The 4th Stage ends at Fort Chacal. Long and difficult, navigated. It is the third, predictable victory for Cerutti and Aprilia. With a small puzzle: Cerutti’s tracking never works, and only his direct opponents know where he is
January 5, 2024
Fort Chacal, Marocco4 January 2024. Fourth Stage. Fort Chacal, the setting is mind-boggling. The old outpost is the setting for the bivouac of Africa Eco Race 2024. We are located not far from Laayounebut no one would dream of abandoning that part of passion that is “between the dust and the stars”, as the Spanish team quotes on their vehicles. There were others from Assa 468 kilometers of special stage, and a few hundred meters of transfers. We leave and arrive at the bivouacs, it helps to always be “in focus” and helps concentration. Since the start of the Rally on January 2, the Drivers have already run around 1,500 kilometers of special testsalways at a very high physical and speed pace.
As expected, Jacopo Ceruttiwho started third, 4 minutes behind the pacesetter, Alessandro Botturi, he won Special and Stagebringing Aprilia’s personal successes to three out of four, and the lead to 5 minutes and 45 (despite a one-minute penalty for speeding) in the general classification of which it is leader from day onein their debut African Rally.
Things, however, did not go exactly as we thought, that is, with the meeting of the trio and the consequent division of times and positions. BotturiIndeed, he attempted and played the attack card even in this completely unfavorable situation. It was said of the generosity of Giant of Lumezzane… Tactically there was a vague possibility of bringing home the result, and Botturi set the stage on team play. He pushed beyond belief in the first quarter of Speciale, then he lanciato Pol Tarres to open the track and, taking turns, the duo managed to maintain the lead until around the refueling area.
Jacopo Cerutti knew well that he was ahead and progressively raised his pace, regardless of the “visual” detachment. When “inevitably” he managed to catch the “train” (actually a FrecciaBlu Yamaha) of his adversaries, also thanks to a small navigation error by the “Bleu”, the Aprilia official, instead of calming the waters, found himself in a new brawl in which the absolute result seemed to count instead of the “compensation” which takes into account the starting order. Botturi, Tarres and Cerutti started in a sprint that ended, at the photo finish, just below the finish line in Fort Chacal. Cerutti, Tarres, Botturi, in that order, after 5 hours of racing. “Inevitable”, too, is the hourly average, which has exceeded 90 KM/H today too. Small mystery, Cerutti and Aprilia disappear from the tracking warning for a good part of the day. It is probably a failure of the instrument or interference from the electronics. The fact is that it is frustrating for fans not to know where their favorite is.
The march of the powerful and spectacular twin-cylinder machines protagonists of the Africa Eco cartel challenge has meant that a real, wide gap has been created between the “twins” and the “normal” single cylinders. Now considered unbridgeable, the gap emphasizes the performance and commitment of the three leading drivers, all equally engaged in a great operation. The first of the “monos”, now Guillaume Born, who races with a Husqvarna from Team Casteu Trophy, is fourth but with a gap that is now glaring and unrecoverable. Fifth is the generous and tenacious Giovanni Gritti, riding one of the new, very beautiful and effective Hondas of Agazzi’s Team RS. Maximum respect for the action of Nicola Duttowho remained in the saddle for over seven and a half hours and added another pearl to the magnificent series of his proud participation.
I am amazed by the strength of the combination Joan Pedrero-Harley Davidson. The Catalan giant brings to another result the large Pan America 1250 which, completely as standard, maintains the ideal weight and does not even give up those few grams, I don’t know, of the passenger footrests, the indicators or the redundant ones, for a motorbike running, structural appendages. Hat!
The Africa Eco Race of Cars turns out to be very interesting. For a precise and… futuristic reason. In the lead is the brand new (and just hit the track) Apache prototype. It is a “little car” derived from the SSV, but hyperstructured and competitive in a hybrid direction. The approximately 70 horsepower of the electric unit connected to the front train is added to the approximately 200 horsepower of the combustion engine that acts on the rear wheels of the prototype. Leading Apache’s pioneering operation is none other than Gautier Paulin, French Motocross champion. Another Apache, winner of the fourth stage, is led by Pierre-Louis Loubeta very young promise of the WRC World Championship and son of the ace Yves Loubet, a course that has participated in the writing of the Rallies and, now, of events for the Historical. By the way, in difficulty, however, the super special Porsches engaged in Africa Eco Race Classic.
With the fifth stage, 405 KM of Special, which ends on the Atlantic beach of Dakhla, Africa Eco Race reaches the goal of the rest day. No more saying that the Pilots didn’t earn it!
© Africa Eco Race Images, Alessio Corradini, Aprilia Racing, Yamaha Media, HD, PB
