STAGE 5 IN MOROCCO

Xavier FLICK is making headlines on his motorcycle

This last Moroccan special stage, 450 km long was very fast, but with a tricky wadi to cross and some difficult navigation, but did not perturb Xavier FLICK's HUSQVARNA. Starting in 5th position this morning, the Frenchman was able to take advantage of the battle between the first two in the general standings and took his first victory in a major African rally. He is ahead of the HUSQVARNA of Maurizio GERINI by 00:03:43 and the KTM of Stefan SVITKO by 00:05:41. Behind, the two YAMAHA 700 TÉNÉRÉ riders: Alessandro BOTTURI and Pol TARRES, finished 4th and 5th in front of the KTM of the ever-constant Norwegian, Pal Anders ULLEVALSETTER. Among the newcomers in the top 10 of a special stage on the AFRICA ECO RACE 2022, the Italian Lucio BELLUSCHI on a YAMAHA and the Dutchman Stephan SAVELKOULS on his KTM, coming in at 8th and 9th. We find in 7th position the Romanian Ionut FLOREA on HUSQVARANA and notably, Francesca GASPERI who has achieved quite a feat on her HONDA. Indeed, the Italian rider is the first woman since the creation of the AFRICA ECO RACE to enter the top 10 of a special stage.

In the provisional general standings, Maurizio GERINI now has a 00:02:40 lead over Stefan SVITKO. A rather slim advantage when you consider how easy it is to lose time in Mauritania. Behind, Xavier FLICK is well positioned in 3rd place. He is also leader of the MOTUL EXTREME RIDER challenge. Pal Anders ULLEVALSETER is in 4th position and is the first veteran. In 5th position, we find Pol TARRES, leader of the 700 two-cylinder category, while the British Robbie WALLACE, 6th, is the first and indeed only, Junior of this 14th edition of the ARICA ECO RACE.

And a third sucess for David GERARD and Pascal DELACOUR in their car

After having front axle problems with their OPTIMUS during the 3rd stage, David GERARD and Pascal DELACOUR have shaken things up today by winning the special, 00:02:02 in front of their team mates Philippe GOSSELIN and Christophe CRESPO, 00:19:16 in front of the Hungarian Irme VARGA and Jozsef TOMA on TOYOTA. The 4th position of the day goes to Tomas TOMECEK on his TATRA truck. It is the first time that the Czech enters the top 5. He finishes in front of Jean DAGHER-HAYECK and Patrick ANTONIOLI, once again first of the SSVs. In the category, the Franco-Senegalese crew is ahead of the Dutch Laurens MEIJER and Robbert VISSER, but also the Italians Andrea TRONCONI and Alberto BERTOLDI, all on CAN AM.
In the general four-wheel classification, Philippe GOSSELIN and Christophe CRESPO are still leading the way, ahead of Jean DAGHER-HAYECK and Patrick ANTONIOLI, who are also leaders in the SSV EXTREME RACE category ahead of Laurens MEIJER and Robbert VISSER. Irme VARGA and Jozsef TOMA are chasing them down in 4th position, ready to catch the two SSVs in front of them. In the truck category, Tomas TOMECK, in 7th position overall, is still the leader of the category. Alone in his truck, he is ahead of the MERCEDES of the Italians Giulio VERZELETTI and Giuseppe FORTUNA.

Tomorrow, Sunday 23 October, is the rest day at the edge of the lagoon of DAKHLA which should do everyone a lot of good and allow them to start the second week of the race in Mauritania in top shape.