back at the Mengoub bivouac but for Schareina there was added impetus to prove a point after a couple of days of bad luck. A time penalty on stage 3 had in effect put him out of the running for victory due to an inaccurate note in the roadbook, which then led to a navigation error that also affected Van Beveren and several other riders. However, the Spaniard had shown his resilience and jumped to the top of the timesheets midway through the stage today from his fifth place starting position. A see-saw battle with fellow countryman Lorenzo Santolino went right to the line with Schareina taking the stage win by just over a minute to place him second on the rally, just 11 minutes behind the overall victor, Daniel Sanders. Having great pace and flow on his Honda CRF450 RALLY, it was a better day for Adrien Van Beveren who took the stage podium in third, just 1’39” back from his teammate. With Sanders not taking part in the World Rally-Raid Championship, Schareina added the Rallye Du Maroc victory to his Rally-Raid Portugal one earlier this year as Adrien Van Beveren made it a Monster Energy Honda Team one-two in the official W2RC overall standings. The Frenchman took the runner up spot in the FIM riders’ championship while in his first full season in Monster Energy Honda Team colours, Schareina clinched the final spot on the podium in what has been a remarkable season for him following his win in Portugal and his second place in Argentina. Honda are FIM Manufacturer Champions for a third consecutive year with the team winning three rounds of the 2024 World Rally-Raid Championship including the biggest motorsport event of them all, the Dakar Rally. The Monster Energy Honda Team will now rest up before preparing for the 2025 season that kicks off with the Dakar Rally on 3rd January in Saudi Arabia. |
