AFRICA ECO RACE: Major navigation error for the top 3 in the last Moroccan stage!

Words and images courtesy AER

Picture above; Deep sand is one thing but it was navigation issues that affected the leading three competitors in the final Morrocan stage

Belgian Nicolas Charlier shines while the leaders slip in the Africa Eco Race…

A dramatic turn of events in the motorcycle category; at kilometer 150, the top three in the general standings took the wrong course.

Alessandro Botturi, in the lead, made a navigation error, dragging his pursuers Jacopo Cerutti and PåL Anders Ullevålseter along.

On the other hand, Nicolas Charlier, starting from fourth place on his Yamaha Tenere World Raid Team XTZ690D, chose to trust his own reading of the roadbook.

A winning bet for the Belgian, who claimed an impressive stage victory. Meanwhile, the three favourites finished far behind; Jacopo Cerutti in 35th place (+47’), Alessandro Botturi 37th at +50’, and PåL Anders Ullevålseter gets the 38th position at +51’.

In the general standings, Jacopo Cerutti holds onto the lead with only 1 minute and 30 seconds ahead of Botturi, while Francesco Montanari is in third place, 1h22 behind his team mate.

Thanks to their great performances today, Guillaume Borne and Nicolas Charlier climb to 4th and 6th positions, respectively.

As forUllevålseter, he drops to 5th place.

The suspense remains high as the second week of competition in Mauritania approaches, where Yamaha and Aprilia will continue their fierce rivalry.

Heading to Mauritania, the suspense remains intact.

With Sunday’s rest day on Sunday in Dakhla, the teams had the chance to care for the machines and bodies and head towards Mauritania feeling a bit more rested.

After an intense first week and over 1,735 kilometers of specials covered, the suspense remains total in each category.

The tight gaps promise an equally thrilling second week of racing on legendary tracks where anything can still happen.

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