Quintero and Short Take Morocco as Toyota Sweeps the W2RC Podium
Rally-raid news and analysis | October 13, 2026
Seth Quintero and Andrew Short have put an American crew at the front of the World Rally-Raid Championship heading into its final round. Their October 3 victory at the Rallye OLA Energy du Maroc led a Toyota sweep of the podium, with João Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro second and Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings third. The winning margin was 4 minutes 23 seconds; only 19 seconds separated the two pursuing Hilux crews.
The result changes the question for Abu Dhabi. Quintero arrived in Morocco chasing the championship leaders. He leaves with the advantage, while Toyota has given Dacia a stronger challenge in the manufacturers’ contest. The FIA’s event report confirms the result and the Americans’ move to the top of their respective driver and navigator championships.
Lead photograph: Seth Quintero and Andrew Short’s No.203 Toyota DKR GR Hilux on the final day of the 2026 Rallye du Maroc, October 3. Photo: Pawel Starzyk / Toyota Gazoo Racing.
The win came without a stage victory
Quintero’s best individual stage finish in Morocco was third, according to the championship’s final report. That makes this a particularly useful example of how a rally-raid result develops across several days. The fastest car on one selective section can lose far more time to a mechanical problem or a difficult navigation sequence than it gained on clear ground.
The same report identifies Quintero, now 24, as the event’s youngest winner and the youngest leader of the FIA championship. It lists his advantage over Sébastien Loeb at 14 points, with Nasser Al-Attiyah 19 behind. Ferreira and Lategan also remain mathematically in contention. Those are the promoter’s post-rally figures; the championship is still open.
Two days that turned the rally
At the end of Stage 3, Carlos Sainz led for Ford, with Quintero 3 minutes 20 seconds behind. Lucas Moraes had been on course to retain first place before trouble near the finish. Loeb won the stage, collecting valuable points despite the earlier problems that had removed him from the overall fight. Four different vehicles filled that day’s top four, underlining how widely the competitive pace was spread. Source: W2RC’s October 1 stage report.
Stage 4 changed the order again. Mattias Ekström won for Ford, Lategan finished second, and Quintero was sixth on the day. Yet Quintero emerged as the overall leader, 2 minutes 45 seconds ahead of Lategan. Sainz, Nani Roma and Mitch Guthrie remained close enough to keep pressure on the Toyotas before the final stage. Source: W2RC’s October 2 stage report.
The distinction is the central sporting story: sixth on a stage still left Quintero in a winning position overall. His week rewarded sustained pace across changing circumstances.
Toyota’s podium had more than one route
The winning No.203 and third-placed No.202 belonged to Toyota Gazoo Racing W2RC; Ferreira and Palmeiro delivered second for Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa. Keeping those entries distinct matters when describing the result. Toyota swept the podium as a manufacturer, while the TGR-W2RC operation placed two crews on it.
Lategan and Cummings had won Stage 2, then lost time opening the following stage. They recovered to begin the last day in second overall before Ferreira passed them in the classification. Toyota’s report records Quintero sixth and Lategan tenth on Stage 5. The final-day reshuffle demonstrates how little room remained even within a successful team result. Source: Toyota’s October 3 report.
Morocco tested more than outright speed
The organizer’s route preview explains part of the challenge. The event linked Agadir to a desert bivouac at Zagora, then used loops through varied terrain. Cars and motorcycles followed separate routes, including a Stage 3 passage through Erg Chebbi where leading car crews could not rely on motorcycle tracks. Stage 2 also included a tire-change pit stop, giving crews practice with a procedure used at Dakar.
Those details make navigation, positioning and service execution part of the competitive package. Morocco gave teams a broad test of that package before another championship-deciding desert event.
Abu Dhabi will settle it
The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge runs November 22–27 and closes the W2RC season for the first time. Its Empty Quarter dunes bring a different setting for the final contest. Morocco has established the contenders’ positions; it cannot guarantee how they will cope with that last round.
Quintero’s progression gives the finale an additional American storyline. After taking the 2023 Challenger title and moving into Ultimate, he earned his first premier-category W2RC rally victory in Argentina this May. Morocco makes it two consecutive wins. The championship’s account of that earlier breakthrough shows a driver moving from class success into overall contention. He now has one more rally to turn that progress into a world title.
