Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles

Isabelle Charles and Dounia Bennani, Team 122 - DACIA, for whom this is the 5th and 7th Rallye respectively, got "lost" last night on their way to the Nejjakh bivouac, which should be very familiar to veteran Gazelles! They drove in circles before finally finding the camp at 19:30. But shhhh... they're not very proud of themselves!

On the other hand, when it comes to finding checkpoints, they are among the bast with their Renault Dacia Duster, a 4x4 prototype specially prepared to compete in the 4x4 class.

If you happened to be passing between CP3B and CP4B around 13:00 this afternoon, you would have been witness to a strange ceremony: 6 Gazelles, Anne and Nathalie (114 - GFP INVEST), Marion and Ludivine (128 - ENTENDRE), Brigitte and Valérie (165 - ALLIANCE 4) planted a wooden cross in the middle of the desert plateau and gathered around it shouting: "Mourir et rire dans le désert, telle est notre devise!" ("To laugh and die in the desert: this is our motto!").

These adventure-seekers are all here for the first time and are enjoying some of the experiences so familiar to the Rallye veterans: sleeping out in the desert, getting stuck, problems navigating... Today for the first time they allowed themselves to take a real lunch break!

"At La Poste, 600 employees applied to become Gazelles and live this superb adventure. 10 of us were selected. We have a Dacia crossover that drives super well, and we know that this experience is unique because we are only allowed to participate once. We have to give others a chance, so we are making the most of every moment!" explains Katy of Team 312.

Sandrine Ridet and Céline Bono (112 - SDIS 13) have lots of amusing stories to tell about their experiences since the beginning of the  Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles: "We had a problem with our transmission which got stuck in low, so we had to do yesterday's leg at an average speed of 25km/h - I know it's not a speed race, but still! Then today we got a flat, we changed the wheel, no problem - until we saw our wheel rolling past us along the trail! We felt really stupid... Luckily we had en extra set of lug nuts!"

Martine and Cécile, Team 134 - BARACALAND AGDE, organize their Land Rover like a suitcase: "If there was a prize for the best-organized 4X4, we would win first place! Everything is in its place, wrapped in plastic, in labelled boxes - we are careful to keep everything clean: the glove compartment, the locks..."