After a challenging first half plagued by bad weather and the usual tribulations of a rally raid, the stars of the Africa Eco Race were likely relieved to make it to Dakhla on Friday. With the rest day set for Saturday, they’ll have the day to debrief over the first half of the rally before getting back to business on Sunday.

Even the route was eager to get to the break. Stage 5 was a particularly fast leg, one where bike winner Kevin Gallas traveled 118.8 km/h on average despite its length.

“It was actually not that amazing to ride. It was just very, very fast,” said Gallas. “Long day, almost 800 kilometers overall, but we had the luxury of having this couch so it’s very comfortable to ride.

“There was not a lot of things to do, some navigation with some CAPs, but I did everything really good and was able to claw back a lot of time.

“The real race starts in Mauritania.”

Gallas beat Jean-Loup Lepan by 1:29 for the stage win, but trails him in the overall by 25 seconds. Thomas Marini fell to third, but is just 1:01 back of Lepan.

Although the rest day loomed, the stage was still not an easy one. SSV leader Martin Benko lost the top spot after his radiator was punctured by a rock 200 kilometers in, causing the water to overheat. He and Marek Sýkora spent over an hour disassembling their car to find the hole and seal it.

“We had glue with us, but we weren’t sure if it would hold,” Benko recalled. “But it was fine and we kept going and reached the finish line and then the bivouac. It’s a loss, but it’s still within play.”

Mechanical gremlins attacked Andrea Schiumarini for the second day in a row, this time when an oil pipe in his power steering broke at KM 148; even after replacing it, the wheel continued to lock up multiple times.

Noël Essers’ truck rolled on its driver’s side, breaking his collarbone and forcing the team to withdraw.

Feryn Rally Raid Team enjoyed a double class stage win with Cédric Feryn and KoenWauters. Save for a flat tire, Wauters remarked it was a “boring stage” as the Hilux otherwise did just fine.

Stage 5 winners

Bike

Class	Overall	Number	Rider	Team	Total Time
450cc	2	176	Jean-Loup Lepan	RC Assistance	3:21:15
Over 450cc	22	13	Alexandre Azinhais	Club Aventura Touareg	3:52:39
Over 650cc	1	171	Kevin Gallas	Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team	3:19:46
Electric	94	100	Cyril Forget	CFR Endurance	9:50:00
Quad	80	97	Alexis Varagne	Team Sénégal	5:17:56

Car

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Team	Total Time
T1+	5	215	Christian Femont	Desert Foxx Racing	3:13:35
T1.1	6	233	Koen Wauters	Feryn Rally Raid Team	3:14:01
T1.2	1	230	Guy Housset	HL Racing	3:07:04
Open	11	210	Cédric Feryn	Feryn Rally Raid Team	4:26:43

SSV

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Team	Total Time
SSV	1	251	Pierre Lafay	Team Gazzafond	3:27:45
T3	5	253	Jérôme Cambier	Jérôme Cambier	3:45:06
T4	2	271	Sander Derikx	QFF Racing	3:37:33

Truck

Class	Number	Driver	Team	Total Time
T5	400	Gerrit Zuurmond	Rainbow Truck Team	3:47:30

Leaders after Stage 5

Bike

Class	Overall	Number	Rider	Team	Total Time
450cc	1	176	Jean-Loup Lepan	RC Assistance	16:11:51
Over 450cc	21	13	Alexandre Azinhais	Club Aventura Touareg	19:21:12
Over 650cc	2	171	Kevin Gallas	Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team	16:12:16
Electric	92	100	Cyril Forget	CFR Endurance	46:30:00
Quad	95	97	Alexis Varagne	Team Sénégal	50:42:56

Car

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Team	Total Time
T1+	2	215	Christian Femont	Desert Foxx Racing	16:04:13
T1.1	7	200	Vincent Vroninks	Desert Lions Rally Team	16:56:28
T1.2	1	205	Pol van Pollaert	Desert Foxx Racing	15:38:25
Open	14	210	Cédric Feryn	Feryn Rally Raid Team	31:02:05

SSV

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Team	Total Time
SSV	1	251	Pierre Lafay	Team Gazzafond	17:41:03
T3	3	253	Jérôme Cambier	Jérôme Cambier	17:50:37
T4	2	273	William Grarre	TRC	17:43:35

Truck

Class	Number	Driver	Team	Total Time
T5	400	Gerrit Zuurmond	Rainbow Truck Team	19:51:43

Featured image credit: Dr. Erik Brandenburg