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minutes ahead of Tarres and a further two minutes ahead of Cerutti , the three riders crossing the finish line together for the third time in a row . It was becoming impossible to separate the leaders , just four minutes covering them .
The caravan got up at dawn on Monday 8 January to complete the 370-kilometre route to the Moroccan border . A typical Moroccan buffet awaited the participants before they left the country and crossed No Man ’ s Land into Mauritania . After passing through customs and completing a 30-kilometre liaison , the competitors started from Boulanouar for the 205-kilometre special stage to the Chami bivouac . It was an ideal start to the second week of the rally , which saw them discover the sandy tracks .
Once again , the three leading riders were together in the battle , this time turning in favour of Tarres . Riding his Yamaha 700 Ténéré , the Andorran beat Cerutti and his Aprilia by just over a minute with his teammate , Botturi just fortyfive seconds behind . With his second victory , Tarres regained second place overall behind Cerutti .
The Africa ECO Race does everything possible to minimise its impact on the environment of the countries it crosses . To achieve this , setting up loops around a bivouac is considered an ideal strategy , as the rally caravan doesn ’ t have to move around too much .
This was the case on the seventh stage , with the start twenty kilometres from the bivouac of Chami and the finish 500 metres away after a 453-kilometre special stage . This first loop , however , would do some damage to the standings when many riders began missing waypoints .
Once again , the battle raged between the two-cylinder bikes . But for once , one of the three race leaders was missing at the finish . It was Tarres who , following exhaust problems on his Yamaha 700 Ténéré , crossed the finish line almost thirteen minutes behind his team-mate Botturi , the day ’ s eventual winner .
The Italian clawed back two minutes from his compatriot Cerutti , who came remarkably close with navigation problems at the end of the course and even a crash , fortunately not serious for him and nor his Aprilia .
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