Honda HRC riders fight back in the desert on stage three
Stage three of the 2025 Rallye du Maroc promised even more dunes, with sandy terrain taking up a larger share of the route. Covering a total of 326 km on their Honda CRF450RX RALLY bikes, Honda HRC duo Preston Campbell and Martim Ventura faced just a 3 km liaison before hitting the stage start.
The Moroccan dunes near Merzouga, first encountered yesterday, made an early return in today’s stage following a brief stretch of rough, stony tracks.
Martim Ventura, determined to bounce back after an issue yesterday had derailed his podium hopes, delivered a solid ride. He remained among the top six fastest riders for much of the stage, eventually breaking into the top five and holding that position until the finish, crossing the line 13’57” behind Rally 2 stage winner Michael Docherty.
Preston Campbell’s start was more challenging. By the first 34 km time check, he had lost over four and a half minutes due to tricky navigation, dropping him out of the top 20. Despite the punishing terrain and complex navigation, Campbell fought back, posting the third-fastest time at the halfway mark. Riding back through the camel grass toward the Erfoud bivouac, he ultimately finished seventh, 23’46” off the pace.
With just two stages to go, the Honda HRC riders are preparing to give their all on the penultimate day in Morocco, tackling another 283 km loop around Erfoud, where the dramatic dunes promise yet another challenging test.
Martim Ventura 84
Stage three was a super tough day, my hands are destroyed. The World Rally-Raid Championship is very different and super tough. After yesterday, I wanted to be back on the bike and ride well in the specials. Today, I started from 13th and I did my own thing and passed a lot of guys, spent too much time in the dust, but it is what it is. A good day overall, I’m happy and tomorrow we will be more at the front of the race.
Preston Campbell 85
Stage three was hard, there was a lot of rocky, rough pistes and a long dune section. Tricky navigation got me a couple of times, but I tried to recover as much as I could. The last piste after the neutralisation was fast and I felt good there, so I capped it off with a good ending to the stage and I’m now looking forward to tomorrow.
