Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles

We leave the El Hazbane bivouac and head northeast to Neijakh, site of the first bivouac of the 2008 edition, where we will be spending 3 nights. The ideal route is 180 km, with a minimum time of 10 hrs 15 mins. The start is given at 6:00 by Pascal Gentil, enthusiastic as ever. As the sun rises, the cars shoot off in a cloud of dust. The Gazelles encounter sand near the beginning of the course, small strings of dunes that they have to cross. For some this is an initiation... And this is only the beginning, with the immense dunes of Merzouga still to come! This leg presents a greater driving challenge, with many obstacles to cross, and more difficult navigation. The Gazelles must find their way across the immense Lahfira plateau, aiming for passes through the rocky barriers. The leg will lead the competitors to Oued Rheris and on to Rissani. The race is definitely on, and the competitors fan out across the kilometres. Mishaps for some, major challenges for others, and for all, a day of incredible memories. 

DS MAGAZINE / TOYOTA / ASSOCIATION LES ENFANTS D'ARLEQUIN 138 Florence MIGRAINE BOURGNON and Corentine QUINIOU in a TOYOTA LAND CRUISER
Car 138 is delayed in getting to the start line: scheduled for the first line, the team arrives late and has to wait at the back of the line. They drive quickly and make up for their late start. Following their heading, they cross a difficult passage in a straight line without hesitation while others remain stuck... The first to reach CP3 at 11:25, the girls then lose a lot of time between CP3 and CP4. They reach CP8D at 17:43 and then waste more time wandering just 500 metres from the bivouac. A long day for these Gazelles who are in second place this evening in the general ranking.

ELLE MAGAZINE / TOYOTA / ASSOCIATION FORCEFEMMES.COM 139 Aude BARREAU AIRIEV and Nathalie PELLERIN in a TOYOTA HILUX
Aude and Nathalie reach CP3 at noon, after driving an extra 10 km getting through the nearby village, taking  care not to drive across planted fields. They meet up with some other teams at the checkpoint, have a bite to eat and continue. "We were daring around CP4 and 5: we went through places that we never thought we would be able to go with the car". They would have liked to try for CP8 but it was too late...

EUROSPORT / NISSAN / ASSOCIATION IKDC 185 Clémence and Olivia JOYEUX in a NISSAN PATROL
The team got off to a difficult start this morning. Olivia, exhausted, cracked under the strain: "Les Joyeuses" had a hard time navigating to CP3. But after this they really scored, arriving among the first at every CP right up to CP8. The Gazelles are 7th position after the second leg.

QUESTIONS DE FEMMES / TOYOTA / JEVEUXAIDER.COM 188 Cindy FABRE and Isabelle LAMANT in a TOYOTA LAND CRUISER
The Gazelles had a hard time finding their CP4 but kept going right to the end to capture CP8, worth 100 points! They are 12th after the second day of the competition. 

FEMME ACTUELLE / TOYOTA / ASSOCIATION LES JARDINS DE LA MONTAGNE VERTE 191 Nathalie VINCENT and Anne-Gaëlle RICCIO in a TOYOTA HILUX
Navigation problems for our two Gazelles, who were seen heading for 3D while they were on route C... They end up finding 4C at 19:09, one minute before closing time. As it would soon be dark, they decided to sleep at the CP and return to the bivouac at dawn.

TV MAGAZINE/ ISUZU / ASSOCIATION ELA 192 Valérie BEGUE Miss France and Alexandra ROSENFELD Miss France / Miss Europe in an ISUZU D-MAX
AN emotional day for our "Misses", who come to the aid of Team 202 after their accident. Last on the course after the accident, they manage to reach 3 checkpoints before 11:00. "Then we spent ages looking for the 4th", explains Alexandra. They spot a red flag, but it turns out to be the wrong one. Eventually they do locate it, then follow a trail to take CP5 before returning to the bivouac. "We don't want to get back after dark any more", explains Valérie. "The other CPs were too far for us."

CITADINE / ISUZU /ASSOCIATION AFAK 194 Silvina PINEIRO ARAMBURU and Stéphanie FENESTRAZ in an ISUZU D-MAX
The Gazelles get stuck in the sand between CP 4 and 5, which they locate without any problem, following their headings. "We got some exercise today" confirms Silvina, "We shovelled, carried the sand ladders around... But we got out of there!"

FRANCE 24 / NISSAN / ASSOCIATION AZEKKA 202 Laure MANENT and Valérie DEFERT in a NISSAN PATROL
Between the bivouac and CP1 the team of journalists from France 24 have the sun in their eyes and fail to see a 3- or 4-metre drop: their vehicle flips over the edge onto the sandy bottom of a oued.  In shock but safe and sound, the Gazelles call for medical assistance and honk their horn to attract attention... and the "Misses" of Team 192 are the first on the scene: "We comforted them, gave hem candy, then the organization arrived and took over." The race is over for Laure and Valérie: their vehicle is too badly damaged to make it all the way to Essaouira.