The Baja Morocco is often used as a dress rehearsal for those competing in the Rallye du Maroc a week after (which itself is often used as a dress rehearsal for those competing in the Dakar Rally). Benjamin Melot and Mathieu Serradori, who plan to run the W2RC season finale, brushed up on their desert rally skills in the meantime by being the fastest bike and car in the baja.

Melot dominated the motorcycle side from start to finish, winning the first two stages and never finishing worse than second. The fifth and final day was his worst after he crashed and had a myriad of technical issues on his navigation system, and even then still placed second.

“I crumpled the bike a little but we’ll put everything back in order and get ready for the Rallye du Morocco next week,” said Melot.

Charlie Herbst claimed Days 3 and 5, with Noa Sainct earning his first desert rally stage win in between. Unlike Melot and Sainct, Herbst is not set to race the Rallye du Maroc.

Sainct was running his second desert rally after the Carta Rallye, a sister event of sort to the Baja Morocco, in April. While somewhat slowed by navigation errors, he generally hung around the top three before breaking through for the Stage 4 win. After his tablet glitched out to start the final day, Sainct decided to link up with Herbst and Melot and ride together to the finish.

For four wheels, Carta Rallye winner Simon Vitse was initially the fastest ahead of Serradori before falling out of the picture. Serradori and his Century CR7 would set the fastest time for Ultimate cars by a wide margin, with Philippe Lambilliotte’s MD Optimus being second in class but ninth overall and nearly two-and-a-half hours back.

Maria Luís Gameiro was second in Ultimate but over two hours behind Serradori, finishing seventh outright in her Mini JCW 3.0d. The Mini will be piloted by Lionel Baud at the Rallye du Maroc.

“The Baja Morocco 2025 has come to an end, and we couldn’t be happier with the result,” said Gameiro. “It was a demanding race from start to finish, with challenges in every area, from driving through highly technical terrain, to navigation under pressure, and intense competition across all stages.

“Throughout more than 1,300 kilometers, we were constantly pushed to our limits, but that’s exactly what makes this race so special. Every kilometer was a learning opportunity and a test of teamwork, determination, and endurance. Finishing in second place feels incredible, especially after such a consistent performance across all stages. It reflects not only our pace, but also our ability to adapt, stay focused, and keep fighting no matter the circumstances.

“The team has been exceptional. Their professionalism, support, and energy made all the difference, and the car performed flawlessly, giving us the confidence to push every single day. We leave Morocco proud, grateful, and even more motivated for what’s next.”

Since Baja Morocco started as an SSV race, those vehicles excelled in the desert environment. Michaël Metge, usually a navigator, was the top SSV ahead of Puck Klaassen.

Klaassen won Day 3 in a 1–2 finish for the G Rally G-ECKO ahead of Rui Carneiro. Kevin Benavides was third in his Taurus T3 Max.

Benavides, running his maiden desert rally on four wheels, placed 17th overall and ninth in SSV Open.

Baja Morocco also saw Vincent Biau debut the rally-spec Suzuki DR-Z4S that he plans to race in the 2026 Dakar, while Team Land Cruiser Toyota Auto Body ran their first non-FIA rally since 2019. Both ended up retiring. Biau crashed in Stage 4 whereas Akira Miura’s Land Cruiser couldn’t make it to the end was classified 45th overall.

“I’m frustrated but the race told us what we [should] do to be better, maybe,” Miura commented.

Moto

Finish	Number	Rider	Team	Total Time	Margin
1	101	Benjamin Melot	Melot	15:02:33	Leader
2	100	Charlie Herbst	Challenger Racing Team	15:13:59	+ 2:00:07
3	102	Noa Sainct	Nomade Racing	15:33:07	+ 2:19:15
4	108	Bertrand Donnet	Casteu Trophy	18:14:27	+ 5:00:35
5	104	Guillaume Poyer	Challenger Racing Team	18:25:40	+ 5:11:48
6	103	Matthieu Cauvin	Nomade Racing	18:36:14	+ 5:22:22
7	107	Alexandre Vaudan	Casteu Trophy	19:33:35	+ 6:19:43
8	106	Olivier Anbergen	Anbergen	36:17:32	+ 23:03:40
9	105	Vincent Biau	Petokask	DNF	N/A

Auto class winners

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Navigator	Team	Total Time
2WD Buggy	9	305	Philippe Lambilliotte	François Beguin	Config Racing	15:42:26
Ultimate	1	300	Mathieu Serradori	Loïc Minaudier	SRT	13:13:52
SSV Series	4	215	Pierre Lafay	Stéphane Denecheau	Gazzafond Rally Raid Team	14:55:34
SSV Open	2	202	Michaël Metge	Enio Bozzano	BBR Motorsport	14:01:40
Women Trophy	3	221	Puck Klaassen	Augusto Sanz	G Rally Team	14:05:08

Featured image credit: Ilyasse Achaoui / Baja Morocco