Stage 5 of the Morocco Desert Challenge for bikes was barely longer than the prologue Stage 1 after Moroccan authorities implemented airspace restrictions that kept race helicopters from taking off.

The first 95 kilometers of the stage were outside the no-fly zone, after which the leg was neutralized for all riders as they made their way to the bivouac in Merzouga. Consequently, the SS5 results are a bizarre jumble of surprises.

Dennis Verswijver scored the stage win by just one second over Ilyasse Achaoui. Achaoui previously covered the MDC as a photographer but decided to sign up as a competitor for 2026. Bike overall leader David McBride holds the top spot after finishing sixth.

While two-wheelers couldn’t race as much as they liked on Wednesday, cars, trucks, and SSVs proceeded as usual. As the first car on course, Mitchel van den Brink led the tracks as the bikes pulled off, which kept him from going flat-out. Still, he scored his fourth stage win with the only issue being a single tire puncture.

Kay Huzink also had a flat but still topped the Trucks, while cousin Gert won for SSVs.

Edward Ruszczyc had a tough day at the office. While running top three in SSV, he lost a tire with 30 kilometers before the refuel zone and hit a rock, damaging the front suspension arm. He opted to continue, and things went smoothly from there until the 70-to-go mark. As he was going 130 km/h on a straight, the car suddenly got loose and flipped five times before landing on its wheels.

He and navigator Krzysztof Kubiś were unharmed while the team recovered the car to hopefully repair it for Stage 6.

“In a situation like that, one could simply choose to nurse the car back to the bivouac, but that’s not why we’re here,” said Ruszczyk. “‘No Mercy’ isn’t just a slogan; it’s a way of life. As long as there’s still a chance, we keep going. We kept going, trying to relearn how to drive a car that wasn’t fully functional.

“The car is badly damaged and the stage is lost, but we aren’t finished. We’re rebuilding the car and getting back in the fight. We have three more days ahead of us and one single goal: to do exactly what we came here to go. Keep pushing.

“No Mercy!”

Stage winners

Bikes

Class	Overall	Number	Rider	Team	Total Time
Bike	1	124	Dennis Verswijver	Desert Vikings	1:09:53
Veterans Cup	6	104	David McBride	Vendetta Racing	1:14:33
Ladies Cup	25	119	Beatriz Diez	Club Aventura Touareg	1:32:28

Cars

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Team	Total Time
T1+	1	301	Mitchel van den Brink	Eurol Rally Sport / MP Rallysport	3:26:46
T1 4×4	8	310	Vincent Vroninks	Desert Lions Rally Team	3:57:59
T1 4×2	3	303	Agostino Rizzardi	Countrysideways	3:42:14
T2	14	323	Ernst Amort	RZR Racing	5:05:56

SSVs

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Team	Total Time
T3	1	203	Gert Huzink	QFF Racing	3:49:03
T4	2	204	Paulo Rodrigues	Rio Seco Racing	3:49:25
Open	13	238	Nikola Hristov	Synthesia Racing	4:08:03

Trucks

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Team	Total Time
T5	1	501	Kay Huzink	Kuipers-Jongbloed Hybrid / Team de Rooy	3:43:29
T5 Over 15	8	508	Steve Ingels	RR Belgica	7:14:00
T5 Over 20	7	507	Fons Jans	Hamer Rally Team	4:55:54

Overall leaders

Bikes

Class	Overall	Number	Rider	Team	Total Time
Bike	1	104	David McBride	Vendetta Racing	15:26:50
Veterans Cup	1	104	David McBride	Vendetta Racing	15:26:50
Ladies Cup	23	119	Beatriz Diez	Club Aventura Touareg	23:55:41

Cars

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Team	Total Time
T1+	1	306	Ronald van Loon	Oase Motorsport	15:37:35
T1 4×4	6	309	Magdalena Zając	Proxcars TME Rally Team	17:53:21
T1 4×2	3	303	Agostino Rizzardi	Countrysideways	15:56:51
T2	12	323	Ernst Amort	RZR Racing	22:02:40

SSVs

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Team	Total Time
T3	3	203	Gert Huzink	QFF Racing	16:26:33
T4	1	204	Paulo Rodrigues	Rio Seco Racing	16:07:27
Open	8	232	Josep Rojas	Procurve	18:23:07

Trucks

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Team	Total Time
T5	1	501	Kay Huzink	Kuipers-Jongbloed Hybrid / Team de Rooy	16:20:42
T5 Over 15	8	508	Steve Ingels	RR Belgica	34:52:46
T5 Over 20	6	507	Fons Jans	Hamer Rally Team	21:50:53

Featured image credit: RedFox