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Fenix Rally 2026, Leg 1 Djerba–Douz: Justin Gerlach reports stage win in the motorcycle class

Published by Thomas Menzel on 26. October 2026

Series: Fenix Rally – The doorway to Sahara

Justin Gerlach believes he is leading after Leg 1 of the Fenix Rally 2026. “Ich bin heute der Stage-Winner” (“I’m the stage winner today”), the Berliner said in the evening after the first long stage from Djerba to Douz (translated from German). An official results list for the motorcycle classification could not be found publicly by the evening of 26 October 2026. The stage win is therefore Gerlach’s own account, and there is no confirmation from the organiser, RBI Sport.

The reports also differ on the date of the stage. The programme, which Euro4x4parts reproduces citing fenix-rally.com, published in advance, gives Saturday, 24 October 2026. According to a press report by the Belgian Feryn team on Autosportwereld, however, the prologue took place on Saturday afternoon and Leg 1 on Sunday, 25 October. The official start list for Leg 1 was generated on 24 October at 18:07, which fits the Sunday version better. There is no explicit clarification from the organiser.

Six-minute start gap as a lead

Gerlach came out of the prologue in a position in the front of the midfield. In the “Enduro + ATV” start group he set off seventh at 07:06 with number 11 on his KTM FR 450 Rally (Team JG Racing), six minutes after the Dutchman Jeremy Knuiman (number 21, KTM EXC 450), who had opened the group at 07:00. That is what the start list shows.

According to Gerlach’s account, he caught a first rival who had gone off course at around kilometre 50. After that he rode in front until about kilometre 130 and had to find the track himself. After the restart for the last roughly 90 kilometres, Knuiman came past. “Ich habe versucht, dran zu bleiben, aber es ging nicht, er war deutlich schneller als ich” (“I tried to stay with him, but I couldn’t, he was much faster than me”), said Gerlach (translated from German), who then rode his own pace.

About 20 kilometres before the finish, the track he had been following disappeared. Gerlach concluded that the rider ahead had gone off course and picked up the pace, “weil die Navigation extrem anspruchsvoll wurde am Ende” (“because the navigation became extremely demanding at the end”, translated from German). Knuiman closed up again, and by Gerlach’s account both reached the finish together with a quad rider. Because they had started six minutes apart, Gerlach puts his lead over Knuiman at exactly those six minutes. Possible time penalties or corrections to the timekeeping are not included.

“Ein erster langer Tag ist vorbei und ich muss sagen, ich habe eine Menge Spaß” (“A first long day is over and I have to say I’m having a lot of fun”), said the 25-year-old (translated from German). According to Wikipedia, Gerlach finished the Dakar Rally in 2025 and took part in the Fenix Rally in 2023 and 2024 as a navigator in a Land Rover Discovery.

Tape and Bluetooth

Repairs were needed all the same. On the way, Gerlach says he re-cut the threads of the engine guard. A second bolt then no longer held, so he fixed the part with tape. After the finish the roadbook controller, the handlebar remote with which riders advance the digital roadbook, stopped working. Gerlach spent around two hours looking for the fault before fitting a Bluetooth module: “am Ende hat es dann das gute alte Bluetooth gerichtet” (“in the end it was good old Bluetooth that fixed it”, translated from German). For the next stage he expects to start as the first motorcycle. There are “nur noch sechs Tage” (“only six days”) to go until the finish (translated from German).

434 kilometres from the coast into the desert

The organiser’s competitor briefing puts Leg 1 at a total of 434 kilometres: a 38.82-kilometre liaison to the start, a 252.89-kilometre special stage and a 142.29-kilometre liaison to Douz. Two neutralisations, meaning sections without timing, were built into the stage. The second ran from kilometre 120.73 to 159.63, led through Tataouine and lasted one hour and 15 minutes. Motorcycles and quads had to refuel there; the briefing requires them to have a range of 150 kilometres plus 10 per cent.

According to the briefing, the start featured technical terrain with narrow, twisty tracks, vegetation, villages and local traffic. From kilometre 94 riders crossed a busy road, followed by a series of wadis, or dry river valleys, where choosing the right valley and its exits was crucial. Beyond Tataouine the terrain became more open and desert-like. From kilometre 220 the route ran through a sandy oued with similar-looking tracks and frequent changes of direction, in the organiser’s assessment one of the trickiest sections of the day for navigation. Directly after the end of the stage at kilometre 252.89, a fuel service by the organisation was waiting.

Rally motorcyclist on an enduro bike in a sand dune landscape in Tunisia
Archive photo: motorcyclist in the dunes at a previous edition of the Fenix Rally, not from Leg 1 2026. Photo: Fenix Rally / RBI Sport, photographer not named, fenix-rally.com

Motorcycle field and German-speaking starters

In the “Enduro + ATV” group, the start list for Leg 1 shows 22 starters: 16 motorcycles in the ENDURO_CC class, two quads ridden by the Poles Adam Krysiak and Karol Slugocki (both Polaris Scrambler) and four motorcycles from the historic Loasis Rally, which runs in parallel. The Dutchman Dries De Baar (number 15, GasGas 450) appears in the organiser’s entry list but is missing from the start list for Leg 1. The reason is not known.

Two other German-speaking motorcyclists are taking part alongside Gerlach:

  • Georg Reinprecht (Austria, number 24, Beta RR 390) started fourth in the group at 07:03.
  • Florian Willer (Germany, number 9, KTM 450 EXC) set off 14th in the group at 07:13.

Stage results for Reinprecht and Willer have not yet been published, nor has an overall standing for the motorcycles after the prologue and Leg 1.

Rally motorcyclist kicks up a fountain of sand in the dunes
Archive photo: motorcyclist in the Tunisian dunes; a sticker on the motorcycle refers to the 2021 edition of the Fenix Rally. Photo: RBI Sport, photographer not named, rbi-sport.com

Correction of 26 October 2026: An earlier version gave Saturday, 24 October 2026 as the date of Leg 1 without qualification. A press report by the Feryn team gives Sunday, 25 October. The discrepancy is now stated in the text.

Sources and photo credits

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