THE AFRICA ECO RACE 2024 IS IN DAKHLA

DAKHLA: This final stageof the AFRICA ECO RACEon Moroccan soilwas completed at lightning speed, with the 404km selective sectorcompleted in 03:31:53for the bikeand 03:31:53for the car. An identical time to the nearest second! Something rarely seen in the history of Cross-Country Rallies. This is certainly because, since this year, the cars, SSVs, and trucks have all been neutralizedfor 20 minutes, just like the bikes. It’s quite a coincidence, but one that deserves to be highlighted.

In motorcycling, we take the same three and start again. This time, the battle between Jacopo CERUTTI’s APRILIAand the two YAMAHAs of Pol TARRESand Alessandro BOTTURIfavored the latter. The Italian won with a lead of 00:01:57 over his teammate and 00:03:57 over CERUTTI. In other words, the three riders crossed the finish line together for the third time. Therefore, It is impossible to separate them in Morocco because CERRUTI, leader since day one, has 00:03:15 over BOTTURIand a further 30 seconds over TARRES. This situation could quickly change in Mauritania, as the terrain will be so selective. Behind, on his KTM, Swiss rider Alexandre VAUDANhas put things right, after his navigation error yesterday. He finished 4th, just 00:10:50 behindthe winner, ahead of the APRILIAof Italian Francesco MONTANARIby 00:14:46and Frenchman Atilio FERTon a KTMby 00:15:46. In the MOTUL XTREME RIDER class, the victory of the day went to the likable French rider Nicolas BOTTUon KTM, while Italian Stefano CHIUSSIextended his lead over Frenchman Antoine DETOURBET, both on HUSQVARNA.

On four wheels, Belgian rider Koen WAUTERShad promised this morning to give his all to win, as this 5th stageof the AFRICA ECO RACEwas the end of the road for him. This competitor is also a successful singer in Belgium and the Netherlands, and he began a series of concerts on January 11th. He therefore had to return to Belgium for two days of rehearsals. Koen WAUTERS kept his word: at the wheel of his TOYOTA Pick-Up, perfectly navigated by Kris VEN DER STEEN, he won with a lead of 00:02:46 over the Hungarians Imre VARGA and Jozsef TOMA, also on a TOYOTA. In 3rd place, we find the first SSV with the CAN-AM of Carlos VENTO and Carlos RUIZ MORENO, still more than 8 minutes and 13 seconds ahead of Pierre-Louis LOUBET and François BORSOTTO. A logical gap on this type of terrain favors speed since SSVsare limited to a maximum of 130 km/h, while cars can reach 170 km/h. 3rd place overallwent to the TOYOTAof Belgian drivers Pascal FEYRINand Kurt KEYSERS, while the 3rd place SSVwas the CAN AMof Portuguese drivers Ricardo SOUSAand Jorge BRANDAO. The 3rd carof the day was the TOYOTAof Dutchmen Teun STAMand Rene BRARGEMAN, who were also 1st in T1 Diesel. In the provisional overall standings, Frenchmen Gautier PAULIN and Remi BOULANGERare leading the racein their APACHEwith a lead of 02:09:39over the POLARISof their compatriots Frédéric HENRICYand Eric BERSEY, while Carlos VENTO and Carlos RUIZ MORENOare at 02:36:01.

In the Classic race, after the day’s 4 Regularity Zonesof 30 km, 31 km, 40 km,and 51 kmrespectively, leaving Morocco with 15 ZRs completed, Belgians Eric and Tom CLAEYSare in the leadin their TOYOTA Land Cruiser BJ73. They are ahead of their compatriot Rene DECLERCQand John DEMEESTERin a BOMBARDIERIltis, while the MITSUBISHI PAJEROof Austrian Peter BRABECK-LETMATHEand Frenchman Jean-Michel GAYTEis in 3rd place. But the rankingsare very tight, with crews fighting it out with a score of zero pointsand no less than 12 ZRsleft on the very complicated Mauritanian terrainto make the difference. So nothing is decided yet!

Today the participants in this 15th editionof the AFRICA ECO RACEwill be able to recharge their batteries and overhaul their vehicles at the Dakhla bivouac set up on the edge of the lagoon. A much-needed break before the second week of the race in Mauritania.

STAGE 5 RESULTS BIKES

1. Alessandro Botturi03:31:53
2. Pol Tarres +00:01:57
3. Jacopo Cerutti +00:03:57
4. Alexandre Vaudan +00:10:50
5. Andrea Gava +00:14:24

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION BIKES

1. Jacopo Cerutti20:23:59
2. Alessandro Botturi +00:04:15
3. Pol Tarres +00:04:45
4. Guillaume Borne +02:14:02
5. Giovanni Gritti +02:16:13

STAGE 5 RESULTS CARS-TRUCKS

1. Koen Wauters03:31:53
2. Imre Varga +00:02:46
3. Carlos Vento +00:08:08
4. Pierre Louis Loubet +00:08:21
5. Ricardo Sousa +00:11:21

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION CARS/TRUCKS

1. Gautier Paulin22:16:11
2. Frederic Henricy +02:09:39
3. Carlos Vento +02:33:01
4. Heatclif Zingraf +03:14:54
5. Pascal Feryn +03:47:07

Text, Photo & Video Credits: Africa ECO Race