Antoine Detourbet to make W2RC debut in Morocco – The Checkered Flag

Antoine Detourbet will make his World Rally-Raid Championship début at the season-ending Rallye du Maroc on 5–11 October, with the goal of bolstering his qualifications if not earning a spot in the 2025 Dakar Rally or a later edition.

“Registrations for the Rallye du Maroc go live in less than a week. Well, it seems I’ve secured my place,” wrote Detourbet. “On 4 October, I’m heading to Marrakech for my first laps in the World Rally-Raid Championship. A rally on the ‘Road to Dakar’… Let’s see what happens!”

A lifelong Dakar Rally fan who started Racing when he got his first motorcycle at the age of eleven, Detourbet mainly competes in motocross. When his budget allows him, he takes part in amateur rallies like the Tuareg Rallye in Morocco; at the 2023 edition, a poor start as navigation errors and penalties bogged him down in the opening leg, though he rebounded by winning every stage onwards and would have claimed the overall had it not been for the first day.

In January, Detourbet entered the Africa Eco Race on his Husqvarna 450 Rally, competing as a Motul Xtreme Rider (solo without a crew, equivalent to the Dakar’s Malle Moto/Original by Motul subcategory). He placed fifteenth overall and tenth among bikes under 450cc

Outside of Racing, he works for toolmaker Gillet Tools after graduating from the University of Technology of Troyes in 2020 with a degree in mechanical engineering.

The Rallye du Maroc is part of the Road to Dakar, which provides free Dakar Rally registration for the best-performing riders with no prior experience in the event.