Author: norwitdakarracing

A stray stone really slowed down the Slovak Norwit Racing crew in the fifth stage of the Eco Africa Race 2026. However, Martin Benko and Marek Sýkora repaired the punctured radiator and reached the finish line.

Thanks to this incident in the fifth stage of the Eco Africa Race 2026, the leading crew of the SSV category, Martin Benko and Marek Sýkora, lost almost two hours to the winners of the stage. This of course cost them the championship in the category and a move to seventh place in the standings. Fortunately, the loss to the leading crew of the standings is only one hour and six minutes after the fifth stage, which is not that much in a long-distance competition. The essential thing about this story is that the “golden Slovak hands” managed to fix the problem and Martin and Marek were able to continue the race and transport their buggy to the bivouac in Dakhla.

“Today was a really nutritious day. After about two hundred kilometers of driving at full throttle, our water started to boil. We stopped in a desert storm and discovered that our radiator was punctured by a stone. After about an hour, after we had disassembled half of the car, we found the hole and sealed it. Luckily, we had glue with us, but we weren’t sure if it would hold, but it was fine and we kept going and reached the finish line and then the bivouac. It’s a loss, but it’s still playable,” Martin Benko described the events of the fifth stage.

The organizer has planned a “Rest Day” for all participants of the Eco Africa Race 2026 event for tomorrow (January 31, 2026), i.e. a free day in the port city of Dakhla, located in Western Sahara. The day off will include a rest, but also a check-up and repair of the equipment, which has already completed half of the competition and is just as tired as its crew. The day off will certainly be useful and beneficial for everyone.