This is the fifth victory for the blue buggy!

Jean Louis Schlesser, with  navigator Cyril Esquirol, will bring his buggy to the top spot of one of the most mythical podiums in rally raid. Having crossed the NGor beach for the last time, the competitors  arrive at the Lac Rose in Dakar.Jean Louis Schlesser even had the luxury of being able to waste some time during the last 196 km of Special disputed in Mauritania, but it was for a good cause...

"We stopped to help a Porsche in the Classic class who'd got stuck. The Special wasn't easy; there were loads of traps and you couldn't makes any stops for fear of sinking in the sand. It was also easy to get lost. We made no mistakes, I wanted to finish without any problems and we managed it. If Van Cauwenbergue wins the Special, I'm very happy for him, he's a cool guy who doesn't have a big head and he deserves it."

There's a "Classic" category in the Sonangol Africa Eco Race, in which the UMM of the old days took part; a Honda 600 XLM bike and two Porsche 911s, one of which won the rally in the eighties with Ren Metge at the wheel!

The Paris-Dakar rally isn't dead because Jean Louis Schlesser continues it's tradition, having also won the Paris-Dakar twice. The mythical rally of which the former race director and past winner, Ren Metge is now behind the Africa Eco Race. Hubert Auriol, multiple winner and former race director of the Paris-Dakar took part in the Africa Eco Race this year...