UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF HIS MAJESTY KING MOHAMMED VI
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THE ORIGINAL
UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF HIS MAJESTY KING MOHAMMED VI
06 Étape 22019-03-15T12:19:57+01:00

LEG 2

NEJJACK – NEJJACK

LEG 2

NEJJACK – NEJJACK

CHECKPOINTS 7

IDEAL KM 117km

ESTIMATED TIME 8h45

TERRAIN vastes plaines, premières difficultés et zones de sable

CHECKPOINTS 7

IDEAL KM 117km

ESTIMATED TIME 8h45

TERRAIN vastes plaines, premières difficultés et zones de sable

Like others before them, Audrey and Kattel received a call from Rally HQ alerting them that they were heading in the wrong direction to reach CP7.
Charlotte et Hélène of Team 238 (Hélène GRAND'EURY / Charlotte ZUCCONI - AFFI MOBILE) intend to stay in top position and are following near-perfect headings for this Lege 2! But they are not the only ones. Not far behind, Jeanette and Murielle of Team 200 (Jeanette JAMES / Murielle TARRAZI - Bumper Off Road) would like to take their place... Tune in tomorrow for the verdict!  
Teams 31, 222 (mechanical problem), 503, 507 and 510 are back at the bivouac, 9 hours after leaving it, exactly the time predicted by the sport director.
The Gazelles who did not reach the CP in time cannot continue today's leg.
Laurence and Marie are having an excellent day with good straight headings. They are the first to reach CP8.
Emilie and Gaëlle are back at the bivouac after reaching the day's 9 checkpoints. Bravo!
Karima and Dounia are back at the bivouac. They hope to have their vehicle repaired in time to continue the competition tomorrow.
The team has cancelled its request for mechanical assistance.
Karine and Cindy got stuck just after CP6 and have called for mechanical assistance to help them get out.
That seems to be the case for Team 136 (Marie FABIANI / Béatrice DUBROCA - OPEN GROUPE PAVILLON PRÉVOYANCE) who are desperately searching for CP4... Except they are not in the right place!
Leg 2 is advancing well, with Teams 123 and 139 already at CP7. Leaders 200 and 238 are not far behind!
CP3 has been closed since 2 p.m.. All teams reached it except 222, who had a technical problem, and 31, who were too late.
Vanessa and Julie have called for mechanical assistance. The mechanics are on their way.
Prune and Saadia of Team 30 (Prune SALTI / Saadia CHAMALI - GCF FOURCHARD & RENARD EIFFAGE) have got their wheel back. The rest of their lost material (including a jerrican of water) was picked up by the Gazelles of Team 25 (Véronique DE SYBOURG-SIFFERT / Laurence BRASEY - Michel Riedo&Fils SA). A gesture of solidarity!
1 p.m. update: the leaders will soon reach CP6. Most teams are between CPs 4 and 5.
Prune and Saadia have lost their spare wheel and will have to retrace their steps for 2.5 km to get it back. This will cost them a total of 5 km. Bad news for the Gazelles who are in the running for the ranking...
As lunch time approaches, it's also time to refuel the electric vehicles, so they can tackle the rest of the leg with a fully charged battery!
Further update: the competition is not over for Karima and Dounia! After some makeshift repairs, the Gazelles should be able to make it back to the bivouac on their own.
The Gazelles are out of their sand trap!
Update from Team 222 (Karima LAAROUSSI-MOUHYI / Dounia BENNANI-MAZHAR - MAISON NICOLE & MOON GARDEN): they have a broken front axle and will need to be towed back to the bivouac. It remains to be seen whether Karima and Dounia will be able to continue the rally as an Unranked team.
Team 167 (Dianeba CISSOKHO / Catherine REGOJO GENOTAL - SNCF) must have been missing yesterday's sand: they went out of their way to find some and got stuck!
The Gazelles of Team 194 (Bénédicte CAPPELIER / Marie-Hélène ENISCOURT - VIVARTIS) have rejoined the competition after a detour of 25 kilometres...
Team 132 (Céline MERIOT / Marie-Eve BAUDA - 4murs) received a call from rally HQ warning them not to drive any further east.

Day among the cauliflowers (or “choux-fleurs” in French)…
Nothing to do with the evening meal at the bivouac, this cauliflower is a “small” desert plant that resembles a giant grey-green cauliflower but, in addition to being inedible, is as hard as rock. The Gazelles will need to avoid them or suffer the consequences

The first two CPs should be no more than a formality as they lie along the route and will be checked off automatically on the way to the day’s first “playing field”.

Day among the cauliflowers (or “choux-fleurs” in French)… Nothing to do with the evening meal at the bivouac, this cauliflower is a “small” desert plant that resembles a giant grey-green cauliflower but, in addition to being inedible, is as hard as rock. The Gazelles will need to avoid them or suffer the consequences.

And if only the cauliflowers were the only problem…
The zone is also riddled with oueds of different depths and various levels of difficulty to cross. In some cases, following a oued may take them several hundred metres off course…

And if only the oueds were the only problem…
The area offers few clear features, and those are often so far away as to be easily lost in the heat haze. It’s not easy to navigate without a point of reference.

This is a day that will require all of their skills and attention to avoid the many pitfalls. A good night’s sleep at the bivouac will be more than welcome after a long grueling day, especially since tomorrow’s leg may require some intensive shovelling!

SUMMARY

Teams start to stand out, slowly but surely

LEG SUMMARIES

Rankings Leg 2

SUMMARY - ADVENTURE

A character-building leg for our Gazelles

PHOTOS

Best photos of Leg 2

SUMMARY, BRIEFING

Off to discover the cauliflowers

PARTNERS

#FreeNasrin

Dominique Serra has dedicated this 29th edition to Nasrin Sotoudeh – prominent Iranian lawyer and human rights advocate – who has been sentenced to 38 years in prison and 148 lashes for “inciting corruption and prostitution” by defending women who took off their headscarves in public.

I encourage everyone to sign the petition for her release.