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For several editions of the AFRICA ECO RACE, the loop stage around the village of Akjoujt has been one of the rally's defining stages. This is even more true this year with the strong heat in the month of October which makes the sand less bearable. As a result, at 16:00, only a third of the participants had crossed the finish line and it is already clear that the evening, possibly even the night, will be long for the race headquarters and the organizations vehicles on the route.
Maurizio GERINI back on the bike
Having started just one minute behind Stefan SVITKO this morning, Maurizio GERINI quickly caught up with him and the two men remained together for the rest of the day, crossing the finish line at the same time. As a result, the Italian won on his HUSQVARNA coming in 1 minute ahead of the Slovakian's KTM. In 3rd position, Xavier FLICK is still doing the job on his HUSQVARNA, but now some distance off scratch, with the Frenchman arriving 00:38:31 behind the winner. He is ahead of Junior Robbie WALLACE by 00:05:42 and Veteran Pal Anders ULLEVALSETER by 00:01:49, both on KTM. In 6th position at 01:02:23, we find Pol TARRES and his YAMAHA. Amaury BARATIN decided to attack today. The Frenchman placed his KTM in 7th position in front of the Slovakian Martin BENKO, the Dutchman Stephan SAVELKOULS and the Senegalese Mamadou BOCOUM, making into the top 10 for the first time in this race. A good performance once again for the Czech Zdenek TUMA who placed his YAMAHA Quad in 16th position.
In the overall classification, Stefan SVITKO retains a lead of 00:02:46 over Maurizio GERINI. Not much, especially as it is the Italian who will open the track tomorrow. In 3rd position, Xavier FLICK now has a lead of almost 1.5 hours over Pal Anders ULLEVALSETER and is still leader of the MOTUL EXTREME RIDER category.
New victory for Philippe GOSSELIN and Christophe CRESPO in their car
The " Fous du Volants " team struck again today as Philippe GOSSELIN and Christophe CRESPO won ahead of their teammates David GERARD and Pascal DELACOUR by 00:11:48. The two OPTIPUS flew over this difficult stage and was another 00:49:43 before you could catch sight of the CAN AM of Jean DAGHER-HAYEL and Patrick ANTONIOLLI and then nearly 3 minutes more for the CAN AM of Andrea TRONCONI and Alberto BERTOLDI to show up at the finish. The Italians are ahead of their QFF RACING team-mates Rudy VOLLEBREGT and Gert TRAA. Special mention to Eric SCHIANO and Camille POURCHIER who, by finishing 6th, succeed, for the first time, in entering the top 10 on their POLARIS, part of the XTREME PLUS Team.
In the overall car classification, it is still a walk in the park for Philippe GOSSELIN and Christophe CRESPO who now have 05:42:32 over Jean DAGHER-HAYECK and Patrick ANTONIOLI and 06:49:40 over Andrea TRONCONI and Alberto BERTOLDI.
Tomorrow, Thursday 27 October, the caravan of the AFRICA ECO RACE will head for Ouad Naga. The stage will consist of 435km, 412 of which will be special stages, again with sand and breathtaking landscapes.
