After several tiring and less pleasant days, Koen Wauters and Tom De Leeuw (Toyota Hilux) were finally able to race without worries, aside from a flat tyre.
The 396 km stage from Khnifiss towards Dakhla was completed by the stage winner in just under three hours. Koen Wauters and Tom De Leeuw took 6 minutes and 57 seconds longer. Cédric Feryn and Bjorn Burgelman (Toyota Land Cruiser) have, after a week, adapted well to their Land Cruiser. The lack of competition and tension in their class is the only downside, but above all they are here both to make progress and to enjoy themselves. Check and check!
Flat out from the start all the way to Dakhla, keeping an eye out left and right to make sure nothing unexpected happened and ensuring the maximum permitted speed of 170 km/h was not exceeded — that is the simple summary of the fifth stage of the Africa Eco Race.
“I really have nothing to add to that,” says Koen Wauters. “It was a boring stage with a flat tyre at the start, but above all it was a good and enjoyable stage without fuel pressure or electronic problems. As for the stone that caused the puncture, I have no idea where it was. But anyway, we’re happy with this result, with how the car performed, and we’re especially glad that we could give something back to the guys who have been racking their brains for days trying to solve that fuel pressure problem. The car was perfect today.”
After the stage, Koen Wauters reviewed it and was able to reconstruct the run based on the split times. “Because of the flat tyre we lose roughly four minutes. We finish sixth and win our class. The feeling I’ve had over the past few days — that we were capable of fighting for the win in our class — was confirmed today. And that’s a bloody good feeling,” says Koen Wauters, who moves up to tenth place overall.
Cédric Feryn and Bjorn Burgelman set the eleventh fastest time on Friday and also won their class. They are fourteenth overall and have a 13-hour lead over the second-placed crew in their class. “That’s the only pity — there’s little competition in our class,” says Cédric Feryn. “But really, I shouldn’t focus on that. The step from truck to car is big, but after four stages on different types of terrain, Bjorn and I have managed to adapt quite well. The dunes remain a point to work on. But that’s fine too. We lost time there, but we got through. Having to shovel occasionally and get the sand ladders out is all part of the learning process. Today’s stage was fast and not really difficult. We stopped briefly to check on Noël Essers to see if he was okay — his truck was on its side. When we set off again, the intercom no longer worked, so Bjorn had to shout a bit louder for 200 km and occasionally use hand signals. The good news is that we were able to keep the windows closed today, because the heating wasn’t working,” Cédric Feryn laughed.
Surprise of surprises: when the driver duos arrived at the bivouac, Pascal Feryn was there waiting for them. “When we arrived at the bivouac, I joked that if we made it to Dakar, Pascal might as well consider coming to meet us,” says Koen Wauters. “I’ll think about it,” said Pascal, who had secretly taken a flight to Dakhla during the night. “I really couldn’t believe my ears,” said Koen Wauters. “It’s wonderful that he’s here. At the same time, I understand that it must also hurt him a bit, and that’s why he left earlier this week. But now he’s here, and that’s great. We’ll make it a nice evening and enjoy a pleasant rest day tomorrow.”
Source: Feryn Dakar Sport.
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