After four days of Jacopo Cerutti and Alessandro Botturi battling it out for the Africa Eco Race lead, both of them ended up trudging to the Stage #5 finish together.

The 435-kilometer stage from Laayoune to Dakhla was a nightmare for the leaders as navigation errors caused them to get lost. Cerruti attributed his troubles to a new navigation system that he received because his old one was malfunctioning, only for the replacement to switch off just two kilometers in.

In the Yamaha camp, Botturi woke up with a fever. Not at his best, his performance drastically dipped and Cerruti caught up to him by KM 30. Both ended up getting lost together, so they decided to just ride together to the finish. Cerruti finished a dismal 35th as a result with Botturi three minutes back in 36th, though it was enough for the former to retake the overall lead by 1:30.

Botturi is not the only rider currently battling an illness as classmate Vincent Biau had been sidelined from Tuesday until Friday with the flu. Biau rejoined the race on Saturday and finished 12th in 650cc–1000cc. Fortunately for both riders, Sunday is a rest day to maximize their recoveries.

“I wasn’t sure I could ride, but I knew if I could make it through today, I would have an extra day to recover in Dakhla,” Botturi explained. “I was nowhere near 100%, which led to me making a mistake with my navigation, but so did many of the other riders. Once I had realised my error, I was determined to make up for lost time, and I rode with Cerutti to the finish, giving it absolutely everything. In the end, while I conceded some time to him, it could have been a lot worse.”

With Botturi and Cerruti out of the picture, Nicolas Charlier ended up taking the lead and ultimately his first career stage win in rally raid. Charlier is part of the Ténéré Spirit Experience, a satellite of the Yamaha factory team that Botturi is on. Coupled with a fourth the day before, the Belgian improved from tenth overall to sixth; he had been 15th after three legs.

Tomáš Ouředníček scored his first outright win in the cars after stringing together back-to-back runners-up behind Benoit Fretin. While he finally managed to avoid mechanical issues during the stage, he was not fully out of the woods as his team discovered an oil leak upon reaching the finish.

Stage #5 was the last in Morocco (or the disputed Western Sahara region) before crossing into Mauritania on Monday. Given the tensions in the area, United Nations peacekeepers were stationed at the end of the stage in Dakhla; Ouředníček noted those near the finish greeted him as he arrived.

Stage #5 winners

Moto

Class	Overall	Number	Rider	Team	Time
450cc	3	71	Massimiliano Guerrini	Solarys Racing	4:11:48
Over 450cc	61	62	Junichi Oshitamoto	SMRP with Bivouac Osaka	6:54:22
Multi-Cylinder (650cc–1000cc)	1	24	Nicolas Charlier	Yamaha Ténéré World Raid Team	4:08:24
Multi-Cylinder (Over 1000cc)	8	5	Joan Pedrero	Harley-Davidson	4:17:45
Quad	68	99	Laurent Hellemans	Hellau	27:50:00

Auto

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Team	Time
T1.1	1	207	Tomáš Ouředníček	Toyota Gazoo Racing Czech	3:28:03
T1.3	2	200	Benoit Fretin	Century Racing	3:29:37
T5.1	7	400	Gerrit Zuurmond	Rainbow Truck Team	4:05:36
SSV	5	250	Martijn van den Broek	QFF Racing	4:02:53

Leaders after Stage #5

Moto

Class	Overall	Number	Rider	Team	Time
450cc	4	9	Guillaume Borne	BB Racing Team	22:23:59
Over 450cc	65	62	Junichi Oshitamoto	SMRP with Bivouac Osaka	104:58:22
Multi-Cylinder (650cc–1000cc)	1	1	Jacopo Cerutti	Aprilia Racing GCorse	20:57:40
Multi-Cylinder (Over 1000cc)	7	5	Joan Pedrero	Harley-Davidson	22:51:48
Quad	62	99	Laurent Hellemans	Hellau	100:52:29

Auto

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Team	Time
T1.1	2	207	Tomáš Ouředníček	Toyota Gazoo Racing Czech	20:05:19
T1.3	1	200	Benoit Fretin	Century Racing	19:24:07
T5.1	5	400	Gerrit Zuurmond	Rainbow Truck Team	23:50:19
SSV	3	250	Martijn van den Broek	QFF Racing	20:49:34

Featured image credit: Ténéré Spirit Experience