Tomáš Ouředníček’s Toyota Hilux Overdrive had been giving him fits during the Africa Eco Race’s Morocco leg. So of course the engine grenaded the moment it tasted Mauritanian air for the first time.

Ouředníček entered Monday’s stage with momentum after winning Stage #5 and being the fastest T1.1 car for the last two legs. However, his Hilux did not make it easy as it had a differential failure on the first day, then water mixed with the engine’s oil in Stage #4 and an oil leak greeted his team upon finishing the fifth. Despite the chaos, he was second overall, trailing Benoit Fretin by 41 minutes entering Monday.

The rest day on Sunday provided an opportunity for Toyota Gazoo Racing Czech to rectify any potential issues. Unfortunately, while things went smoothly early on as he led through the first checkpoint, the engine suddenly started to fail and left him coasting before coming to a stop just 80 kilometers from the finish.

Petr Foltýn, a fellow Czech driver in a service truck from 2024 AER truck winner Tomáš Tomeček’s team, put the Hilux on the flatbed to take it to the finish.

“Everything was running like clockwork and the mood in the car was great, but then the engine suddenly changed its tune,” Ouředníček recalled. “Before we could do anything, a thick cloud of smoke engulfed us. For a moment, we felt like we were on fire. The oil pressure and temperature were completely fine, but the engine gave up and we were left stuck with about 80 km to go.”

With Ouředníček out of the picture, Fretin now has a near-insurmountable advantage for the cars barring disaster. Martijn van den Broek, the new SSV leader, sits second but nearly four hours back and facing a challenge from Pierre Lafay.

He was not the only contender with issues. Defending bike winner Jacopo Cerutti, who was second on the two-wheel leaderboard, had the mousse on his rear tire come loose because of the heat. After addressing the matter, he went on to finish 26th overall and sixth in class.

“It had happened to me a few years ago, so I knew how to deal with the situation,” Cerutti commented. “I decided to push as hard as I could and at the 150th kilometer I stopped, grabbed my tools, removed the rear rim and ripped off the tyre. I started again and finished on the rim. Despite everything, I managed to limit the damage.”

Despite the development, Cerutti remains second behind Alessandro Botturi, who cruised to the stage win. Botturi increased his advantage by 14 minutes from 1:30 to 15:30.

Stage #6 winners

Moto

Class	Overall	Number	Rider	Team	Time
450cc	2	2	Pål Anders Ullevålseter	Norwit Racing	1:34:41
Over 450cc	60	62	Junichi Oshitamoto	SMRP with Bivouac Osaka	2:34:47
Multi-Cylinder (650cc–1000cc)	1	3	Alessandro Botturi	Yamaha Ténéré World Raid Team	1:31:45
Multi-Cylinder (Over 1000cc)	10	5	Joan Pedrero	Harley-Davidson	1:41:54
Quad	67	99	Laurent Hellemans	Hellau	20:30:00

Auto

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Team	Time
T1.1	2	204	Magdalena Zajac	Proxcars TME Rally Team	1:25:57
T1.3	1	200	Benoit Fretin	Century Racing	1:22:46
T5.1	3	401	William van Groningen	Dust Warriors	1:36:21
SSV	5	250	Martijn van den Broek	QFF Racing	1:40:19

Leaders after Stage #6

Moto

Class	Overall	Number	Rider	Team	Time
450cc	3	9	Guillaume Borne	BB Racing Team	24:07:52
Over 450cc	64	62	Junichi Oshitamoto	SMRP with Bivouac Osaka	107:33:09
Multi-Cylinder (650cc–1000cc)	1	3	Alessandro Botturi	Yamaha Ténéré World Raid Team	22:30:55
Multi-Cylinder (Over 1000cc)	6	5	Joan Pedrero	Harley-Davidson	24:33:42
Quad	62	99	Laurent Hellemans	Hellau	121:22:29

Auto

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Team	Time
T1.1	4	202	Imre Varga	Varga Racing Team	25:32:23
T1.3	1	200	Benoit Fretin	Century Racing	20:46:53
T5.1	5	400	Gerrit Zuurmond	Rainbow Truck Team	25:34:49
SSV	2	250	Martijn van den Broek	QFF Racing	20:46:53