After seven grueling stages through sand, rocks, fesh-fesh, and dunes, the 2025 Carta Rally came to a spectacular end in Merzouga. The final stage, relatively short at 208 kilometers, immediately put the participants to the test with a dune section right from the start. Navigation, technical skills, and concentration once again proved decisive. Martim Ventura in the motorbike category and Simon Vitse in the car class emerged as the overall winners.
Ventura seals dominant rally with victory
In the motorbike category, the final stage was narrowly won by Charlie Herbst, who claimed the stage win with a time of 2:54:07. Right behind him was the overall leader: Martim Ventura rode a controlled stage and crossed the finish line in 2:55:40. With this performance, he secured the overall victory with a total time of 21:49:57 — more than 42 minutes ahead of Frenchman Benjamin Melot, who also finished third on the final day (2:58:16).
Third place in the overall classification went to Gautier Paulin, followed by Kevin Gallas and a strongly recovered Alessandro Botturi, who managed to finish fifth despite heavy penalties earlier in the rally. Noteworthy in the top ten were also riders like Charlie Herbst, who added a sixth place overall to his stage win, and Clement Talmant, who finished 13th on the final stage and secured a commendable tenth place overall.
Vitse unstoppable from start to finish
In the car category, Simon Vitse left no doubt about who was the best. Together with navigator Max Delfino, he won the final stage in 2:48:05, finishing the rally with a total time of 20:45:04 — nearly three hours ahead of the second-place team, Lacam/Delfino, who again finished second on the day (3:07:37) and in the overall standings.
Third place overall went to Pelichet/Lecourbe, who managed to hold on to their podium spot despite fierce competition. Goncalves/Magalhaes and Casteu/Bonnet completed the top five. Other standout performances included Dutrie/Merceron, who ended the rally strongly with a second-place finish in the final stage (2:50:19), securing ninth overall.
The rally took its toll in the final days: many teams failed to finish Stage 7 or incurred heavy time penalties. Delencre/Lurquin, for example, dropped out of the top twenty after receiving 12 hours of penalties, and several SSV teams recorded DNFs or DNSs.
A rally full of character
The 2025 Carta Rally was a true test of endurance. From high-speed tracks in the opening stages to technical trials and deep dunes in Merzouga — competitors faced a route that only the best could conquer. Through consistent performance, strategic insight, and technical finesse, Martim Ventura and Simon Vitse proved themselves the rightful champions of this edition.
