If you see videos of cars absolutely flying through the Moroccan desert this week, no, someone did not accidentally take Google Maps too seriously.
The Rallye du Maroc is back.
The race kicks off in Morocco today as part of the World Rally Raid Championship, bringing some of the biggest names in off road motorsport to the country.
The action begins around Agadir before the competition moves deeper into the south toward Zagora, where drivers and riders will face long stages across sand, rocks and some very unforgiving terrain.
And this is not a casual desert road trip.
Hundreds of cars, bikes and support vehicles are involved, with competitors fighting both for the Rallye du Maroc title and valuable championship points.
Some huge motorsport names are here too.
Sébastien Loeb enters the Moroccan round at the top end of the cars championship battle, while Qatar’s Nasser Al Attiyah, one of rally raid’s most successful drivers, remains firmly in the fight.
The motorcycle championship is incredibly close as well, which means what happens in Morocco could have a major impact on the season.
But even if you know absolutely nothing about rally raid, this event is ridiculously easy to understand visually.
Massive dunes. Cars launching through the desert. Motorcycles disappearing into clouds of dust. Moroccan landscapes looking like another planet.
Morocco has become one of the most important locations in international rally raid, partly because its terrain offers almost everything these machines are built to survive.
Basically, the desert is about to get very loud.
