It’s been smooth sailing for Martim Ventura across the Moroccan dunes as of late, and Friday was no exception as he claimed his third consecutive stage win at the Carta Rallye.

As he did on Thursday, Ventura beat Benjamin Melot and Alessandro Botturi for the Stage 5 victory. His time of 3:05:58 was nearly 11 minutes faster than Melot and 14 minutes on Botturi.

“It went well. I opened the track all day, I didn’t get caught,” said Ventura. “I think gained a lot of time, so I believe I managed to keep a good pace now towards the end. There was a bit of hesitation in my rhythm and I think I could’ve been a little more aggressive there, but it was a good workout too.

“It’s been five days, there are still two to go, it’s a long, hard race.”

His lead over Melot in the overall also grows from 12:27 to 23:11. Gautier Paulin finished behind Botturi but remains atop the Over 450cc class by 53 minutes.

Kevin Gallas drops from fourth overall to sixth after he got lost near the finish, relegating him to 19th for the day.

“Now I learned that if you’re lost, don’t think that you’ll find the way,” Gallas remarked.

The top spot in SSV Open changed hands yet again as Hugues Lacam won the stage for the class, clearing third-placed Jérôme Pelichet by 14 minutes. Pelichet had taken the lead in Stage 4, but now trails by 11:09.

Stage 5 winners

Moto

Class	Overall	Number	Competitor	Team	Total Time
Up to 450cc	1	84	Martim Ventura	Old Friends Rally Team	3:05:58
Over 450cc	3	3	Alessandro Botturi	Yamaha Ténéré World Raid Team	3:19:44
Quad	22	45	Alexis Varagne	Dragon Racing	4:48:26

Auto

Class	Overall	Number	Competitor	Team	Total Time
Ultimate	1	101	Simon Vitse	Team Vitse	2:49:47
2WD	3	102	Jérôme Cambier	Team Vitse	3:09:31
4×4	34	230	Mantas Bernickis	BRO Racing	4:59:28
SSV Open	2	201	Hugues Lacam	Speed Up	3:08:39
SSV Series	7	210	David Casteu	Casteu Trophy	3:22:14

Leaders after Stage 5

Moto

Class	Overall	Number	Competitor	Team	Total Time
Up to 450cc	1	84	Martim Ventura	Old Friends Rally Team	14:54:39
Over 450cc	3	21	Gautier Paulin	Yamaha Ténéré World Raid Team	16:02:32
Quad	31	45	Alexis Varagne	Dragon Racing	33:58:08

Auto

Class	Overall	Number	Competitor	Team	Total Time
Ultimate	1	101	Simon Vitse	Team Vitse	14:25:47
2WD	19	105	Nicolas Delencre	Config Racing	22:33:49
4×4	25	108	Laurent Ducreux	Team Ducreux	25:11:14
SSV Open	2	201	Hugues Lacam	Speed Up	16:54:30
SSV Series	6	210	David Casteu	Casteu Trophy	17:35:56

Featured image credit: Martim Ventura