Like in 2014, the finish of the last timed sector of the Africa Eco Race 2015 was set up twenty kilometers from the town of Nouakchott and like last year smiles were present throughout all the competitors. This last leg was imagined by René METGE and his team, to give one last time as much fun as possible to all the finishers of the Africa Eco Race 2015.
There was no suspense in the bike category as Pal Anders ULLEVASETER made his point clear by winning the final stage. Behind the handlebars of his KTM 450, the Norwegian flew the course on his two wheels, and he was very happy to win Africa Eco Race 2015, which from his point of view is exactly what any rider looks for in an Off Road Rally. Behind ULLEVASETER, Ingo « The Buschman » WALDSCHMIDT signed the second time of the day, in front of the Ukrainian Vadim PRITULYAK, 3rd and this with a fractured nose from yesterday’s leg.
It is important not to forget the big fall from Robert THEURETZBACHER, who finishes 2nd over all, and who finished today’s leg in 5th place he then went off onto the liaison to Saint Louis after having been examined by the medics. In the bike ranking, the positions stayed unchanged and ULLEVASETER has 2 very strong competitors behind him, with THEURETZBACHER’s in only his second time in the rally and WALDSCHMIDT his first time in an African race.
In the cars, by signing his third stage victory, Jean Antoine SABATIER succeeds in the AFRICA ECO RACE’s winners list to Jean Louis SCHLESSER. A true honor for this 50 year old Frenchman who lives in Marrakech, Morocco but also for his navigator Jean Luc ROJAT who seemed extremely moved by their victory. A logical success in this race by elimination, where the BUGGA ONE managed to be very reliable and deliver a high level of performance. The 2nd scratch place in Ghreidat Lighjoulé came to Andrey CHEREDNIKOV behind the wheel of his HUMMER H3. The Kazakh managed to get in front of Patrick MARTIN in his Buggy VW Tarek, where as Philipe PORCHERON completes the podium of the day in the two wheel drive class of Africa Eco Race 2015.
In the truck category, even though he finished today second behind his compatriot and his teammate in the KAMAZ MASTER Sergey KUPRIANOV, the Russian Anton SHIBALOV left no chance to anybody else to win this 11th stage. The winner of the desert mammoths declared at the finish line of Africa Eco Race 2015 that this year was a lot harder to win than in 2013 when he also won. Behind SHIBALOV and KUPRIANOV, Thomas TOMECEK finished 3rd of the stage and the Czech will place his TATRA on the third step of the podium installed on the edge of the Lac Rose in Dakar.
After a 291 km Liaison, with a quick passage at the border in between Mauritius and Senegal, the competitors rejoined the last bivouac set up in Saint Louis, one of the biggest towns in Senegal, situated on the border with the Ocean, the Sahara and the Bush. After a last starlight night in Senegal, it is light hearted that the finishers of Africa Eco Race 2015 will start off today for the final liaison to Kayar, a small fishermen’s village on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, where the start line will be held on the beach. The last 24 kilometers of the stage will feel like a prize for some and a relief for the others. The podium will be held on the edge of the Lac Rose where all the heroes of Africa Eco Race 2015 will receive their trophies and will once again be the theater of a lot of joy and emotion.
