The final day of the Carta Rallye was a breeze in two ways: short, and a lot of gusts.

Stage 7 only lasted 208 kilometers around Merzouga, but it certainly wasn’t something to be underestimated with the sweeping dunes and WRC-style sections. Amid windy conditions (bad enough that helicopters were unable to take off at the start), overall leaders like Martim Ventura and Simon Vitse looked to seal their victories.

Vitse, who had been the fastest car in every leg except for the Night Stage, finished the deal with a 2:48:05, over two minutes quicker than the SSV of Axel Dutrie. Dutrie scored his first stage win, bucking the trend of the fastest side-by-side being someone like David Casteu or Hugues Lacam.

Casteu finished the stage third overall and second in SSV Open, beating Lacam by 34 seconds. However, he was over two hours back in the overall.

Meanwhile, Ventura’s four-stage win streak was snapped by Charlie Herbst. Herbst cleared Ventura by just a minute and 33 seconds to win the stage. Still, Ventura was so far ahead in the overall that simply reaching the finish ahead of closest rival Benjamin Melot iced the win.

Melot settled for second overall after beating Kevin Gallas for the final step on the Stage 7 podium by just seven seconds. Gallas was still the stage winner for bikes over 450cc.

As he did on Saturday, the great Stéphane Peterhansel took part in the Raid category for the last stage.

Stage 7 winners

Moto

Class	Overall	Number	Competitor	Team	Total Time
Up to 450cc	1	86	Charlie Herbst	Challenger Racing Team	2:54:07
Over 450cc	4	71	Kevin Gallas	Ténéré Spirit Experience	2:58:23
Quad	23	45	Alexis Varagne	Dragon Racing	4:30:43

Auto

Class	Overall	Number	Competitor	Team	Total Time
Ultimate	1	101	Simon Vitse	Team Vitse	2:48:05
2WD	11	102	Jérôme Cambier	Team Vitse	3:27:26
4×4	26	108	Laurent Ducreux	Team Ducreux	5:44:11
SSV Open	2	211	Axel Dutrie	Dragon Racing	2:50:19
SSV Series	7	238	Joel Labille	El Mobility	3:19:09

Overall winners

Moto

Class	Overall	Number	Competitor	Team	Total Time
Up to 450cc	1	84	Martim Ventura	Old Friends Rally Team	21:49:57
Over 450cc	3	21	Gautier Paulin	Yamaha Ténéré World Raid Team	23:48:51
Quad	28	45	Alexis Varagne	Dragon Racing	44:59:57

Auto

Class	Overall	Number	Competitor	Team	Total Time
Ultimate	1	101	Simon Vitse	Team Vitse	20:45:04
2WD	26	102	Jérôme Cambier	Team Vitse	39:40:13
4×4	22	108	Laurent Ducreux	Team Ducreux	37:03:30
SSV Open	2	201	Hugues Lacam	Speed Up	24:05:20
SSV Series	7	238	Joel Labille	El Mobility	26:28:58

Featured image credit: Ténéré Spirit Experience