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to Mahmid , the Mecca of Rally Raids in Morocco . All the conditions were in place for a great day ’ s racing .
Botturi was all smiles at the finish of the 463-kilometre special stage between Mahmid and Assa . Riding his Yamaha 700 Ténéré , the two-time winner of the event had won the stage and taken second place overall from Tarres , the second official rider for Yamaha . It was a great result for the jovial Italian , who beat his team-mate by one and a half minutes on the stage , and thirty-five seconds in the overall standings .
Cerutti had managed to hold onto the lead until the halfway point of the stage but was caught out by a small navigation error .
For some competitors stage 3 may have left its mark , but for others , the motivation was very noticeable on the morning of the fourth day at the start of the bivouac at Oued Draa , close to Tagounite . It has to be said that this 467-kilometre special was particularly long , over varied terrain with some demanding navigation at the end of the route .
Once again , Italy ’ s Cerutti was the strongest . Starting in third position , behind the two official Yamaha ’ s , the Aprilia rider managed to catch Botturi , who had started in the lead , and the Tarres , who had started second . This was Cerutti ’ s third victory since the start of the rally and strengthened his overall lead over Tarres to almost nine minutes , with Botturi around ninety seconds further back . The three leaders had a lead of just over two hours over Franco-Moroccan Guillaume Borne , once again fourth aboard his Husqvarna and leader of the 450 category and the Rookie Riders By Acerbis .
“ I ’ m totally destroyed physically by this bike with its incredibly powerful engine ,” said Juan Pedrero putting in another amazing effort to finish nineth on the big Harley Davidson .
This final stage on Moroccan soil was completed at lightning speed , with the 404-kilometre special completed in just over three and a half hours for the bikes , something that was matched identically by the four-wheeled machines .
The same three riders were at the front with Botturi claiming victory just two
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