Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles

More than just the beginning of the race, the Prologue is a day to adjust. First-timers get to apply the theoretical knowledge learned during their navigation training, the pilots learn the feel of their vehicles. For returning Gazelles, it a day for rediscovering the experiences of past years. 

The start of the Prologue at the El Hazbane bivouac was given by French actor Philippe Cura of the TV series "Caméra Café". The Gazelles set out on 5 different, but equivalent, looped routes each with an ideal distance of 49 km. The top teams should be back at the bivouac after about 3 hours, after finding the 3 CPs.

DS MAGAZINE / TOYOTA / ASSOCIATION LES ENFANTS D'ARLEQUIN 138 Florence MIGRAINE BOURGNON and Corentine QUINIOU in a TOYOTA LAND CRUISER
The two-time winners (2006 and 2007) are not letting last year's failure hold them back (they were forced to withdraw halfway through the race after their vehicle broke down). Extremely motivated, they aim to win the general ranking and the RCM Challenge, so that they can present another 15,000 Euro donation to their favourite charity.

ELLE MAGAZINE / TOYOTA / ASSOCIATION FORCEFEMMES.COM 139 Aude BARREAU AIRIEV and Nathalie PELLERIN in a TOYOTA HILUX
A team that knows itself well: confident in navigation, these Gazelles are driving a new vehicle this year with 100 horses under the hood... To be continued.

EUROSPORT / NISSAN / ASSOCIATION IKDC 185 Clémence and Olivia JOYEUX in a NISSAN PATROL
Nicknamed "Les Joyeuses" ("the happy ones"), Clémence, two-time former Gazelle, is introducing her sister-in-law to the adventure. The experience gained during an amazing participation in the Paris-Dakar 2009 with Florence Bourgnon Migraine is sure to be an asset.

QUESTIONS DE FEMMES / TOYOTA / JEVEUXAIDER.COM 188 Cindy FABRE and Isabelle LAMANT in a TOYOTA LAND CRUISER
Cindy, Miss France 2005, navigated with Grâce de Capitani last year. This year she is taking the wheel in a team with Isabelle, Miss Paris 2002 and colleague of Geneviève de Fontenay.
"I am letting her get her bearings for the moment", explains Cindy, "We are starting slowly. I can find my way around, but I am paying close attention to where I drive. I have bad memories of flat tires last year."

FEMME ACTUELLE / TOYOTA / ASSOCIATION LES JARDINS DE LA MONTAGNE VERTE 191 Nathalie VINCENT and Anne-Gaëlle RICCIO in a TOYOTA HILUX
This year two newcomers are behind the wheel for the women's magazine. Slowly but surely, the Gazelles found their CPs.


TV MAGAZINE/ ISUZU / ASSOCIATION ELA 192 Valérie BEGUE (Miss France) and Alexandra ROSENFELD (Miss France / Miss Europe) in an ISUZU D-MAX
A bit lost during this first day, the two "Misses" had some difficulty passing from theory into practice... things should go better tomorrow!


CITADINE / ISUZU /ASSOCIATION AFAK 194 Silvina PINEIRO ARAMBURU and Stéphanie FENESTRAZ in an ISUZU D-MAX
Silvina, from Argentina, a designer in real life, explains in softly accented French that the day went very well for this team. Everything is meeting their expectations, but what if this first day was too easy?

FRANCE 24 / NISSAN / ASSOCIATION AZEKKA 202 Laure MANENT and Valérie DEFERT in a NISSAN PATROL
First participation and first off-road driving experience for the two journalists of the France 24 team, who were both stressed and enthusiastic at the start line this morning. 


The prologue results in a ranking that is used to define the starting order for the first leg. This first ranking takes into account the number of CPs found (or not), the distance travelled and any other penalties. Then the counter is reset to zero for the actual competition. However, it is preferable to leave early in order to have more time to find the CPs...