Just before the resting day and even if the stage was shorten by a few kilometers due to a flooded oued, this last Moroccan stage of Africa Eco Race 2015 was full of animation and gave us new winners in all 3 categories, Bike, Car and truck.
First of all, the victory of Robert THEURETZBACHER in front of Pal Anders ULLEVALSETER. Same scene as the previous day, the Austrian caught up on the Norwegian and finally passed him until the end of the stage, about 20 kilometers away from Laayoune.
An important victory for the one who had won 5 special stages in 2014. Behind, Gilles VANDERWEYEN was once more very constant and ended the day in 3rd position. The Belgian took advantage of WALDSCHMIDT’s navigation error to strengthen his 3rd position in the général rankings of Africa Eco Race 2015. The nice performance of the day was for David FRETIGNE as he finishing 5th in the bike category. He crossed the line 15 minutes behind the winner and considering he is riding a « BIG » 1200cc YAMAHA it is a very nice performance from the frenchman.
In the Auto category, the surprise of the day was Anton GRIGOROV’s and his OSCAR. Indeed, the Russian won the 5th stage in front of Andrey CHEREDNIKOV and his H3 Hummer. This is a good news for GRIGOROV who lost about 1H45 due to various problems since the beginning of Africa Eco Race 2015. Jacky LOOMANS finished third of the day and was the strategic winner of the day as his two opponent in the général standings, Miroslav ZAPLETAL and Yuriy SAZONOV, both broke the rear differentials of their H3 HUMMERs.
On the trucks side, after a « so so » stage, Russia’s Sergey KUPRIANOV at the Wheel of his KAMAZ pushed very hard and finished 2nd in the Auto-Truck ranks only 1’54’’ behind GRIGOROV. The other KAMAZ which is gas-powered and driven by SHIBALOV finished in front of Elisabete JACINTO and her MAN. Anton SHIBALOV therefore completes the day’s podium but most importantly is 2nd in the général standings of Africa Eco Race 2015 after a week of race.
Today, the caravan of the Africa Eco Race 2015 has a rest day in Dakhla in southern Moroccan, right on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean. A good opportunity for everybody to charge their battery and repare if needed before the second week of race in Mauritania and its 7 stages.
