Jacopo Cerutti has his work cut out for him if he wants to win a second straight Africa Eco Race. As if trying to close the gap on Alessandro Botturi wasn’t difficult enough, he’s now having to do so while battling a gastrointestinal virus.

“I’ve not been feeling well,” began Cerutti. “I’ve had a gastrointestinal virus and haven’t been able to eat or drink since yesterday. I started first, but leading the way with so many dunes was tough. My focus was on completing the stage as best as I could.”

Forced to take it easier, Cerutti finished Stage #8 with a 13th overall and fifth in Multi-Cylinder for his engine range. Botturi placed ahead of him by three minutes, allowing him to extend his advantage over Cerutti in the overall to 9:49.

While it might be a stretch to say an epidemic is pervading the AER’s bivouac, Cerutti is not the only rider to fall sick since the race began. Vincent Biau missed three stages with what he called symptoms worse than the flu before rejoining in Stage #5. Even Botturi fell off the pace the same day of Biau’s return because of a fever.

Despite Cerutti’s condition, Aprilia still found success on Wednesday as Francesco Montanari scored his first stage win of the race, holding off Pål Anders Ullevålseter by three minutes. He moves past the 450cc of Guillaume Borne for third overall behind Botturi and Cerutti, making the current podium an Italian lockout.

Stage #8 was the first fully timed leg after the seventh was cut short by a plane accident that took out Andrea Perfetti. The route, a loop starting and ending in Amodjar, included new tracks through the Mauritanian wilderness and Chinguetti.

“It was a very tough stage, with strong winds and sandstorms making navigation extremely tough,” Botturi commented. “It would have been easy to lose a lot of time, so I made sure that I caught Cerutti at the earliest opportunity, and from there until the end of the stage, I stayed with him to increase my lead in the overall standings. There are only three more timed specials to go, and I have a good advantage, but this is rally, and anything can still happen.”

Perfetti, who suffered a concussion when an ultralight plane flown by race organizers hit a supply truck as well as him while he was refueling, was cleared to return to Italy tonight or tomorrow morning. He had been placed in an induced coma to stop the bleeding, and the hematoma reabsorbed on its own by Wednesday.

Wednesday was also the first AER stage for the great Stéphane Peterhansel, riding with the Ténéré Spirit Experience in a non-competitive capacity.

Stage #8 winners

Moto

Class	Overall	Number	Rider	Team	Time
450cc	3	2	Pål Anders Ullevålseter	Norwit Racing	4:19:22
Over 450cc	49	62	Junichi Oshitamoto	SMRP with Bivouac Osaka	8:27:48
Multi-Cylinder	1	22	Francesco Montanari	Aprilia Racing GCorse	4:16:27
Multi-Cylinder (Over 1000cc)	12	5	Joan Pedrero	Harley-Davidson	4:41:46
Quad	56	99	Laurent Hellemans	Hellau	28:25:00

Auto

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Team	Time
T1.1	3	204	Magdalena Zajac	Proxcars TME Rally Team	4:41:40
T1.3	1	200	Benoit Fretin	Century Racing	4:27:26
T5.1	4	401	Gerrit Zuurmond	Rainbow Truck Team	5:04:44
SSV	2	250	Martijn van den Broek	QFF Racing	4:34:44

Leaders after Stage #8

Moto

Class	Overall	Number	Rider	Team	Time
450cc	4	9	Guillaume Borne	BB Racing Team	32:06:24
Over 450cc	58	62	Junichi Oshitamoto	SMRP with Bivouac Osaka	122:53:16
Multi-Cylinder (650cc–1000cc)	1	3	Alessandro Botturi	Yamaha Ténéré World Raid Team	30:10:46
Multi-Cylinder (Over 1000cc)	10	5	Joan Pedrero	Harley-Davidson	33:30:05
Quad	63	99	Laurent Hellemans	Hellau	182:56:29

Auto

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Team	Time
T1.1	6	203	Wietse Tates	Kort Door de Bocht Offroad Racing Team	40:38:25
T1.3	1	200	Benoit Fretin	Century Racing	26:11:06
T5.1	4	400	Gerrit Zuurmond	Rainbow Truck Team	32:12:49
SSV	2	250	Martijn van den Broek	QFF Racing	30:18:43

Featured image credit: Piaggio Group