Honda HRC’s Campbell and Ventura set for World Rally-Raid Championship finale in Morocco
It’s only the second round of the World Rally-Raid Championship for the new Honda HRC Rally 2 team, but after an impressive debut in Portugal, riders Preston Campbell and Martim Ventura are ready to take on the Moroccan desert for the 2025 season finale.
A true test for both rider and machine, the Rallye du Maroc spans the challenging dunes of the Sahara Desert, offering the perfect opportunity to fine-tune the Honda CRF450RX RALLY ahead of the 2026 Dakar Rally.
Preston Campbell enters the event with solid sand-riding experience and plenty of momentum following his standout performance in Rally-Raid Portugal, where he finished fourth overall. He’ll be looking to carry that form into Morocco as he tackles the dunes aboard his Honda.
Martim Ventura, meanwhile, trades Portugal’s home trails for the vast sands of the Sahara. Fresh off his first-ever World Rally-Raid Championship stage win in Portugal, Ventura aims to build on that success with strong results in Morocco, as a confidence boost heading into the Dakar Rally in January.
With scrutineering and administrative checks complete, the focus now turns to racing. The rally covers a total of 2,299 kilometres, including 1,478 competitive kilometres against the clock. It all begins tomorrow with an 18 km prologue in Fez, before five demanding stages take riders through the heart of the desert, looping in and out of Erfoud — the gateway to Morocco’s eastern dunes.
Preston Campbell 85
I’m excited to be here in Morocco with the team. I am feeling comfortable on my Honda HRC CRF450RX RALLY here in the desert. We have a long week ahead of us and I’m looking forward to my first Rallye du Maroc!
Martim Ventura 84
We learned a lot after my first rally with the team in Portugal and now this second one will be a different style, it’s desert, more open with a completely different set up of the bike. I’m more familiar with the Honda CRF450RX RALLY and the team now, so that’s good and I hope to have a strong race in Morocco as the first real test for Dakar.
