Magdalena Zając was the fastest driver in Friday’s action, becoming just the second woman to win an Africa Eco Race stage. However, her navigator Błażej Czekan was quick to point out that it being the last timed stage might’ve affected their peers’ driving styles.

“We won the last stage, but as Błażej said, only because everyone’s driving cautiously now to avoid wrecking at the end,” Zając quipped.

Czekan in turn remarked that “Magda doesn’t drive cautiously at the end.”

As is tradition, the penultimate stage of the Africa Eco Race was the final one to count toward the overall. As such, Stage 12 on Saturday is purely ceremonial to ensure a safe finish at Lac Rose.

Of course, this meant Friday was the last chance for many to make a run for the overall win. Zając is too far back to catch David Gérard for the Car win (over four hours) while T1.1 is safely locked up by Vincent Vroninks (two hours ahead), which meant those drivers could take it easy to preserve their vehicles.

Thus, it was a good opportunity for Zając to get her time in the sun. She beat Andrea Schiumarini for the overall stage win by just 28 seconds, while Vroninks was third and one second ahead of Philippe Lambilliotte.

“Finally, some real Africa. This is what real Africa looks like,” Zając commented.

Elisabete Jacinto was the first woman to win an AER stage when she claimed Stage 7 in 2012. Jacinto later won the Truck overall in 2019.

Jean-Loup Lepan won for bikes with 1:29 on Jacopo Cerutti, but his hopes of an overall had been thrown out the window in Stage 10.

Instead, the bike overall came down to a duel of Yamaha teammates Kevin Gallas and Gautier Paulin. Paulin had 1:25 on Gallas going into Friday, but Gallas had just enough to stay ahead of him the entire day. Gallas would set the fifth fastest time for the day with 1:17:29, while Paulin was ninth at 1:19:35. That margin was enough to push Gallas over the top by 41 seconds.

Enrico Gaspari, the 2025 World Rally-Raid Championship SSV runner-up who eschewed the Dakar Rally for the AER, won in his class for the first time.

Stage 11 winners

Bike

Class	Overall	Number	Rider	Team	Total Time
450cc	1	176	Jean-Loup Lepan	RC Assistance	1:12:53
Over 450cc	12	122	Andrea Vignone	Motosystem #BeCrazy Reparto Corse	1:21:14
Over 650cc	2	1	Jacopo Cerutti	Aprilia Racing GCorse	1:14:22
Quad	61	97	Alexis Varagne	Team Sénégal	1:55:13

Car

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Team	Total Time
T1+	9	215	Christian Femont	Desert Foxx Racing	1:42:23
T1.1	1	206	Magdalena Zając	Proxcars TME Rally Team	1:13:35
T1.2	2	236	Andrea Schiumarini	R Team	1:14:03
Open	8	210	Cédric Feryn	Feryn Rally Raid Team	1:34:23

SSV

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Team	Total Time
SSV	3	258	Călin Camărășan	Ace of Spades Racing	1:16:23
T3	6	299	Martin Benko	Norwit Racing	1:20:26
T4	1	250	Enrico Gaspari	HRT Technology Sabelt	1:14:38

Truck

Class	Number	Driver	Team	Total Time
T5	400	Gerrit Zuurmond	Rainbow Truck Team	1:33:19

Overall winners

Bike

Class	Overall	Number	Rider	Team	Total Time
450cc	3	176	Jean-Loup Lepan	RC Assistance	398:40:13
Over 450cc	22	13	Alexandre Azinhais	Club Aventura Touareg	48:18:03
Over 650cc	1	171	Kevin Gallas	Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team	39:24:05
Electric	N/A	100	Cyril Forget	CFR Endurance	197:53:40
Quad	68	97	Alexis Varagne	Team Sénégal	118:51:59

Car

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Team	Total Time
T1+	2	215	Christian Femont	Desert Foxx Racing	40:42:43
T1.1	3	200	Vincent Vroninks	Desert Lions Rally Team	41:02:29
T1.2	1	201	David Gérard	Nominoe Aventures / Les Fous du Volant / MD Rallye	39:13:24
Open	11	210	Cédric Feryn	Feryn Rally Raid Team	107:31:53

SSV

Class	Overall	Number	Driver	Team	Total Time
SSV	4	285	Eric Bernard	Vendée Team	44:20:56
T3	2	299	Martin Benko	Norwit Racing	42:44:22
T4	1	275	Martijn van den Broek	Van Ham Racing / QFF Racing	41:56:38

Truck

Class	Number	Driver	Team	Total Time
T5	400	Gerrit Zuurmond	Rainbow Truck Team	61:18:21

Featured image credit: Proxcars TME Rally Team