The second stage of the Africa Eco Race went towards the famous dunes of Merzouga. Ex-rally driver Pierre-Yves Loubet (Apache) won the stage in the open category of cars, trucks and SSVs. Pascal Feryn (Toyota Hilux) finished ninth overall and first car. In the standings, Feryn replaces Koen Wauters (Toyota Hilux) as leader. The singer-presenter, like many other participants, lost a significant amount of time searching for a waypoint.
After a cold night with temperatures around freezing point, the organization had another surprise in store. The chaos of the timing during the first stage continued on Tuesday morning when it turned out that it was not Tom De Leeuw, Cédric Feryn and Bjorn Burgelman (Ginaf) who had won the stage. After a nightly recalculation, it turned out that the trio had ultimately finished twelfth instead of first. Koen Wauters and Pascal Feryn remained first and second among the cars and were fifth and sixth in the general classification. The victory in the open category of cars, trucks and SSVs went to Spaniard Carlos Vento and his co-driver Carlos Ruiz Moreno (Can-Am). Tuesday’s ranking for motorcycles was in order. After Tuesday’s rather short stage, the participants faced a trip of 425 km on Wednesday, of which 383 km were against time. Besides the dunes, the emphasis was on navigation. In the open category, the stage victory went to Pierre-Louis Loubet and François Borsotto. Pascal Feryn finished as the first Belgian and the first car in ninth place, 2h08:36 behind Loubet’s buggy. Koen Wauters lost more than one hour while searching for a waypoint and finished thirteenth overall and third car. Another five minutes further on, Tom De Leeuw, Cédric Feryn and Bjorn Burgelman (Ginaf) crossed the finish line in fourteenth. Frenchman Gauthier Paulin (Apache) takes the lead in the standings. Pascal Feryn is sixth and the first car, closely followed by Koen Wauters, who is seventh. Tom De Leeuw, Cédric Feryn and Bjorn Burgelman remain twelfth and his third truck.
The reactions
Pascal Feryn and Kurt Keysers had an almost flawless day. “We had to use the sandbanks once because we got stuck in the treacherous dunes of Merzouga,” says Feryn. “Ten minutes later we were on our way again. Afterwards, I and a lot of other participants lost a lot of time looking for a waypoint. At some point we all stopped for a moment to have a meeting, so to speak. After consultation, everyone went their own way again. We were one of the first riders to find that damn waypoint that was hidden behind a small dune.”
Things went less smoothly for Koen Wauters. “Today was a varied day in every respect,” he begins his analysis. “After the fast run-up we dived into the dunes. Taking those dunes with this car was a bliss. Surfing on the dune ridges just as Tom De Leeuw had explained it to me. It created a blissful feeling and a broad smile.” “For a while, because a little further on things went a lot less smoothly,” Wauters continues. “The organization had said during the briefing on Tuesday that the navigation would be tough. They were right. We went into the woods with several participants, looking for a solution that never came. There were traces everywhere and time passed mercilessly. We easily lost an hour and a quarter there. Afterwards the solution turned out to be very easy. All in all it was a beautiful stage where we literally lost our way for a moment. For us, this rally is a thorough test session. And it was again very satisfying today. On to tomorrow.”
With the engines…
The Italian Jacopo Cerutti (Aprilia) won there for the second day in a row. He preceded the Yamahas of Tarres and Botturi. In the standings, Botturi has an 8:53 lead over first pursuer Pol Tarres. Alessandro Botturi is third at 10:17. Belgian Nicolas Charlier (Yamaha) finished ninth on Wednesday and climbs to eighth place in the standings.