The USA Gazelles had an unexpected obstacle to overcome on Tuesday’s transit stage of the 2015 Gazelle Rally: a blizzard.
The teams started the morning of Tuesday, March 24th in Rabat, the capital of Morocco. The rally is under the patronage of His Majesty the King Mohammed VI, and this year the Gazelles were able to have a ceremonial start at the Royal Palace. From there the 158 teams from 13 countries made their way across the Atlas Mountains to Erfoud.
The light rain in Rabat soon turned to snow as Gazelles climbed the pass. What started as a clear road with snow on the surrounding land quickly morphed into a full blown blizzard.
The 350 mile drive should have taken 7 to 8 hours, but instead took 12+ hours.
As of this writing, the truck and trailer carrying the IMG prepped Kawasaki Teryx side x side of Team 23 Sara Price and Erica Sacks, as well as that of two other French teams, was stuck on the mountain overnight.
Teams will get a few hours of rest before Wednesday morning, when teams must calibrate their odometers before completing the prologue.
Odometer calibration is very important. Since teams have larger tires, and odometers are never spot on accurate, organizers need to know the cal factor to get the correct reading.
If teams have a Terratrip, they won’t need to incorporate their cal factor into their strategy. All they need to do is program their Terratrip with their cal factor and the computer does the work for them.
However, if a team is working only with the stock odometer, they must remember to use their cal factor in navigation.
For example, if a team has a cal factor of 1.26 (where for every 1 kilometer registered on the odometer is 1.26 actual kilometers) then the team must do some math. The navigator may want to go straight for 3 kilometers, but the driver must watch the odometer for 3.78 kilometers before she stops. (3×1.26)
Conversely, if the navigator needs to know how many kilometers have passed since the last reset, and the odometer reads 4.72, the actual kilometers are 3.75. (4.72/1.26)
This back and forth multiplying and dividing is tedious and it’s very easy to make a mistake, especially when operating on very little sleep.
Tomorrow’s prologue will be the first time the women have to communicate and work together since their training session. The teams will be divided into groups, just like a regular, competitive day, and given 3-4 checkpoints to find. The prologue does not count towards their ranking but it does count towards their starting position on the first day of competition.
Teams will start off the line at 6am on Thursday, March 26th. It’s best to start as close to 6am as possible, getting the most daylight possible. Starting at 6:45 or even 6:30 can mean the difference between getting a checkpoint or not.
You can follow the rally live and even send messages of encouragement to all the teams at www.gazellerally.com. No guarantee they can write back, but words from home are always highly appreciated.
- 23 Sara PRICE/Erica SACKS (Side x Side)
- 316 Susan MEAD/Shennen MARSCHNER (Crossover)
- 317 Alyssa ROENIGK/Chrissie BEAVIS (Crossover)
- 107 Jo Hannah HOEHN/Susanah HOEHN (4×4)
- 175 Susie SAXTEN/Sarah SAXTEN (4×4)
- 180 Nicole PITELL-VAUGHAN/Jessi COMBS (4×4)
- 182 Pat KLISHEVICH/Veronique DE SYBOURG-SIFFERT (Swiss) (4×4)
- 183 Rebecca DONAGHE/Barabara FIORENTINO (4×4)
- 218 Rachelle CROFT/Rhonda CAHILL (4×4)
- 400 Amy LERNER/Sabrina HOWELLS (4×4, Expert)
About: The Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles is a grueling test of driving skill and navigation across southern Morocco’s most beautiful and challenging terrain. The rally is unique whereby teams are not allowed technological assistance. In the absence of GPS, communications and service crews, teams must find the shortest distance between the checkpoints over nine days of competition with only the aid of traditional navigation – compass, outdated maps, and plotters. The event is an incredible test of endurance, patience, and teamwork, pushing competitors to their limits.
Check out Roman and Andre as they have their own version of a snowy transit stage with the Jeep Wrangler and Jeep Renegade Trailhawk in Canada.
Emme is a driver, reviewer, rabble rouser, and Gazelle who can be found online on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and either one of her blogs.
