Seth Quintero Wins the 2026 Rally of Morocco and Takes the W2RC Lead

Seth Quintero has won the 2026 Ola Energy Rally of Morocco. Driving the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Toyota Hilux GR with navigator Andrew Short, Quintero took victory in Zagora on Saturday and moved to the top of the FIA World Rally-Raid Championship (W2RC) standings with one round remaining.

It is the pair’s second W2RC win in a row, following their last-gasp victory at Argentina’s Desafío Ruta 40. Quintero and Short finished the five-day desert event in 16:34:05, 4:23 ahead of João Ferreira and Filipe Palmeiro, with team-mates Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings completing a Toyota clean sweep of the podium. More than 100 cars started the rally.

Quintero played the long game. While rivals swapped positions from day to day, he ran inside the top five on almost every stage, passed cars without being passed, and took the outright lead after the fourth stage. He carried a 2:45 advantage into the final day and closed out the win.

The win came at the end of a difficult few weeks for Quintero, following the loss of his grandfather.

“1st place here in Morocco. What an incredible week,” said Quintero. “These past few weeks have been the hardest weeks of my life losing my best friend, but he’s up there pushing down on my gas pedal harder than I want him to, and that was my typical grandpa.”

Quintero thanked the team for their support on and off the track, and Short for his hard work through the week, “even when I wasn’t able to give you my best.”

The result lifts the 24-year-old from third to first in the Drivers’ Championship, with a 14-point lead heading into the final round and Sébastien Loeb and Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah, two of the greatest names in motorsport, right behind him. Short leads the Navigators’ Championship.

“Back on top for everyone back home,” said Quintero. “I hope I made you proud.”

The championship will be decided at the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, from 22 to 27 November 2026, where Quintero will go for his first W2RC title.