Ventura and Campbell conquer a demanding first stage in Morocco
It was a big day for the Honda HRC Rally 2 riders, as Martim Ventura and Preston Campbell faced a challenging first stage at the Rallye du Maroc on their Honda CRF450RX RALLY bikes.
With nearly 300 km against the clock and an additional 480 km of liaison, the trek from Fez to Erfoud tested both physical endurance and mental focus. Rising over 1,000 metres above sea level, the stage featured stony sections and tricky navigation, meaning any mistake could cost valuable time on the first proper day of competition.
Martim Ventura thrived in the latter part of the stage across the Rekkam Plateau, known as Morocco’s Empty Quarter, offering a glimpse of the challenges he will face at the Dakar Rally in January. The Portuguese rider secured a strong third-place finish in Rally 2 and sits third overall, just over 12 and a half minutes behind provisional leader Edgar Canet.
Preston Campbell also enjoyed the long desert stage, climbing into the top six while keeping a firm grip on the complex navigation. With overall times tight for the final podium spot, the American will look to leverage his sand-riding experience on tomorrow’s stage two, a 300 km timed loop from Erfoud that promises to test the riders when the dunes come into play.
Martim Ventura 84
The first stage was good. It was very rocky and at the beginning it was so tight in lots of corners, but in the end more open. I felt good and rode with a decent pace, that was smooth with no mistakes. I really enjoyed this stage and now we prepare for tomorrow.
Preston Campbell 85
Stage one was super long. Got up early, did a 275 km liaison, raced 300 km and then just finished it off with another 200 km liaison, so a long day but it was good. We ended up in the desert after starting in the mountains and so the terrain changed throughout the day but I had a good time. The navigation was a little bit challenging, more high-speed tracks so not too tricky I thought, but definitely had to look at the road book and pay attention.
