With the Rallye du Maroc running again for the first time in more than two decades this weekend, we take a look back at its illustrious history…
The Rallye International du Maroc was first run back in 1934, won by a certain Mr Bravard driving an Essex. It was the Bugatti Veyron of its day, full of innovations such as a starter motor.
A three-litre Bugatti actually won Morocco in 1935 and 1937, driven by Jean Trevoux (the winner of the Monte Carlo Rally in 1934, 1939, 1949 and 1951).
Rallying in Morocco took a break during the War, and the fourth event didn’t take place until 1950. Rally headquarters were in Casablanca, with much of the route running through the stunning scenery of the Atlas Mountains.
The route became increasingly tougher, and so did the cars. Jean Lucas won in 1950 with a Ferrari 212, but more prosaically the 1955 rally was won by a Peugeot 203 with Jean Deschazeaux at the wheel. After a long gap, the event ran again in 1967, when Robert La Caze triumphed in a Renault 8 Gordini.
The same type of car won again the following year, this time with French legend Jean-Pierre Nicolas at the wheel. The rally moved south, onto rougher and even more demanding roads. This naturally captured the attention of Renault, Citroen and Peugeot – as they knew that a win in Africa had a huge influence on road car sales.
For 1969, Citroen entered four DS21s and the result was a resounding victory for Bob Neyret, followed by two more Citroens on the podium. Nicolas was fourth in a Renault 8 Gordini while Patrick Vanson (who is still involved in the organization of the Rallye du Maroc today) was fifth in another DS21.
One of Neyret’s finest achievements in Morocco came in 1970. That year, it looked like Citroen wouldn’t be able to defend their win as the World Cup Rally, running from London to Mexico, was happening at the same time.
As it happened, the Rallye du Maroc took place during the week that the competing cars were on a boat for more than a week travelling between Lisbon and Rio de Janeiro.
While their cars were in transit, Bob Neyret flew to Casablanca instead of Rio to take part in another rally while he was in the midst of a much longer one: the result was a second consecutive victory for Neyret and the DS21. Second place went to the similar car of Bernard Consten, co-driven by Jean Todt, who is now the President of the FIA.
In 1971, the Rallye du Maroc formed part of the newly created World Rally Championship for manufacturers. The event turned into a battle between Peugeot and Citroen, with victory eventually going to the new Maserati-powered Citroen SM of Jean Deschazeaux (who also won the rally in 1955).
But the entries really kicked off in 1972. Lancia entered a car for Simo Lampinen, there were three factory Citroen SMs, four works Peugeot 504s, plus three factory Alpine Renaults. The battle for victory was intense and the reasons for retirement were various: punctures, gearbox and suspension breakages, electrical problems and even a fire. All three Alpines retired together with all the Peugeot 504s and one of the SMs, leaving the way clear for the Lancia of Lampinen to win by an hour and a half from Neyret’s Citroen DS21. Only six of the 52 entries finished, underlining the gruelling nature of this legendary African event.
In 1973, the Rallye du Maroc became a round of the full 13-round World Rally Championship that still exists now. Lancia stayed at home to develop the Stratos, but Fiat entered two Abarth 124 Spyders for Bjorn Waldegard and Rauno Aaltonen. They faced a French armada consisting of factory entries from Alpine, Citroen, Peugeot and Renault.
This time the French had their revenge, with Bernard Darniche in an Alpine A110 winning the rally by 18 minutes from Bob Neyret in his DS23, while Waldegard could only manage sixth.
The 1974 rally was probably the toughest route to date, and it was again Jean-Pierre Nicolas (who went on to become Peugeot’s Sporting Director and is now the Motorsport Development Director of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge) who triumphed in an Alpine A110.
The following year saw the most impressive entry list: more than 100 crews took the start of the 1975 Rallye du Maroc, with three teams fighting for the honours.
Opel had Walter Rohrl and Rauno Aaltonen in the Ascona. Fiat entered Bernard Darniche, Markku Alen and Bjorn Waldegard in the Spyder Abarth while Peugeot boasted a line-up of Hannu Mikkola, Timo Makinen and Bernard Consten in the 504._Bob Neyret had a factory Alpine A110 while
Shekhar Mehta was at the wheel of a works Datsun.
There were nine stages, totalling around 2000 competitive kilometres and four of those stages were more than 200 kilometres long; including a giant 786-kilometre stage. This was probably the ultimate expression of the Rallye du Maroc. Mikkola won by two hours from Consten and Neyret: who became Morocco’s most successful and consistent exponent thanks to two wins, two second places a third and a fourth from seven participations.
In 1976, there were more than 100 competitors again. Ford brought two Escort RS 1800s for Timo Makinen and Roger Clark. Fiat was present with the new 131 Abarth but Lancia had just one Stratos for “il drago”: Sandro Munari. Against all this cutting-edge opposition, it was Nicolas who triumphed for the final time in Morocco, driving an ageing Peugeot 504.
There was not to be another Rallye du Maroc until 1985, which was won by Shekhar Mehta in a Nissan 240RS. Three more Moroccan rallies were then run, with Alain Ambrosino winning in another Nissan in 1986, Maurice Chomat triumphing in a Citroen Visa in 1987 and Paul Emile Descamps claiming the final Rallye du Maroc in 1988.
For more than 20 years, the epic stages in Morocco then fell silent. Until this year, when they live again.
For more information about the Rallye International du Maroc, including a complete history, please visit www.rallyeinternationaldumaroc.com