The sixteenth and final leg of the Dakar 2005 rally covered a total of 68 km, including a 31-km special trial, but even these few kilometres were not without surprises.

Following the dramatic withdrawal of second-placed Dutch driver, Bekx (Daf), Markku Alén finished in 7th place overall in his Iveco Eurocargo 4x4l, a respectable 11 hours and 26 minutes behind the winner, Kabirov, driving a Kamaz, after a gruelling event which saw many trucks fail to finish. For the record, the last leg was won by Tchagin, also at the wheel of a Kamaz, while only 35 of the original 69 trucks entered made it to the chequered flag in Dakar – with the last, a full 65 hours behind the winner.

The two previous stages saw the Iveco team perform strongly. The fourteenth stage, from Kayes to Tambacounda, covered a total of 630 km, including a 529-km special trial, which took the teams from Mali to Senegal and which saw Markku Alén and his Eurocargo 140E24WS achieve their best result to date: 6th place, which left him firmly holding onto 8th place in the overall standings ater that stage.
 

The penultimate stage, number fifteen from Tambacounda to Dakar, was fought out over 569 km, and included a special 225 km trial.

With the end finally in sight, teams battled to consolidate their positions, while the drivers’ main aim was to nurse the vehicles home safely after their 10,000 kilometre adventure through the desert.

Iveco-driver Markku Alén finished in 16th place and so confirmed his 8th place in the overall standings, with one leg remaining, 11 hours and 23 minutes behind the leader, Kabirov, in his powerful Kamaz.