Adventure-wise, sand, sand and more sand…

After yesterday’s Prologue, the first leg that counts for the rankings began with apprehension and enthusiasm. Seven checkpoints over an ideal distance of 117 kilometres and an estimated time of 8:45.

In the sand from the start

This first day of competition took place against a breathtaking landscape. Before the Gazelles, in the distance, loomed the famous Merzouga dunes, which they will face in two days’ time. In the meantime, they warmed up with a string of small dunes. To each her strategy. Some teams chose to go around them, even if it meant clocking up extra kilometres. Others took the chance of getting stuck or losing their bearings.

Such was the case for Team 200 (Elise GRAVOUIL / Christelle MASSIAS), who got out their sand ladders: “We want to do everything we can to avoid getting back too late this evening, so it would be good if we only get stuck once. We’re more afraid of the real dunes than these ones.”

Putting strategies in place

The navigator of Team 170 (Francine ABGRALL / Suzanne Wadsworth - Europ Assistance) ran ahead of her driver. “It’s so cold, running warms me up, and it really wakes me up as well!” On the horizon, rear-view mirrors glint across the plain. Team 178 (Marie GUARINO / Giliane STORRER - MERSE-TRANSAC) are enjoying the view: “These dunes are great, I feel like a little girl. My navigator wants me to take detours, but I don’t really want to.”

At the first checkpoint of Route D, after crossing a long plain, Team 237 (Marie-laure PONDEVY / Nathalie CASANOVA - FEC FRANCE) cried tears of joy. Yesterday they didn’t find a single checkpoint! And a second surprise that made their day: there were dromedaries at the CP to welcome them. A little further on, across an area of 300 metres, a dozen vehicles were stuck in a sandy hollow: “We were expecting to eat sand. It’s tough but we’re from Normandy,” joked Team 135 (Lucile CAPRON HAUDIQUER / Sophie DUVAL DUSSAUX - LDA).

The leg and its share of mishaps

Team 197 (Delphine ARNAU / Dominique BESNIER - CRÉATIFS GROUPE PARIS/LYON (Installateur général de salons) ripped a tire: “We must have hit a rock. It’s always such a pain to change a tire, we weren’t expecting that. It’s broken our stride and wasting our time. Meanwhile, the majestic Djebel Debouaa and the silhouette of Djebel El Begaa, the two mountains bordering the plain, watched over the Gazelles from afar.

CP 2 was very hard to find for Team 187 (Jennifer KALKA / Jessica AUBERT - VULPES ZERDA): “there were gigantic dinosaur crests and the flag was down in a hollow. I went for a little jog in the dunes to find it and avoid driving too many kilometres.” A tantalizing taste of things to come in the legendary Merzouga dunes…

Some Gazelles are unsure and losing confidence. Team 311 (Christelle PERRIN / Lucie FAGEDET) were lost for almost two hours while searching for SP 4 on Route S. They ended up breaking down in tears. Fortunately, Team 100 (Carole GAUTRON / Myriam MECHRAOUI - EXOTEC Dentaire) came to their rescue et recalculated the checkpoint with them. “Look, you need to go back to the bivouac, you’ve plotted your point in the wrong place. You’re way off.” Confused and disappointed, the team called it a day.

Well-camouflaged CPs

To reach their third checkpoint, the Gazelles drove between orange dunes on one side and purple cliffs on the other. Team 224 (Karine ESPERANDIEU / Sandrine JOUANNET - RÉCUPÉRATION ALÉSIENNE FERS ET MÉTAUX) just checked off CP 3: “I’m really happy because yesterday was a horrible day, we finished 127^th.” Time for a well-deserved lunch break after taking a photo with their disposable camera.

In Quad Class, Team 24 (Peggy OLIVA / Isabelle SIBI - SSV RACING) just found CP 3 on Route B: “We really searched for this one. It doesn’t take much to lose your heading. We had to go through a bunch of camel grass. But there had to be at least one that gave us a hard time!” Team 26 (Amélie DELACHESNAIS / Emilie CAZAL) was hoping to hit CP 4 quickly, “and then we’ll be halfway through today’s route!”

A checkpoint for discovering Cœur de Gazelles

A series of vehicles converged on the final checkpoint, shared by all routes, as the sun began to go down. The Cœur de Gazelles medical caravan was set up not far from this 7^th checkpoint. Teams 199 (Clotilde VIET / Alexia NEVEU - leboncoin), 144 (Laurene VOILLEQUIN / Laure AVELINE - Adhome Services) and 133 (Julie Oudina Blaise / Meredith Grosset - Normandie Chauffage) decided this morning that they would visit the caravan. “If it’s because of Cœur de Gazelles that you got all your checkpoints, I am very proud!” exclaimed Fred Valat, manager of the medical caravan.

The first arrivals discussed their day and let off some steam in the bar tent. Between epic tales and sandy anecdotes, the wind rose once again over the bivouac.