Seems the windy start to Wednesday’s Morocco Desert Challenge action was only a sign of things to come. The conditions only worsened during Stage #6 on Thursday, reaching the point where organizers had to end the stage after 200 kilometers.

The 312-kilometer stage, running past Lake Iriqui from Assa to Foum Zguid, was supposed to be split into two halves with the second taking place in dunes. By the time the leaders reached the transfer section at KM 200, organizers deemed the high winds made it dangerous for safety helicopters to take off. The nearby Zagora Airport, which is used to airlift injured competitors, was also temporarily closed due to the weather.

“We understand the impact of this decision, but we trust in your understanding,” reads a statement from race officials. “The safety of our participants and crew always comes first. We look forward to continuing the rally adventure together tomorrow under better conditions.”

Even with the shortened distance, there were still some upheavals in the standings with two stages to go. The most notable is in Truck, where overall leader Gert Huzink was forced to retire due to an onboard fire caused by the plastic diesel filter cracking and leaking fuel.

His cousin Kay, who was second and trailing by 23 minutes, inherited the top spot as a result and put some distance between him and new runner-up Martin van den Brink by winning Stage #6. Huzink now leads by 36:52.

Van den Brink finished the stage without the front windshield after being cracked by a rock earlier in the race. To avoid distractions, the team stopped to kick it out entirely.

Mitchel van den Brink was probably relieved that the stage was shortened since he’s been battling an illness. Even with his ailment, he beat Erik Van Loon by two minutes, which extended to three after the latter received a penalty.

“We started the day a bit slow. I wasn’t completely healthy,” began van den Brink. “I’ve been sick for the past few days and I’ve been vomiting a lot, so I didn’t really mind that the stage was shortened.

“We could have made a bigger gap in the dunes, but when we’re an hour and a quarter ahead, that’s not really necessary anymore. Now, we’re going to recover and hope that we can start again tomorrow with full force.”

While he has over an hour on Van Loon, van den Brink still knows he can’t afford any missteps with two stages to go.

“We are going for it. If we keep riding tight and Mitchel makes a mistake, everything is open again,” Van Loon proclaimed. Even Van Loon has Geoff Minnitt breathing down his neck for second as he trails by just a minute and a half.

Similar to van den Brink, Magdalena Zajac could say the stage shortening was a mulligan for her. Her Hilux took a beating from the holes in the ground, leading to some issues with the fuel pump that she feels would have worsened had the stage continued on.

Michel Becx broke Simon Vitse’s stranglehold on the Cars side by winning for the first time since the first stage. However, Becx is out of contention after a DNF in Stage #2.

Stage #6 winners

Class	Number	Competitor	Team	Total Time
Bike	103	Arnau Lledó	Pedregà Team	2:09:18
SSV	201	Mitchel van den Brink	Eurol Rally Sport	1:57:42
Car	308	Michiel Becx	Shiver Offroad	1:49:57
Truck	505	Kay Huzink	Kuipers-Jongbloed Hybrid Dakar Team	2:07:31

Leaders after Stage #6

Class	Number	Competitor	Team	Total Time
Bike	103	Arnau Lledo	Pedregà Team	25:21:09
SSV	201	Mitchel van den Brink	Eurol Rally Sport	21:51:30
Car	306	Lionel Baud	X-raid Mini JCW Team	21:11:41
Truck	505	Kay Huzink	Kuipers-Jongbloed Hybrid Dakar Team	22:49:07

Featured image credit: Skybox Rally-Raid