19e édition - du 14 au 29 mars 2009
Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles
La référence féminine depuis 1990
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Happy Birthdays!
Three birthdays to celebrate this March 20th: Marie Pichot, clothing designer, 25 years old today and already in her 2nd participation (Team 166 - Parmentine); and Canadians Manon St-Louis (41 today, manager - Team 118 - Banque Laurentienne), and Ariane Gagné-Frégeau (26 today, student - Team 126 - Nurun). A birthday in the dunes de Merzouga... how "cool" is that!
News flash 06:00 - Start of Leg 3, first Marathon leg!
This will be an added challenge for the Gazelles who are already feeling the effects of the last two days of competition. But today's route will take them through some magnificent scenery in the dunes of Merzouga (Erg Chebbi), the highest in the Kingdom of Morocco... An added motivation for our participants who, despite their fatigue, are eager and excited to use their shovels and sand ladders!
Race notes Saturday 14:30 - a challenging leg
In the Erg Chebbi dunes, the challenge is not so much the navigation, but getting to the checkpoints... As the weather has been dry and hot lately, the sand is soft and thick and driving is difficult in the dunes.
Of the 95 teams (4x4 and quads) out of 101 who chose the route through the dunes (a number that increases every year), there have already been 6 calls for assistance from teams stuck in the sand... whereas normally the Gazelles balk at requesting assistance, synonymous with a 200-point penalty.
Quad teams 22 and 23 and 4x4 teams 116, 133, 138, 161, 162 and 192 have left the dunes after finding all the CPs there; teams 155, 160 who chose the route around the dunes have already reached CP5.
Note that Team 112 (Sandrine RIDET and Céline BONO - SDIS 13) have broken their suspension and are waiting for mechanical assistance.
Don't lose heart, Gazelles: the second part of this marathon leg should focus more on navigation, with less need for "elbow grease"!
Temporary results for Leg 2
News flash 21:00 - the pump has reached the bivouac!
Emotional and excited, Nathalie Benoît and her trainer and teammate Isabelle Danjou rush to thank their "saviour", Brigitte Dasseux, Communications Manager for La Poste. Of course, it is also thanks to La Poste that the team has been flooded with emails of encouragement!
Race notes 20:30 - which teams will not be back tonight?
It is time to take stock of this second leg. At 20:30, 86 teams have returned to the bivouac, 24 are still out on the course. Not all of these are intending to spend the night off the bivouac: only Teams 130, 140, 143 and 131 plan to pitch their tents... in the middle of nowhere!
Focus on the Total teams
Andréanne Guimont, from quad to organizer
Race notes 15:48 - teams at CP7
Located just west of a plateau, CP7 has been reached by teams 135, 151 and 112. Before returning to the bivouac, our Gazelles need to head back south to CP8, which is to the east of the bivouac.
Race notes 15:16 - Team 138, current leader, should lose a dozen points
The information has just been confirmed by the Race PC: Team 138 (Corentine Quiniou and Florence Migraine Bourgnon - Questions de Femmes) had trouble finding their fifth checkpoint. The pilot and her navigator deviated east of CP5 before doubling around to the west to reach it. Now they are heading for CP6. This detour could cost them their position at the head of the general ranking. Florence Bourgnon and Corentine Quiniou are the only three-time winning team of the Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles.
Race notes 12:54 - progressing well
While half of the teams are somewhere between CP4 and CP5, most of the rest spread out between CP5 and CP6, heading towards various other checkpoints.
On the Race PC's satellite tracking system (Iritrack), it can be seen that most of the competitors have adapted well to today's little "surprise".
Team 156 (Christa VOLKE et Suzanne KUNZ - Volke Compagny Group) seems to have strayed off course; after their 5th checkpoint, they are headed too far north, away from their CP6 which lies to the west.
In order to reach their 6th checkpoint, Team 125 (Claudine AMAT and Christine LALOUE - Coiffure Elle et Lui) have to take the Tabridia Fault which leads to a second plateau about forty metres lower.
Team 167 continues to stick to their headings, in spite of a temporary deviation, quickly rectified. But most impressive of all is Team 155 (Syndiely WADE and Carole MONTILLET - Axecibles Vicat), ranked 3rd after yesterday's leg, who are driving as the crow flies... straight towards their CP5.
News flash 11:30 - a water pump to fly in from Paris Orly!
And guess who is bringing it? Brigitte Dasseux, communicator for... La Poste, coming to follow the progress of the 5 yellow Kangoos. Which goes to show, La Poste delivers anywhere, even in the middle of the desert!
Race note 09:51 - heading due north
Almost 4 hours after the start of the leg, most of the competitors have reached CP1 and CP2 without too much difficulty. Team 167 (Sophie and Céline GASTINE - Catherine Parra), first in the 4x4 class general ranking, seem to be following an excellent heading and are about to reach CP3. While the quads 22 (Karine CANDES and Valérie DOT - Thierry Transports) (1st in the Quad general ranking) are only at CP2, the pilots are clearly in control of their navigation.
Team 129 (Stéphany MAILLERY and Edith ROBILLARD - Globocam) aren't wasting any time: they are moving rapidly from CP to CP and are only 6km from CP5!
There have been several navigation errors this morning: Teams 163 (Dorianne SCHILLACI and Fabienne GALIDIE - SNEI Lempdes), 198 (Caroline PEREZ and Régine MAITREL - Abysse Automobile) and 130 (Jacqueline and Shaday LAVALLEE - Groupe Charbonneau) headed for CP6... without stoppng first at CP4 and CP5. After heading south-east, Team 187 (Maryon CREZE and Dominique DUFIEUX - Adonis Technologie) have corrected their error and are now heading in the right direction.
As yet, no calls for assistance have been made.
Race info 08:00: the teams that did not come back to the bivouac
Six teams spent the night out in the desert. At dawn, Teams 148, 119, 114, 126, 20 and 187 took a heading for the bivouac. As soon as they arrived, Team 114 - Heliatech adjusted the tire pessure on their Isuzu D Max and took the start for Leg 2 without further delay.
Team 148 - Toyota is still at the bivouac, getting ready to leave. Things look a little more complicated for Team 119 - C10 Nuget-Naveau; the mechanics are checking their vehicle.
Still not back: Team 20 - Normandeau Nathalie, 126 - Nurun and 187 - Adonis Technologie who are still on their way to the bivouac. Our Gazelles have a time limit: they have to take the start for Leg 2 before noon in order to stay in the race and avoid being "Unranked".
The second leg is on!
On the start line, despite the note of fatigue that can already be heard in their voices, the Gazelles are concentrated and ready for this new chalenge.
About a hundred metres after the start line, a dozen teams have stopped to calculate their heading and to get their bearings on a map that is not the same as the ones they have used so far... (to find out more about this morning's briefing).
daily program on M6
The Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles on W9 and Téva
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Happy Birthdays!
Three birthdays to celebrate this March 20th: Marie Pichot, clothing designer, 25 years old today and already in her 2nd participation (Team 166 - Parmentine); and Canadians Manon St-Louis (41 today,...
News flash 06:00 - Start of Leg 3, first Marathon leg!
Marathon Leg? A single leg which takes... two days instead of one! No bivouac this evening, so the competitors will camp out in the middle of the dunes. As they do every year, they will get together...Race notes Saturday 14:30 - a challenging leg
In the Erg Chebbi dunes, the challenge is not so much the navigation, but getting to the checkpoints... As the weather has been dry and hot lately, the sand is soft and thick and driving is...Temporary results for Leg 2
