Africa Eco Race 2010

[Jenna]

LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images


LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images


LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images


LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images


LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images


LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images


LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images


LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images


LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images


LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images


LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images


LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images


LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images

[Jenna]

LEG 6: GREID LAREICH - BOULANOUAR- January 5th 2010
Liaison: 0 km – Special Stage: 183,72 km – Liaison: 720 km

Good bye, Morocco … Hello, Mauritania !
The final special stage in Morocco before entering the Mauritanian territory, the timed sector of the sixth stage was short, but followed by a long liaison in order to reach the border.

The route had two totally different aspects, taking place over two sorts of terrain. The first part was sandy, with some small dunes to cross, before the track became faster, between the cairns. But afterwards, the sand was replaced by an increasingly rocky track until the finish line, leading to a number of punctures.

There were a number of parallel tracks, meaning that it was vital to follow the bearings to the letter, as everything looked the same ! The navigators had plenty to do…

And two for Jacky Loomans !
Today’s special stage came down to a single second between Jacky Loomans and Jérôme Pelichet. Despite three punctures, including two at the same time, the Belgian driver kept the advantage, delighting the cameramen by sliding over the finish line… Also suffering a puncture, the Bowler Wildcat seems to be back on form, to the delight of its driver, Jérôme Pelichet: “I followed the directions given by Eugénie exactly, without worrying about the two Schlesser buggies, which went off in a different direction. It was a good stage, even if Jacky beat us by one second…”

As far as Team Schlesser is concerned: “No stress… Now, we have to manage the Mauritanian section, trying not to get stuck in the sand, while keeping a close eye on the navigation.” Overall, Jean-Louis Schlesser has a comfortable lead, as does François Lethier, over Jérôme Pelichet and Jacky Loomans.

Edmond Pelichet has now got his bearings and was keeping up with the leading quartet, despite a puncture. There was also a puncture for the Egyptian driver Mido who preferred a cautious stage rather than gambling on his hopes the day before the Mauritanian stages, where he will be back on his favourite terrain : the sand.

The Audi Buggy driven by Rudy Goeminne was unlucky today, suffering from overheating and a shortened stage. Most of the pack is continuing at their own pace, including the Ch’ti Kangoo… all should reach the Boulanouar bivouac, in Mauritania, by this evening !

Miklos Kovacs set the best time today among the trucks. Over this extremely fast terrain, the Hungarian driver’s Scania got the better of Elisabete Jacinto’s MAN. The Portuguese driver may have had less horsepower, but she was still extremely satisfied to be fighting with the Hungarian colossus.

On two wheels, the Italian trio continues their progress, with Alberto Dottori still leading the class.

[Jenna]

LEG 7: BOULANOUAR- TABRENKOUT - January 6th 2010
Liaison: 0 km – Special Stage: 398,05 km – Liaison: 38,40 km

Straight for the dunes… First assault!
As beautiful and captivating as ever… Mauritania ! In this sea of sand, the competitors were engulfed by the immensity that surrounded them. With sand-dunes stretching to the horizon, it was an amazing moment for all those who love the wide open spaces and the Sahara !
This first special stage in Mauritania was beautiful, with plenty of dunes… A totally new timed stage, a route which no previous rally had taken. On the day’s menu, plenty of off-track, alternating fast plateaus, vegetation, grassy valleys, camel grass, dunes and rocky sections… Application and concentration was necessary… especially as the sand was particularly soft.

The ‘Desert Fox’ on top form !
Between Boulanouar and Tabrenkout (around thirty kilometres from Akjoujt), the 398-km timed stage was far from restful, especially for those drivers unfamiliar with the dunes. In masterly fashion, Jean-Louis Schlesser, nicknamed the Desert Fox, won the stage in his Buggy, bringing in his wake his team-mate François Lethier, rather nervous of his first Mauritanian stage. Jérôme Pelichet, behind the wheel of his Wildcat, a light and agile car, was right behind the two blue buggies, while Jacky Loomans lost some time after hitting a big rock, which caused some damage to the underside as well as a small oil leak. Still on the pace, Edmond Pelichet enjoyed his day, admitting that he had a good feeling for the sand. Miroslav Kubicek was ‘surfing’ and really enjoyed himself. The Swiss driver did not get stuck a single time, having fun behind the wheel of his Range Rover Classic and finishing 6th !
In Team Egypt, « Mido » put in a fine performance … lost time that did not change anything in the overall classification, as the Egyptian is holding tightly to his fifth position. In the Cotel buggy driven by Gilles Florin, the day was partly used to test (successfully) a new system of inflating and deflating the tyres. Recurring overheating problems nevertheless prevented the crew of Florin-Cotel from a good performance. Jean-Jacques Jousseau is continuing his apprenticeship. Discovering new playgrounds and new difficulties every day, the rookie, with his Toyota, completed the task with enthusiasm. It was more difficult, however, for the Ch’ti Kangoo… Having finished the last two stages at 100%, today’s exercise was more complicated, even if Momo Asloun showed as much determination as ever… There were difficulties too for Rudy Goeminne’s Buggy and the Toyota of Juan Aibar. As for Vincent Demonceaux, his engine is close to giving up. It is very disappointing, as the Bowler Nemesis has been extremely consistent.

Among the trucks, even if Miklos Kovacs dominates his subject perfectly, this 7th stage will stick in his memory. Over just 15 metres, he got stuck in the dunes no fewer than eight times. The Hungarian colossus and his navigators spent more than 90 minutes with their shovels. But that does not change the overall classification, because Elisabete Jacinto, facing injector problems, was not able to cross the main dunes. The Portuguese driver had to reach the bivouac on the tarmac. And well done to Noël Essers who claimed his second stage win !
On two wheels, Alberto Dottori claimed the stage win with a lead of two minutes ahead of Marco Capodacqua. The two Italians spent a while searching for the waypoints, but crossed the finish line together. Giovanni Stefani had some problems with a broken chain. There is still a long way to go… and the loop around Tabrenkout, tomorrow, should be the highpoint of this second edition of the Africa Eco Race.

[Jenna]

leg 7 standings

1 100 DOTTORI Alberto (I) KTM SP / 1 O / 1 41h59'09 04h23
2 101 CAPODACQUA Marco (I) KTM SP / 2 O / 2 41h59'09 04h23
3 102 STEFANI Giovanni (I) YAMAHA SP / 3 450 / 1 59h49'17 17h50'08 19h39


1 300 SCHLESSER Jean louis (F)
DEBRON Arnaud (F) SCHLESSER T1 / 1 1.3 / 1 24h34'59
2 303 LETHIER Francois (F)
LURQUIN Jean marie (B) BUGGY T1 / 2 1.3 / 2 24h42'57 00h07'58
3 301 LOOMANS Jacky (B)
DRIESMANS Frits (B) NISSAN T1 / 3 1.1 / 1 26h37'42 02h02'43
4 302 PELICHET Jerome (F)
DECRE Eugenie (CH) BOWLER T1 / 4 1.1 / 2 26h45'18 02h10'19
5 304 ABOUYOUSSEF Abdelhamid (ET)
NOUR EL DIN Mahmoud (ET) DESERT T1 / 5 1.2 / 1 29h24'14 04h49'15
6 308 PELICHET Edmond (F)
MALFERIOL Bernard (F) BOWLER T1 / 6 1.1 / 3 31h33'49 06h58'50 03h00
7 306 FLORIN Gilles (F)
COTEL Herve (F) BUGGY T1 / 7 1.3 / 3 31h56'40 07h21'41
8 314 JOUSSEAU Jean-jacques (F)
FOURDRAINE Frederick (F) TOYOTA T1 / 8 1.2 / 2 35h52'30 11h17'31 02h51
9 312 KUBICEK Miroslav (CH)
FRANC Bronislav (CH) RANGE ROVER T1 / 9 1.1 / 4 49h57'34 25h22'35 18h51
10 307 DEMONCEAUX Vincent (F)
CASTAN Jose (F) BOWLER T1 / 10 1.1 / 5 56h18'58 31h43'59 19h58
11 305 EL ZANATY Karim (ET)
ALY Mohamed (ET) DESERT T1 / 11 1.2 / 3 60h59'05 36h24'06 24h30
12 309 GOEMINNE Rudy (B)
LEFEVRE Jacques (B) AUDI T1 / 12 1.3 / 4 126h06'43 101h31'44 85h44
13 313 CORSO Stephane (F)
GROS Remi (F) MITSUBISHI T2 / 1 2.2 / 1 184h56'27 160h21'28 144h4
14 311 ASLOUN Mohamed (DZ)
ASLOUN Naella (F) RENAULT T1 / 13 1.2 / 4 213h34'13 188h59'14 172h5
15 315 AIBAR Juan (E)
GARCIA Julian (E) TOYOTA T1 / 14 1.2 / 5 279h32'54 254h57'55 240h4

1 400 KOVACS Miklos (H)
CZEGLEDI Peter (H)
TOTH Tamas (H) SCANIA T4 / 1 / 1 29h46'31
2 402 ESSERS Noel (B)
DE PAUW Hans (B)
BAETEN Richard (B) MAN T4 / 2 / 2 32h00'21 02h13'50
3 401 JACINTO Elisabete (P)
VELHINHO Alvaro (P)
COCHINHO Marco (P) MAN T4 / 3 / 3 42h16'50 12h30'19 08h39
4 403 OLIVIER Stephane (F)
TURLAIS Xavier (F)
VIVIER Frederic (F) RENAULT T4 / 4 / 4 176h13'00 146h26'29 135h2

[Jenna]

latest video


MTrally/Polsat


MTrally/Polsat

[Jenna]

LEG 8: TABRENKOUT - TABRENKOUT - January 7th 2010
Liaison: 0 km – Special Stage: 442,24 km – Liaison: 0 km

THE STAGE OF THE AFRICA ECO RACE 2010…
This 8th stage, around Tabrenkout, was undoubtedly the most difficult but also the most beautiful…

The particularities of the loop including starting and leaving the bivouac with no liaison, heading straight into the action. The day’s programme was busy, but when the competitors returned home, their eyes were shining… off-track, fast plateaus, rocky zones, soft wadis and dunes… dunes and more dunes.
There were no fewer than five passes to cross, of varying difficulty, but it was quite simply MAGICAL…

Jérôme Pelichet … fire and flame ! « Mido », desert prince…
Announced as being the Stage of the rally, this 8th timed stage kept all its promises. Even the uncontested leader of the event, Jean-Louis Schlesser, was quick to admit that he had suffered over the 442 km of the route before finishing in the lead : “There were dunes as far as the horizon, a real sea of sand… It was better to think than to go too quickly, but that did not stop us from getting out the planks on three occasions!” Just over ten minutes behind him, Jérôme Pelichet was savouring his performance, but when crossing the finish line, one of his spare wheels, on the rear of the Wildcat, began to smoke. The fire was quickly brought under control, to the relief of the whole crew : “This special stage was quite hellish, very difficult from the start to the end, but quite simply … magical in terms of the driving, the navigation and the countryside ! We found ourselves alone in the dunes, thinking we’d been left behind by all the other competitors, but in the end… we did quite well.”

So much the better, as the Franco-Swiss duo has moved up to second position in the overall classification ahead of François Lethier, for whom this stage was synonymous with problems… Over two hours lost, and third overall, eight minutes from the Wildcat of Team Raid Lynx. A good result for Mido… The pair of Abdelhamid Abouyoussef / Mahmoud Nour el Din worked perfectly today. No navigational mistakes, one minor case of getting stuck and two punctures, but a high pace and a good time. Enough to make the difference in the overall classification, and to take the 4th position. The ‘Princes of Egypt’ were smiling today after this long day of pleasure : “This stage was very long, very technical as well, but quite simply superb, a real joy…” Things were not as good for Jacky Loomans. Serious clutch problems meant that he could go over the dunes. It will cost him dearly this evening when the sums are done. Once again, well done to Miroslav Kubicek, who was as regular as clockwork today, just like yesterday. And it paid off : a fine 5th place in the stage just behind the Buggy of Gilles Florin and Hervé Cotel. The Ch’ti Kangoo of Momo Asloun had to shorten its day further to a collision with the Bowler Nemesis of Vincent Demonceaux right in the heart of the dunes…

In the trucks, Miklos Kovacs did not have any serious problems, unlike yesterday… The Hungarian enjoyed himself, and claimed another stage win ahead of Noël Essers.

On two wheels, further to yesterday’s long and difficult stage, the bikers jointly decided not to drive today.

Some cars have not yet returned to the bivouac at the time of writing, and are preparing themselves to spend long hours in the dunes…

[Jenna]

pulled off of raidxtreme so please excuse the black background.

video curtasy of the Africa Eco Race 2010

[Jenna]

some more rally pictures...

[Jenna]

overall standings after todays leg.

bikes:
1 101 CAPODACQUA Marco (I) KTM SP / 1 O / 1 89h35'31 33h23
2 100 DOTTORI Alberto (I) KTM SP / 2 O / 2 89h37'12 00h01'41 33h23
3 102 STEFANI Giovanni (I) YAMAHA SP / 3 450 / 1 133h32'17 43h56'46 71h39
cars:
1 300 SCHLESSER (F) DEBRON Arnaud (F) SCHLESSER T1 / 1 1.3 / 1 38h16'13
2 302 PELICHET (F) DECRE (CH) BOWLER T1 / 2 1.1 / 1 39h50'39 01h34'26
3 303 LETHIER (F) LURQUIN (B ) BUGGY T1 / 3 1.3 / 2 39h58'15 01h42'02
4 304 ABOUYOUSSEF (ET) NOUR EL DIN (ET) DESERT T1 / 4 1.2 / 1 43h04'36 04h48'23
5 301 LOOMANS (B ) DRIESMANS (B ) NISSAN T1 / 5 1.1 / 2 45h06'14 06h50'01 02h00
6 308 PELICHET (F) MALFERIOL (F) BOWLER T1 / 6 1.1 / 3 46h58'06 08h41'53 03h00
7 306 FLORIN (F) COTEL (F) BUGGY T1 / 7 1.3 / 3 48h30'14 10h14'01
8 314 JOUSSEAU (F) FOURDRAINE (F) TOYOTA T1 / 8 1.2 / 2 58h36'30 20h20'17 03h52
9 312 KUBICEK (CH) FRANC (CH) RANGE ROVER T1 / 9 1.1 / 4 66h31'11 28h14'58 18h51
10 307 DEMONCEAUX (F) CASTAN (F) BOWLER T1 / 10 1.1 / 5 109h01'58 70h45'45 50h58
11 309 GOEMINNE (B ) LEFEVRE (B ) AUDI T1 / 11 1.3 / 4 151h49'43 113h33'30 89h44
12 305 EL ZANATY (ET) ALY (ET) DESERT T1 / 12 1.2 / 3 196h15'13 157h59'00 139h3
13 313 CORSO (F) GROS (F) MITSUBISHI T2 / 1 2.2 / 1 208h39'27 170h23'14 146h4
14 311 ASLOUN (DZ) ASLOUN (F) RENAULT T1 / 13 1.2 / 4 260h17'13 222h01'00 197h5
15 315 AIBAR (E) GARCIA (E) TOYOTA T1 / 14 1.2 / 5 411h15'54 372h59'41 350h4

trucks:
1 400 KOVACS (H) CZEGLEDI (H) TOTH (H) SCANIA T4 / 1 / 1 45h19'29
2 402 ESSERS (B ) DE PAUW (B )BAETEN (B ) MAN T4 / 2 / 2 49h23'00 04h03'31
3 403 OLIVIER (F) TURLAIS (F) VIVIER (F) RENAULT T4 / 3 / 3 322h56'00 277h36'31 260h2

[Jenna]

all images: www.africa-live.com edits by raidxtreme