Heading west

“Bonjour! Good morning!” launches Dominique Serra, founder and director general of the Rallye, at the 5 a.m. briefing. The Gazelles respond softly. “That’s a small ‘Good morning’!” The 330 participants of the Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles du Maroc are getting tired. And for good reason: yesterday’s leg in the dunes was exhausting. Twelve teams slept outside the bivouac. There were breakdowns and vehicle losses. But fortunately, no physical injuries, “which is the most important thing for us. I hope you all enjoyed the leg in the dunes and that you are looking forward to more in Leg 6. Drink lots of water, there were symptoms of dehydration yesterday.”

The 4^th day of competition can begin. Sport director Ludovic Taché repeats the same advice: “Take care of your vehicle, it is the third member of your team.”

Today’s looped leg features an ideal distance of 175 kilomètres and an estimated time of 8:30. With this leg the course moves from the province of Errachidia and that of Zagora. The leg begins with fifty-odd kilometres of road before getting to the heart of the matter: Aguelmouss. “Drive carefully, you don’t have priority on the road.”

The plateau of Aguelmouss offers good visibility but navigation is not necessarily easy. There are many features and landmarks which may be difficult to identify. The leg has 8 checkpoints. There are large rocks in the areas between CP 1 and 2. Drive carefully there, the terrain is tough. Watch your speed. Careful, there will be wide flat zones where there is nothing to slow you down.” Have a great day!