Stage six of the 2025 Carta Rally was dubbed the queen stage of this year’s edition: a 306-kilometer loop around Merzouga, featuring spectacular and varied terrain. Three dune sections, chotts, rugged mountain passes, and technical navigation challenges followed one another in rapid succession. Those who managed to tame the rally’s toughest day could rightfully call themselves top-tier rally drivers. The stage win once again went to familiar faces: Martim Ventura in the bikes and Simon Vitse in the cars.
Ventura unstoppable in the sand
Martim Ventura continues to dominate the bike category. The Portuguese rider delivered a flawless performance on his Husqvarna, finishing in 3:59:42—nearly 17 minutes ahead of his closest rival, Benjamin Melot. Third place went to Kevin Gallas, who bounced back from a tough previous stage to complete the podium with a solid 4:21:45. Charlie Herbst secured fourth in 4:25:37, just ahead of a rejuvenated Alessandro Botturi, who managed a strong fifth place in 4:30:47 despite battling the flu.
Several riders dropped out, including Cioltan, Mulot, and Craita, who did not reach the finish. Many backmarkers also chose not to start the stage at all. With this performance, Ventura further cements his lead in the overall standings and, with just one stage remaining, looks all but unbeatable.
Vitse builds on a perfect rally
In the car category, Simon Vitse and his trusted navigator Max Delfino added yet another stage win to their impressive streak. Clocking a final time of 3:31:12, the duo was again by far the fastest. Second place went to Lacam/Delfino (3:57:48), who continue to deliver strong performances. The top five was rounded out by Labille/Niveau (4:03:19), Lormand/Jorda (4:07:24), and Hristov/Hristov (4:08:31).
Many teams struggled with the stage. No fewer than ten teams recorded a DNF or DNS, including former top-20 crews such as Cambier/Brousse, Valverde/Minaudier, and Zosso/Zosso. Others, like Pelichet/Lecourbe and Goncalves/Magalhaes, stayed on pace with solid times. A notable setback occurred for Delencre/Lurquin, who incurred a penalty of over two hours and dropped significantly in the standings.
The final push through the dunes
Though shorter at 208 kilometers, the final stage of the 2025 Carta Rally is anything but easy. Competitors start straight from the bivouac with a full morning dune crossing from south to north through the Merzouga dunes. This is followed by fast tracks, fesh-fesh, a navigation-heavy canyon section, and a mix of technical and high-speed segments leading back to the bivouac.
With the deck now shuffled and little room for error, it promises to be a final opportunity for the chasing pack to go all-in and leave nothing on the table.
