The penultimate Moroccan stage of the AFRICA ECO RACE® 2015, traced in the form of a long descent towards the south, did not include anything insurmountable except a number of crossing points halved in order to make the navigation more interesting and selective. A difficulty well understood by all the competitors but, added to a relatively technical course, this special between Assa and Oued Aarraid still allowed the race favorites to make the difference and liven up this beautiful day bathed in the Moroccan sun.
A strong wind swept through the finish of the special stage not far from As Sakn when Pal Anders ULLEVALSETTER crossed the time point, like every day since the start of the event, in first position. However, today the fast Norwegian driver was very close to being beaten by Robert THEURETZBACHER, who came back after a hundred kilometers. But, after CP 3 of the fuel refueling, ULLEVALSETTER made his second navigation error of the day. The Austrian realized this quickly and decided to change course. Unfortunately, while trying to correct the situation, THEURETZBACHER also got lost and he finally finished 7’25” behind Pal Anders. In the end, he was even beaten by the Italian Stefano PELLONI, who returned to the race with a knife between his teeth to face the KTMs after having had an off day following the engine failure of his HONDA. Remember that the special regulations of the AFRICA ECO RACE® allow you to continue in the race despite abandoning one or even several special stages. Great comeback also from Vadim PRITULYAK, 5th in this selective sector at 15’58 » and this, for 21 seconds over Ingo WALDSCHMIDT, a real metronome since the start of the rally. Also note the entry into the top 10 of the very young Franco Senegalese Julien SANCHEZ on YAMAHA.
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