Competition-wise, a long and difficult leg for many

Yesterday’s rankings were extremely close, with differences measured in the tens of metres over an ideal route of 118 km. Just 40 metres separate leading team 246 (Carole MONTILLET / Sylvie GODEAU GELLIE - Vakkorama) and their main rival, Team 202 (Jeanette JAMES / Emmanuelle TARQUINI DOS SANTOS - Bumper Off Road Jeep). There were even several ties such as Team 169 (Laurence BRASEY / Véronique DE SYBOURG-SIFFERT) and Team 108 (Adeline DROUIN / Karima BENOUARET BENZID - UAP Successeurs), and Team 208 (Brigitte SOBANSKI-JOYEUX / Patricia CAPDEVIELLE - SOPRA STERIA AEROLINE) and Team 207 (Stéphanie GUERRY / Kaori ISHIBASHI - GBG Assurances).

Yesterday, 18 teams drove a route less than 10 km over the ideal crow-flies distance, demonstrating the high level of expertise in navigation and ability to read the terrain. Novice teams naturally clocked up more penalty kilometres (9.69 km for novice team 102 (Elodie SERVIN / Claudia MARTIN) versus 4.95 km for veterans 246 (Carole MONTILLET / Sylvie GODEAU GELLIE - Vakkorama), respective leaders in their classes) but the desire to perform can be clearly seen. Several skilled and motivated First Participation teams are emerging, led by 102 (Elodie SERVIN / Claudia MARTIN), 130 (Laurence MICHELET / Isabelle BURRI - PHENE IMPORTATION SA), 118 (Veronique SGARRA BERIOT / Coralie GUEYDON), 211 (Chloé PIRZKAL / Mireille VIDUEIRA) and 167 (Emmanuelle HONORE / Gaëlle GALLIMARD - SNCF) at the top of the pack.

This time, getting down to business

The teams began jostling for position and refining their strategies, both among the veteran teams in the Expert Challenge and inexperienced Gazelles alike.

Today’s leg offered some tough terrain and challenging navigation: 165 km with long headings and few easily-identifiable features apart from the Rharouchane mountain looming more or less in the centre of the crescent in which most of the checkpoints were placed (2, 3, 4, 5 6)… Unsurprisingly and true to form, Team 246 (Carole MONTILLET / Sylvie GODEAU GELLIE - Vakkorama) locked on their heading right off the bivouac, confirming their place at the top of the rankings. Team 238 (Hélène GRAND'EURY / Charlotte ZUCCONI - VAL THORENS/VALTHOPARC) chose to save some time by taking the road at the start of the leg in order to focus on the more challenging checkpoints that followed. The strategy paid off, keeping them in 3rd position. With a less impressive performance than yesterday, Team 202 (Jeanette JAMES / Emmanuelle TARQUINI DOS SANTOS - Bumper Off Road Jeep) dropped from second to fourth, to the benefit of Team 107 (Stéphanie PERUSSE / Anne-Marie BORG - Bleu Blanc Rouge communication) who slid into 2nd place in tonight’s provisional rankings.

Among the First Participation teams, some Gazelles showed the same level of determination as the champions but, by definition, lacked the necessary experience to pull it off, leading to sometimes costly errors. Such was the case for Team 102 (Elodie SERVIN / Claudia MARTIN) who, seeking to retain their first place standing, let the bivouac on a straight heading rather than taking the road (unlike their successor, Team 130 (Laurence MICHELET / Isabelle BURRI - PHENE IMPORTATION SA)). Their first mistake occurred after CP 3, costing them about 1.5 km. This was followed by a second, more serious error after checkpoint 7: they headed west-south-west across a wide plateau ending in a steep cliff, resulting in 12 extra km on the odometer.

Driving errors were another source of instability in the First Participation ranking: no better example than Team 118 (Veronique SGARRA BERIOT / Coralie GUEYDON), in third place off the start line with the intention of doing even better today. After hitting a rock, they returned to the bivouac after CP 6 with a broken oil pan casing and a driver in tears. Worst-case scenario: the team will be Unranked, if the repairs take a long time and require parts that are not already at the bivouac. Best-case scenario: a 200-point penalty. Team 222 (Sophie RICHARD / Sarah ES SEDDIQI - Centre Cardiothoracique de Monaco), in 31st place after yesterday’s leg, had a similar experience: a hand brake insufficiently engaged on a slope while taking a heading, a oued at the bottom, and their Toyota ended up with a damaged suspension arm and radiator. They were brought back on a flatbed. And this is only the second leg: neither mechanical wear nor fatigue are fully in play as yet. There is sure to be a lot of movement in the rankings!

The Famous Four

This was not a great day in Crossover Class, scene of major heading errors, lost bearings and driving in circles after CP2, which marked the end of the section along the road. Team 313 (Solen KERLEROUX / Carine POISSON - RUN FUN / MTECH) emerged victorious, climbing from last to first position. Clean headings and solid determination got them back to the bivouac with all their checkpoints, despite a few issues along the way. Team 311 (Christelle PERRIN / Lucie FAGEDET) and Team 310 (Sandrine MARTIAL / Isabelle FAUST - Les tourtons du Champsaur et Classic All Blacks) gave up after CP4, dropping to the back of the pack.

Highs and lows of Quad Class

The two extremes of Quad Class remained stable. Team 28 (Elisabeth (Betty) KRAFT / Sonia BAUDOIN-GUERARD - POLARIS FRANCE (quads) had no difficulty holding onto first place, while Team 23 (Valerie WANNEZ / Emmanuelle GIRAUD BUSSAT - EBV FRANCE) remained at the back of the pack. After missing their second checkpoint, all other checkpoints reached during the day did not count, resulting in penalties. Add to that the distance driven to reach them and, more importantly, the fact that CP 2 was the refuelling point for Quad Class: naturally, they ran out of gas. A bad day but consistent in the rankings.