The penultimate stage of the Carta Rallye saw a legendary face to the bivouac in Merzouga as Stéphane Peterhansel arrived to take part. The 14-time Dakar Rally champion is doing the two weekend stages in the non-competitive Raid class on his Yamaha Ténéré 700.

Peterhansel, holder of six Dakar titles on a bike, has been returning to his two-wheeled roots since 2023 by entering races such as the Morocco Desert Challenge and Swank Rally. In January, he missed the Dakar Rally for the first time since 1994 to instead do the Africa Eco Race on the Ténéré.

Like the AER, however, his Carta Rallye entry is not an effort to compete for the win (if him joining on the second-to-last stage wasn’t obvious). Peterhansel is riding as part of the Ténéré Spirit Experience, a non-racing program that offers Yamaha factory support for Ténéré bike owners.

“It’s always a pleasure to come and ride the Ténéré, and around Merzuga we’ll be able to see some magnificent places,” said Peterhansel.

While Peterhansel was mainly there for the experience in the Moroccan desert, Martim Ventura was busy tightening his grip on the Bike overall. He was the only rider on Saturday with a time below four hours to score his fourth consecutive stage victory. Runner-up Benjamin Melot recorded a 4:16:00 and trails Ventura by nearly 40 minutes with one stage to go.

Kevin Gallas finished third and tops for the Over 450cc bikes, though his chances of winning the class overall are slim barring disaster for both of his Yamaha Ténéré World Raid allies. Gautier Paulin leads Alessandro Botturi in the class by 45 minutes, and has 55 minutes on Gallas.

On the other hand, Gallas’ stage win moves him past Attilio Fert into the top five for all bikes.

“I still remember watching Dakar on TV and being a Peterhansel fan,” Gallas remarked. “Today, we are in Africa together talking about the stage. Am I dreaming?”

The top four on the Auto side remains untouched. A sixth stage win means Simon Vitse remains at the top with two-and-a-half hours on Hugues Lacam for the outright lead.

Of course, Lacam’s focus is on the SSV Open battle as he tries to keep Jérôme Pelichet at bay. Lacam leads Pelichet and Pedro Gonçalves by 11 and 26 minutes, respectively.

The SSV Series win will likely come down to a final-stage duel between David Casteu and Joel Labille. Casteu had entered Stage 6 with a 22-minute advantage, but finished the day in third behind Labille and Adrien Choblet. Labille beat him by 26 minutes to take the five-minute lead going into the final day. Choblet is third but 59 minutes back of Labille, meaning a double retirement would be his only shot to steal the overall.

Stage 6 winners

Moto

Class	Overall	Number	Competitor	Team	Total Time
Up to 450cc	1	84	Martim Ventura	Old Friends Rally Team	3:59:42
Over 450cc	3	71	Kevin Gallas	Ténéré Spirit Experience	4:21:45
Quad	21	45	Alexis Varagne	Dragon Racing	6:30:54

Auto

Class	Overall	Number	Competitor	Team	Total Time
Ultimate	1	101	Simon Vitse	Team Vitse	3:31:12
2WD	17	103	Yves Fromont	Team Fromont	5:15:15
4×4	23	108	Laurent Ducreux	Team Ducreux	6:08:05
SSV Open	2	201	Hugues Lacam	Speed Up	3:57:48
SSV Series	3	238	Joel Labille	El Mobility	4:03:19

Leaders after Stage 6

Moto

Class	Overall	Number	Competitor	Team	Total Time
Up to 450cc	1	84	Martim Ventura	Old Friends Rally Team	18:54:21
Over 450cc	3	21	Gautier Paulin	Yamaha Ténéré World Raid Team	19:33:50
Quad	29	45	Alexis Varagne	Dragon Racing	40:29:02

Auto

Class	Overall	Number	Competitor	Team	Total Time
Ultimate	1	101	Simon Vitse	Team Vitse	17:56:59
2WD	21	105	Nicolas Delencre	Config Racing	30:08:44
4×4	23	108	Laurent Ducreux	Team Ducreux	31:19:19
SSV Open	2	201	Hugues Lacam	Speed Up	20:52:18
SSV Series	6	238	Joel Labille	El Mobility	22:00:41

Featured image credit: Ténéré Spirit Experience