Antanas Kanopkinas and CFMOTO Thunder Racing Team were eager to defend their Rallye du Maroc victory in October. Unfortunately, that will no longer be possible.

Quads have been removed from the program for the 2025 Rallye du Maroc, repeating the same decision made for the Dakar Rally. With both races being on the World Rally-Raid Championship, the Quad season is now just three rounds long.

Although quads had raced at Dakar since 1997 before getting their own category in 2009, the ASO dropped them from the 2025 race due to declining manufacturer support and a growing preference for motorcycles. Only ten Quad riders raced the 2024 Dakar Rally, partly due to new eligibility criteria that some allege was intentionally designed to kill the class.

The Rallye du Maroc shares the same leadership as the Dakar Rally, and the former is often used as a final dress rehearsal for those entering Dakar. In place of Quads, more focus will be put on bikes for the RdM with the RallyGP, Rally2, and Rally3 divisions.

With Morocco out of the picture, the Quads are only present at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, the South African Safari Rally, and the BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal. Their W2RC slate began a month after Dakar with Kanopkinas leading a CFMOTO 1–2 finish in Abu Dhabi. South Africa will take place later in May while Portugal is in September.

“Our world championship has been shortened to three stages, the last of which will be held in Portugal,” Kanopkinas told 15min. “When we heard about the changes to the calendar, we immediately began discussions within the team on how to reallocate the budget and which races to choose. It seems that instead of one canceled competition, we are adding two new ones to the calendar, but we’ll share about this when a final decision is made.”

Most Quad riders have switched to FIA classes since they were axed from Dakar. Manuel Andújar, the final Quad winner at Dakar and 2024 World Rally-Raid Champion, currently drives an SSV.

Featured image credit: Frederic Le Floc’h / DPPI