Returning Gazelles in a strong position after the first leg
DAR KAOUA - DAR KAOUA
Leg 1
The first leg means the first rankings! And it is Tania and Régine of Team 216 (Tania LIO / Régine ZBINDEN)who finish at the top of 4×4 Class with just 2.06 km over the ideal distance of 110 km. A great performance that includes something new for this 30th edition: the “power stage” bonus.
This year, for the first time, the Sports Director decided to reward the three top teams in each category in each leg. The top Gazelles in the leg ranking receive a reduction of 2 kilometres, the second, 1 kilometre, and the third, 500 metres. For example, without this bonus, Team 216 would have had a penalty of 4.06 km.
In second place are Rallye regulars Hélène and Charlotte of Team 238 (Hélène GRAND'EURY / Charlotte ZUCCONI), closely followed by Jeanette and Rachelle of Team 267 (Jeanette JAMES / Rachelle GRESLE). The penalties are very close between the top ten teams, which promises an interesting leg in the dunes! The Gazelles will try to widen the gap and be in the top 3 at the end of Leg 2, in order to benefit from the “power stage”.
While Rallye regulars dominate the general rankings, among the novices (First Participation) in 4×4 Class, Marie-Pierre and Virginie of Team 108 (Marie-Pierre LE MONTAGNER / Virginie BAUR)are in the top spot with 8.85 km, followed by Team 247 (Cécile BERTOLOTTO / Manuela COLLOT), just 10 metres behind at 8.86 km! In third place are Stéphanie and Audrey of Team 155 (Stéphanie SIRAND-REY / Audrey LAURY), with 9.27 km over the ideal distance.
Will Betty and Sonia of Team 39 (Betty KRAFT / Sonia BAUDOIN-GUERARD)ever be unseated from first place in SSV Class?! That is the question, when you consider their excellent performance, finishing just 940 metres over the ideal distance. They are followed by Laurence and Véronique of Team 44 (Véronique DE SYBOURG-SIFFERT / Laurence BRASEY), who also put in a great performance with 2.48 km, just ahead of Delphine and France of Team 47 (Delphine BICHOFFE / France CLEVES)at 3.73 km.
The gap is wider in Crossover Class. After competing several times in 4×4 Class, Adeline and Karima of Team 308 (Adeline DROUIN / Karima BENOUARET BENZID) win the leg with 7.81 km over the ideal distance. They are followed by Hajar and Malika of Team 306 (Hajar EL BIED / Malika AJAHA)with 9.92 km, and Marion and Aziza of Team 305 (Marion SUBILS / Aziza BOUBEZARI) with 19.37 km.
In E-Gazelle Class, too, the results are less close. Manal and Karolyne of Team 500 (Manal FAXELLE-ABOUHAMDA / Karolyn FAVREAU)finish in the top spot with 8.4 km, followed by Sophie and Nadjette of Team 509 (Sophie QUERO / Nadjette GUIDOUM)with 22.24 km. They are trailed by 504 (Céline FRANCOMME / Clarisse SAUVANT) with 213.79 km, penalized for technical assistance. Among the electric buggy prototypes, Team 602 (Armelle MEDARD-LANG / Yolande BENS) takes first place with 5.16 km over the ideal distance. Team 600 (Marie BELINGARD / Agnès MOSSINA)is quite far behind with 12.53 km. Team 601 (Marta PARDO / Nahide ENNAM) did not reach all the checkpoints and finishes with 197.36 km.
