Jacopo Cerutti’s hopes of repeating as Africa Eco Race winner seemed on the ropes when his tire mousse came off in Stage #6 then he fell sick to a gastrointestinal virus. Despite the setbacks, the Aprilia rider rallied with a frantic run on Friday to close the nearly ten-minute gap to Yamaha rival Alessandro Botturi down to nine seconds entering the final timed stage.

While clinging on to such a slim advantage, Botturi at least had the benefit of not being the first bike on course in Stage #11 since he finished second the day prior. This allowed him to keep pace with Cerutti, and the two were close on the timesheet for the first 60 kilometers.

In the final 20 kilometers, however, disaster struck. Some plastic netting “came from nowhere” and got snagged in the wheels and chain, eventually tangling itself in the drivetrain and brakes. Botturi had to stop multiple times to remove it, costing him more time on Cerutti.

“To suffer such lousy luck is unfortunate, but this can happen in rally,” Botturi commented. “I would like to congratulate Jacopo and his team on the victory and a fantastic race. It was one of the toughest battles of my career, and I have nothing but respect for him.”

Cerutti pulled away to beat Botturi by 35 seconds, flipping the lead back to him on the final day and securing his second straight AER bike win by just 26 seconds.

“I started really well and I knew I would have to give one hundred percent to close the gap,” Cerutti stated. “It was a hard race, full of unexpected surprises, but the team and I knew how to react in every situation. I wish to dedicate this win to the team and their tireless efforts. Winning the Africa Eco Race for the second consecutive year is a dream.”

The 450cc class win also changed hands on the final day as Guillaume Borne finished third behind Cerutti and Botturi. Guillem Martinez Boronat, who entered Saturday leading by 1:54, finished 3:15 back of Borne.

Sunday will see the 12th and final stage, a short run to Lac Rose in Dakar, Senegal. Its results will not be included in the final classificiation.

Stage #11 winners

Moto

Class	Overall	Number	Rider	Team	Time
450cc	3	9	Guillaume Borne	BB Racing Team	1:05:30
Over 450cc	54	62	Junichi Oshitamoto	SMRP with Bivouac Osaka	1:52:31
Multi-Cylinder (650cc–1000cc)	1	1	Jacopo Cerutti	Aprilia Racing GCorse	1:01:54
Multi-Cylinder (Over 1000cc)	6	5	Joan Pedrero	Harley-Davidson	1:08:15
Quad	44	99	Laurent Hellemans	Hellau	1:30:55

Auto

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Team	Time
T1.1	3	202	Imre Varga	Varga Racing Team	1:11:02
T1.3	2	200	Benoit Fretin	Century Racing	1:10:07
T5.1	6	401	William van Groningen	Dust Warriors	1:16:50
SSV	1	251	Pierre Lafay	Team Gazzafond	1:03:33

Overall winners

Moto

Class	Overall	Number	Rider	Team	Time
450cc	3	9	Guillaume Borne	BB Racing Team	38:46:35
Over 450cc	58	62	Junichi Oshitamoto	SMRP with Bivouac Osaka	147:15:47
Multi-Cylinder (650cc–1000cc)	1	1	Jacopo Cerutti	Aprilia Racing GCorse	36:15:10
Multi-Cylinder (Over 1000cc)	8	5	Joan Pedrero	Harley-Davidson	40:39:54
Quad	DNF	N/A	No Finishers	N/A	N/A

Auto

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Team	Time
T1.1	7	204	Magdalena Zajac	Proxcars TME Rally Team	53:39:35
T1.3	1	200	Benoit Fretin	Century Racing	32:36:30
T5.1	4	400	Gerrit Zuurmond	Rainbow Truck Team	39:34:12
SSV	2	250	Martijn van den Broek	QFF Racing	37:12:48

Featured image credit: Piaggio Group