As the season approaches its conclusion, the question on everyone's mind is whether Seth Quintero will secure his first world championship title. Currently sitting in third place in the championship standings prior to the Morocco Rally, the young American has put forth a remarkable performance that leaves him with a solid chance at clinching the title.
Following the third stage of the rally, Quintero found himself in second place overall, trailing only Carlos Sainz in his Ford. During the fourth stage, he showcased his driving skills and finished in sixth place despite starting as the third driver. The starting order for this stage was determined by the results of the previous stage, allowing Sébastien Loeb, the winner of stage three, to lead the pack alongside Sainz. Both drivers crossed the finish line more than twelve minutes behind the day's victor, Mattias Ekström. The Swedish Ford pilot, alongside his co-driver Emil Bergkvist, made the most of their unfavorable starting position (20th) to navigate the course ahead and deny Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings in their Toyota the stage win, finishing with a 35-second lead after the grueling 318 km special stage.
The standout performer of the day was undoubtedly Seth Quintero, who took the lead in the overall standings with a comfortable margin of 2 minutes and 45 seconds ahead of Henk Lategan and 5 minutes and 9 seconds ahead of Nani Roma. Carlos Sainz has now dropped to fourth place overall, with the young Portuguese driver João Ferreira, who won the first stage, following closely behind. Meanwhile, Guillaume de Mévius and Mathieu Baumel from the X-Raid Mini team are in seventh place (+7:04), ahead of Mathieu Serradori and Loïc Minaudier (Century, +14:04).
It’s worth noting that Nasser Al-Attiyah and Sébastien Loeb lost significant time early in the rally and are now out of contention for a top-10 finish. This scenario could potentially allow Seth Quintero to make a substantial leap in the championship standings. Entering Morocco, Quintero was just 13 points behind Sébastien Loeb and 10 points behind Nasser Al-Attiyah. Additionally, the Morocco Rally might serve as a pivotal point in his season, especially considering the future of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, the last scheduled event, is contingent upon the situation in the Middle East.
As reported by autohebdo.de.
