Sunday marked the conclusion of the 16th Africa Eco Race, stretching from Mpal to Dakar, Senegal, and finishing by the pink-tinted waters of Lac Rose.

Stage #12 was timed but not included in the results, which had been finalized following the 11th leg on Saturday. Thus, it was basically a glorified victory lap for those like Jacopo Cerutti and Benoit Fretin.

Cerutti secured his second straight Africa Eco Race title on the bike side after dueling all rally with Alessandro Botturi, mounting a dramatic comeback in the final two days. Botturi set the fastest time on Sunday, beating Cerruti by 41 seconds even if it did not matter in the big picture.

“It is always a pleasure to end the race alongside the legendary Lac Rose here in Dakar, as it is so historic,” said Botturi. “I always get emotional when I reach the finish line here, especially after such an incredible rally. It was an epic duel between myself and Jacopo, and while I would have loved to have won, he deserved it just as much as I did, and this is rally, whereas we know anything can happen.”

Benoit Fretin survived among the four-wheelers, where basically every other class winner finished hours back of him after having at least one stage retirement or other major misfortune.

Stage #12 winners

Moto

Class	Overall	Number	Rider	Team	Time
450cc	2	2	Pål Anders Ullevålseter	Norwit Racing	12:16
Over 450cc	53	62	Junichi Oshitamoto	SMRP with Bivouac Osaka	23:58
Multi-Cylinder (650cc–1000cc)	1	3	Alessandro Botturi	Yamaha Ténéré World Raid Team	11:57
Multi-Cylinder (Over 1000cc)	14	5	Joan Pedrero	Harley-Davidson	15:05
Quad	DNF	N/A	No Finishers	N/A	N/A

Auto

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Team	Time
T1.1	1	204	Magdalena Zajac	Proxcars TME Rally Team	11:52
T1.3	3	200	Benoit Fretin	Century Racing	13:26
T5.1	5	401	William van Groningen	Dust Warriors	14:15
SSV	4	251	Pierre Lafay	Team Gazzafond	13:43

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