Koen Wauters and Kris Van Der Steen (Toyota Hilux) grabbed on Friday just alongside a ride win. At the end of the fourth stage, the duo ran twice to each other, finishing third. In the stand, they remain sixth. Pascal Feryn and Kurt Keysers (Toyota Hilux) finished eighth. In the stand they are fifth general and first car. Tom De Leeuw, Cedric Feryn and Bjorn Burgelman (Ginaf) had to quit several times due to a persistent tyre problem. The trio finished eighteenth and last, but is still in competition.

The fourth stage of this Africa Eco Race brought the participants from Assa to Fort Chacal. The total distance was 473 km, of which 468 km by the time. So much connection did not have to be driven. Koen and Kris had a peak day and reached just next to the ritzege. “In fact, we should have won,” says Koen Wauters. “Even at the end of the stage, when you think it won’t happen again, I drove twice in a row. We've had to stop as many times to replace the wheel and we're losing about a quarter of an hour. It's a pity, but I'm at peace with it. Apart from that bad luck, it was a fantastic day again. Kris has navigated excellently on what was a sometimes fast and then fragile route. I've also been able to compete with Loubet all day, a former European rally champion. On the bad pieces he was with his buggy in the advantage. On the quick pieces, I picked him up again. That happened once or four. When I finally had the upper hand I drove leak. I don't even know where or how. Well, tomorrow we have one more chance before I go home. This test session has already been more than successful. And the car, which was just washed and can just go into the garage. He's still like new. The team does a great job here and runs like a train!”

Pascal Feryn rides around with the regularity of a Swiss clockwork. And every day the smile around his mouth gets wider. “It was a very tough, fast and actually also a fragile ride. Sometimes it was turning and turning to get back on the gas. It was the longest race of the rally, with a distance of 468 km. It had at times a lot away from a long class ride during a rally. At some point, Koen passed me. I saw him come and immediately went to the side. Tomorrow he stops, I hope to drive until the end of the rally and try to save the car anyway. In the open category of cars, trucks and SSVs, only 18 of the 45 vehicles launched are still on track. And today it was only the fourth of a total of twelve stages.”

Tom The Lion, Cedric Feryn and Bjorn Burgelman had a difficult day. “After 80 km, the tire reached the runway, just like at the end of the first stage,” says Tom De Leeuw. “It was the past of even more problems. Not long after we had to go back to the side to replace a second wheel. Then we noticed that a third band had also known its best time. We have finished the remaining 300 km at 60 km/h. We're here to help Koen and Pascal in case of trouble. The rally isn't even halfway, so we had to drive with the cupcakes instead of the hearts. By the cause, I guess. I think it's a bad set of tyres. Oh, that's a little bullshit today. Tomorrow we have a new day.” Tom and his teammates finished at eighteenth. In the stand they fall from eighth to eleventh place.

Automatic translation 
Source Feryn Dakar Sport