The seventh stage of the Africa Eco Race was cut short after a frightening plane accident in the refuel station that injured rider Andrea Perfetti.

An ultralight aircraft used by race organizers was preparing to take off when a mechanical issue struck, causing it to skid into a supply truck providing fuel for riders. As the plane slid, its tail hit Perfetti in the chest and knocked him to the ground; he remained conscious and was quickly attended to.

Perfetti was airlifted to the Military Hospital in Nouakchott, where doctors ruled out major fractures and internal bleeding but noted he has a concussion. Although sedated to monitor the brain, reports state he does not have life-threatening injuries and is in stable condition.

“The special stage of the 7th leg, connecting Bénichar to Amodjar in Mauritania, was neutralized at the refueling checkpoint at kilometer 241 due to an accident that occurred shortly before 1 p.m.,” reads a statement from race officials.

“One of the organization’s light aircraft, during takeoff and for a technical reason still unknown, collided with the truck positioned to refuel the competitors. A motorcyclist was seriously injured in the accident. The injured party is the Italian rider No. 58, Andrea Perfetti.

“With a medical vehicle already on site, the injured rider was quickly attended to before being airlifted by helicopter to the nearest hospital.

“The mobilization of aerial rescue resources forced the race management to neutralize the stage.”

Perfetti was 41st overall and 31st in the 450cc class after the first six stages.

With the rest of the leg called off, the stage was frozen. Jacopo Cerutti set the fastest time for bikes in his quest to chase down Alessandro Botturi, who lost ten minutes to a navigational error, while Francesco Montanari was second to complete a 1–2 finish for Aprilia.

“On a day like this, performance is secondary,” said Aprilia team director Massimo Rivola. “Our thoughts are with Andrea Perfetti, hoping that his condition will improve as soon as possible. We are thinking of him and sending him all our strength. Well done to Jacopo and Francesco, who concluded the day in the best possible way.”

Stage #7 results at time of stoppage

Moto

Class	Overall	Number	Rider	Team	Time
450cc	3	88	Scott Britnell	Grit Adventures	3:01:20
Over 450cc	50	62	Junichi Oshitamoto	SMRP with Bivouac Osaka	6:52:19
Multi-Cylinder (650cc–1000cc)	1	1	Jacopo Cerutti	Aprilia Racing GCorse	2:51:54
Multi-Cylinder (Over 1000cc)	41	5	Joan Pedrero	Harley-Davidson	4:15:07
Quad	66	99	Laurent Hellemans	Hellau	33:09:00

Auto

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Team	Time
T1.1	9	204	Magdalena Zajac	Proxcars TME Rally Team	4:37:00
T1.3	2	200	Benoit Fretin	Century Racing	56:47
T5.1	5	401	William van Groningen	Dust Warriors	1:33:16
SSV	1	251	Pierre Lafay	Team Gazzafond	54:32

Leaders after Stage #7

Moto

Class	Overall	Number	Rider	Team	Time
450cc	3	9	Guillaume Borne	BB Racing Team	27:38:06
Over 450cc	61	62	Junichi Oshitamoto	SMRP with Bivouac Osaka	114:25:28
Multi-Cylinder (650cc–1000cc)	1	3	Alessandro Botturi	Yamaha Ténéré World Raid Team	25:31:26
Multi-Cylinder (Over 1000cc)	11	5	Joan Pedrero	Harley-Davidson	28:48:49
Quad	65	99	Laurent Hellemans	Hellau	154:31:29

Auto

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Team	Time
T1.1	7	202	Imre Varga	Varga Racing Team	29:56:23
T1.3	1	200	Benoit Fretin	Century Racing	21:43:40
T5.1	4	400	Gerrit Zuurmond	Rainbow Truck Team	27:08:05
SSV	2	250	Martijn van den Broek	QFF Racing	25:43:59