Aprilia Tuareg Racing takes on an adjustment stage at the 2026 Africa Eco Race
JACOPO CERUTTI FINISHES FOURTH AFTER THE FIFTH STAGE IN THE +650 CLASS TWIN-CYLINDER CLASS
The Aprilia Tuareg Rally concludes the first half of the 2026 Africa Eco Race following a demanding fifth stage, characterised by diverse terrain and few landmarks, covering a total of 768 km from Khnifiss to Dakhla.
Starting first on his Aprilia Tuareg Rally, Jacopo Cerutti provided a significant advantage to his pursuers, who were able to follow his tracks. Despite this challenge, Cerutti finished fourth in the+650 twin-cylinder class. This result puts him second in the category standings, just 2’15” behind the leader.
It was also a day of consolidation for Marco Menichini, who is currently sixth in the twin-cylinder class and eighth overall, +59’52” behind the leader. Francesco Montanari demonstrated great character and resilience by returning to the race today on his Tuareg Rally after being forced to retire during yesterday’s stage. He finished the fifth stage in twentieth position overall.
Tomorrow is the scheduled rest day, before the competition resumes for the second half of the Africa Eco Race, which will take competitors across the challenging dunes of Mauritania.
JACOPO CERUTTI
“Today I managed to lead for most of the time. It was a very fast stage with tricky navigation sections: I didn’t want to make any mistakes, so I tried to manage it as well as possible. Overall, I’m happy. We know that during the first week, the gap between the top riders is always quite small. The real difference will be made in Mauritania, so tomorrow we’ll rest and then focus on the Mauritanian stages, which are going to be much tougher.”
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