Gautier Paulin’s years of motocross experience came in handy on Thursday when he felt the rear wheel on his Yamaha Ténéré kick upward.

Stage 4 of the Carta Rallye was a loop of M’Hamid that had to be rebuilt due to flooding. The new terrain was filled with pistes and rocks, leaving riders striving to hang onto the handlebars more than they ordinarily would.

Paulin hit a rut that launched the back of his bike into the air. The MXGP alumnus kept the bike steady and bring the rear back down onto the ground without issue.

He wasn’t the only rider to receive some hang time on that particular rut. Adrien Costes briefly lifted off his bike’s saddle when he hit it. Christopher Rongeat got enough air that he took it a step further and cleanly pulled a superman.

However, style points unfortunately don’t exist in rally raid. Otherwise, Rongeat would have finished the stage higher than 13th. Paulin was fifth and Costes right behind in sixth.

Most riders who missed Stage 3 because their bikes had yet to be recovered from the river on Tuesday rejoined the race Thursday. Noa Sainct, who fell from ninth overall to 31st after not racing Wednesday, finished tenth despite getting lost in the dunes. The effort moves him up to 25th overall.

Martim Ventura scored his second straight stage win to extend his lead. He is now ahead of Benjamin Melot, whom he edged out by 33 seconds, with 13 minutes in the overall.

Stage 4 winners

Moto

Class	Overall	Number	Competitor	Team	Total Time
Up to 450cc	1	84	Martim Ventura	Old Friends Rally Team	2:34:54
Over 450cc	3	3	Alessandro Botturi	Yamaha Ténéré World Raid Team	2:50:19
Quad	DNF	N/A	No Finishers	N/A	DNF

Auto

Class	Overall	Number	Competitor	Team	Total Time
Ultimate	1	101	Simon Vitse	Team Vitse	2:18:08
2WD	8	102	Jérôme Cambier	Team Vitse	3:09:25
4×4	24	108	Laurent Ducreux	Team Ducreux	4:13:41
SSV Open	2	236	Pedro Gonçalves	Franco Sport	2:52:36
SSV Series	3	210	David Casteu	Casteu Trophy	2:57:28

Leaders after Stage 4

Moto

Class	Overall	Number	Competitor	Team	Total Time
Up to 450cc	1	84	Martim Ventura	Old Friends Rally Team	11:48:41
Over 450cc	3	21	Gautier Paulin	Yamaha Ténéré World Raid Team	12:39:55
Quad	34	45	Alexis Varagne	Dragon Racing	29:09:42

Auto

Class	Overall	Number	Competitor	Team	Total Time
Ultimate	1	101	Simon Vitse	Team Vitse	11:36:00
2WD	23	105	Nicolas Delencre	Config Racing	19:19:06
4×4	27	108	Laurent Ducreux	Team Ducreux	20:03:07
SSV Open	2	204	Jérôme Pelichet	Team Pelichet	13:43:25
SSV Series	6	210	David Casteu	Casteu Trophy	14:13:42

Featured image credit: Sandro Schmid