Botturi Increases Overall Lead on Stage 8 of the Africa Eco Race

After Stage 7 of the 2025 Africa Eco Race (AER) was neutralised at the 251 km mark due to a serious accident, the timings were revised overnight. This saw Botturi, initially down as having finished in tenth, secure second, which meant his lead heading the eighth stage, the first loop of the rally, was increased to six minutes and 53 seconds over his arch-rival Jacopo Cerutti.

Facing a special of 351 km, starting from the bivouac in Amodjar, crossing the Adrar plateau and heading towards the eye of the desert in Ouadane, Botturi was once again tasked with navigating the infamous Saharan dunes on his Ténéré World Raid GYTR. This time, though, he started second behind Cerutti, with the duo, who compete against each other regularly in the Italian Motorally Championship, continuing their sensational two-way battle for victory that began right from the very first stage.

The 48-year-old Italian caught his compatriot early during the special and stayed with him until the end of the stage, ensuring that he increased his advantage by two minutes and 56 seconds with a time of four hours, 39 minutes, and 20 seconds. This meant he had increased his overall lead to nine minutes and 49 seconds, with just four stages to go, although the final stage does not count towards the overall timings.

Although the general layout of this loop has been used in previous editions of the rally, new tracks have been added at the start of the selective section, leading competitors into untouched dunes deep within Mauritania’s wilderness while the return journey heads towards Chinguetti, the “Sorbonne of the Desert,” before returning to the Amodjar bivouac for the second night in a row.

Showcasing the competitiveness of the Ténéré World Raid GYTR, the Ténéré Spirit Experience riders once again impressed with Nicolas Charlier, who claimed a superb victory on Stage 5, finishing ahead of Botturi in ninth, while Jarno D’Orsogna, who secured third on Stage 6, made it three Yamahas in the top fifteen by ending the special in 14th place.

Alessandro Botturi – P1 Overall – 30h10m46s
Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team
“Today was all about managing my lead. It was a very tough stage, with strong winds and sandstorms making navigation extremely tough. It would have been easy to lose a lot of time, so I made sure that I caught Cerutti at the earliest opportunity, and from there until the end of the stage, I stayed with him to increase my lead in the overall standings. There are only three more timed specials to go, and I have a good advantage, but this is rally, and anything can still happen. So, we must stay calm and focused and ensure we don’t make any mistakes.”

Marc Bourgeois
Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team – Team Manager
“Today, we saw why Alessandro is considered such a legend in this sport. It would have been very easy for him to try and push too hard or make a mistake, but instead, we created a plan to stick with Cerutti, and he executed it to perfection. He has been incredible so far and is showcasing what he and the Ténéré World Raid GYTR are capable of. We still have three more competitive stages to go, and honestly, nine minutes is not a huge lead in rally raid. Tomorrow is another tough stage, and it will be a real test for the riders with more dunes to cover in the intense heat, but we feel prepared and will stick to our plan. I want to say congratulations to Nicolas and Jarno. They both put in another strong performance today, and it is great to see them doing so well, especially considering they are competing against much more experienced riders on single-cylinder 450cc machines.”