To end the Rallye, the beach

The end of a 1,300-km desert adventure

Today held one last stretch of sand, one which all Gazelles hope to reach, whatever their ranking.  At 9 o’clock, the first teams started moving up the vast beach in Essaouira against a backdrop of the Atlantic Ocean and an azure blue sky. Their vehicles shone and sparkled in the distance through a fine ocean mist.

This year for the first time, 24 Fantasia horse riders led the parade, decked out in traditional costume: an extremely impressive sight! Behind the security barrier, the crowd of curious onlookers and Gazelle supporters vied for a good look at the teams. As a reminder, this year’s edition included 7 sister teams, 18 colleague teams, 13 company teams (such as SNCF; Le bon coin; Europe Assistance; Transavia, official Rallye transporter, who entered 3 teams; Tsarine champagne and its team; CBA Informatique) and 16 different nationalities including, for the first time, China.

The 182 members of the organization were all at their posts to guide the ceremonial parade. Dominique Serra, the Rallye’s founder and director, commented: “They have been wonderful; they’re happy and proud of what they have accomplished.” That is plain for all to see: perched on the roofs of their vehicles, the heroines of the day had huge smiles on their faces as they waved enthusiastically at the crowd.

Team 115 (Laurence SERAFIN / Pascale NAVARRO - Vinci immobilier) led the way, followed by 130 (Laurence MICHELET / Isabelle BURRI - PHENE IMPORTATION SA), 161 (Laura PEDOTTI / Adeline MESNIL - Volkswagen Group France), 134 (Nadia LARBI / Isabelle ROUSSEAU), 160 (Delphine ROUX / Anna GOUROVITCH - Volkswagen Group France) fromVolkswagen, 191 (Christine CHEYREZY / Anne SARROT), 136 (Ophélie ROUX / Maëva MARTIN) and all the others, presented by Bruno Vandestick, the well-known voice of ‘24h du Mans’. Actress and Rallye fan Véronique Jeannot joined Team 168 (Pélagie PAGART / Laurence PICANO - OVELIA) on the roof of their 4×4: she didn’t want to miss that chance!

The rear of this lovely procession of ambition mixed with tenacity, generosity and excellence, was brought up by this year’s winner in 4×4 Class, Team 238 (Hélène GRAND'EURY / Charlotte ZUCCONI - VAL THORENS/VALTHOPARC), who have two previous podium finishes but never in first place. The parade culminated in a spectacular salute by Fantasia, a tribute to our host country of Morocco, always welcoming this event with great generosity and unflagging support. The Gazelles then headed for the marquee tent, site of the prize-giving ceremony and gala evening.