Full day for the Portuguese colors in the Africa Eco Race 2024. Ricardo Sousa won the eighth stage in cars, being clearly superior in the 390.01km connection between Chami and Amodjar.
The driver, navigated by Jorge Brandão in an Old Friends Rally Team Can-Am, took 4h25m15s. He surpassed his teammate Carlos Vento by 7m36s. The first two won in their respective categories, T3 and T4. Gautier Paulin (Apache), the clear leader in the overall classification, finished third.
Pascal Feryn (Feryn Dakar Team/Toyota) prevailed in the T1 with the fifth absolute time, while the sixth place was taken by another Portuguese duo: Rui Oliveira and Bernardo Oliveira, in an Old Friends Rally Team Can-Am. They finished third in the T3. Aad Van Velsen (Van Velsen Rally Sport/Scania) won the stage among the trucks, beating Tomas Tomecek (Promet Czechoslovak Group Team/Tatra) by 3m10s.
The overall classification continues to be led by Paulin, with a clear 3h41m52s advantage over Pascal Feryn, the best in the T1. Vento rose to third and continues to lead among the T4, while Tomecek is the strongest among the trucks in fourth place. The Czech is 2h15m41s ahead of van Velsen in the heavyweight battle. Oliveira and Sousa climbed to tenth and 11th respectively in the overall car standings after Wednesday’s results, being second and third in the T3.
Top ten of Stage 8:
Top ten overall:
