Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
RideApart
RideApart
Sport

2024 Africa Eco Race: Cerutti And Aprilia Still In The Lead After Stage 9

You have to feel a little bit of sympathy for Yamaha racer Alessandro Botturi. Sure, he's been riding in the top three all throughout the 2024 Africa Eco Race so far. He's won multiple stages, too. In fact, he's performed so well that he was the rare rider who hadn't had any time penalties assessed against him during this event; that is, until Stage Nine.

For the stage, the 2024 Africa Eco Race field did a loop around the city of Amodjar in Mauritania. A beautiful place, but also a hot and challenging one for the riders. Technically, Botturi did finish ahead of his two closest rivals. However, a six-minute speed penalty knocked his time back down, and it was Jacopo Cerutti on his Aprilia Tuareg 660 that picked up the official stage win.

Leading from the front of the pack is one thing, but one of the most fun things to watch in racing is redemption runs. When you have a rider start from somewhere in the back, and then they're able to steadily overtake until they finish in a much better spot than they started, it's what makes racing fun. No one likes a parade, right?

Remember Joan Pedrero and his Harley-Davidson Pan America 1250? It's a massive machine compared to many of his competitors, but Pedrero has been cementing both his and the Pan America's bona fides in rally raids for the past couple of years. At the beginning of Stage Nine of the 2024 AER, he started in 23rd place. Even though he briefly crashed during the stage, he somehow managed to keep his eyes on the prize and finish in ninth place for the stage. That's a 14-place jump. Impressive, if we do say so ourselves.

Here are the top 10 riders in the 2024 Africa Eco Race for Stage Nine.

Racer Team Time
Jacopo Cerutti Aprilia Racing GCorse 04:27:14
Pol Tarrés Yamaha Tenere World Raid Team 04:29:19
Alessandro Botturi Yamaha Tenere World Raid Team 04:31:15
Marco Aurelio Fontana Honda Genuine Oil 04:43:52
Marco Menichini Solarys Racing 04:47:28
Alexandre Vaudan Casteu Trophy 04:55:40
Attilio Fert France Road Book 04:56:17
Giovanni Gritti RSMoto Racing Team Honda Oil 04:58:41
Joan Pedrero Garcia Harley-Davidson 05:20:52
Kevin Durand RS Moto 05:25:08

2024 Africa Eco Race Overall Rider Standings After Stage Nine

The penalty assessed against Botturi for Stage Nine means that Cerutti and Aprilia are in the lead once again. It's still not a huge gap between him and Botturi, but it's getting a little bit bigger at just over seven minutes.

Here are the overall rider standings after Stage Nine.

Racer Team Time
Jacopo Cerutti Aprilia Racing GCorse 35:42:01
Alessandro Botturi Yamaha Tenere World Raid Team 35:49:05
Pol Tarrés Yamaha Tenere World Raid Team 36:06:28
Giovanni Gritti RSMoto Racing Team Honda Oil 39:27:45
Alexandre Vaudan Casteu Trophy 39:58:02
Marco Aurelio Fontana Honda Genuine Oil 41:07:32
Attilio Fert France Road Book 41:10:55
Marco Menichini Solarys Racing 41:20:42
Francesco Montanari Aprilia Racing GCorse 42:21:06
Nicolas Charlier Yamaha Tenere World Raid Team 43:15:11

With only three stages remaining in the 12-stage route that is the 2024 Africa Eco Race, there's still plenty that can happen.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.