Iħjut L-uniku Rallye Aicha des Gazelles

Bit-taqlib kollu li għaddej fil-Lvant Nofsani int maħfur jekk taħseb li l-ħajja mhix qabel is-soltu. Madankollu, il-21 edizzjoni tar-Rallye Aicha des Gazelles spiċċat fi tmiem il-ġimgħa fil-Marokk mingħajr inċident.

Qatt ma smajt bih? Lanqas ma kelli sa ftit tas-snin ilu.

L-avveniment huwa kemmxejn simili għall-Dakar Rally. Jibda fi Franza u jintemm wara disat ijiem ta' kompetizzjoni fin-Nofsinhar tal-Marokk. Ħafna l-istess għażla ta 'SUVs u pickup trucks jipparteċipaw. Iżda hemm differenza waħda kbira; il-kompetituri kollha huma nisa u t-tellieqa tintrebaħ mit-tim li jkopri l-iqsar distanza waqt li jgħaddi l-punti ta 'kontroll korretti kollha. L-ebda sistema tal-GPS ma hija permessa - biss kumpass, ħakkiem u mapep skaduti.

Din is-sena kien hemm żewġ parteċipanti mill-Istati Uniti fost il-110 tim li jikkompetu. Racer professjonali off-road, Emily Miller, irritorna għat-tielet darba u kien mistenni bħala t-tim biex jarah. Emily hija sewwieq għal Rod Hall Racing - fost il-kisbiet tagħha, rebħet klassi fil-Baja 1000 u l-Vegas għal Reno. Hija saq hummer H3 pjuttost stokk u n-navigatur tagħha li jiggwidaha permezz tad-duni fil-Marokk kien Armelle Medard minn Franza, li rebħet l-avveniment fl-2008. Huma eventwalment spiċċaw it-tieni b'mod ġenerali wara Carole Montillet Carles u Syndiely Wade, li jsuqu Prototip Springbok, li huwa essenzjalment pickup Nissan Frontier inkwadrat tubulari mill-Afrika t'Isfel li huwa wkoll vettura tat-tiġrija popolari f'avvenimenti oħra ta 'Rally-Raid, inkluż Dakar.

Wara li spiċċajna fuq il-podju, Emily Miller qalet: Aħna kkompetejna fi stokk H3 mingħajr modifiki u għalhekk kien tassew test tal-ġestjoni tal-vettura bħala sewwieq u l-kopilota tiegħi, Armelle Medard, kienet fuq il-post bin-navigazzjoni tradizzjonali tal-kalkolu mejjet. Ħafna drabi użat ix-xemx biex iżżommna fuq il-mira.

It-tieni Rod Hall Hummer H3 kien immexxi minn tim ta 'sorijiet, Amy Lerner u Tricia Reina, li għamlu wirja impressjonanti kmieni fl-avveniment billi damu fit-tnax-il pożizzjoni sat-tieni jum. It-tim intemm fit-52 post wara diffikultajiet u mard tal-vettura. Kienet avventura inkredibbli mill-bidu sat-tmiem, qal il-kompetitur tal-ewwel darba Amy Lerner. Aktar ta 'sfida milli antiċipajna b'ħafna modi. Aħna tassew kburin b'dak li wettaqna u mbuttajna lilna nfusna kuljum.

L-organizzaturi jgħidu li r-Rallye Aicha des Gazelles hija l-iktar tellieqa femminili iebsa fid-dinja u għandha inizjattivi estensivi biex iżżomm l-art u tgħin lin-nies. In-nuqqas ta' profitt tagħha, Heart of Gazelles, mhux biss jappoġġja għadd ta' ħwienet Marokkini finanzjarjament iżda jipprovdi aktar minn 5000 trattament mediku lin-nies tal-lokal, jibni skejjel u orfanatrofji, jipprovdi taħriġ tax-xogħol għan-nisa, fost oħrajn.

With all the turmoil going on in the Middle East youd be forgiven if you think life is not preceding as usual. However, the 21st edition of the Rallye Aicha des Gazelles finished over the weekend in Morocco without incident.

Never heard of it? Neither had I until a couple of years ago.

The event is somewhat akin to the Dakar Rally. It starts in France and ends after nine days of competition in southern Morocco. Much the same selection of SUVs and pickup trucks participate. But there is one big difference; all the competitors are women and the race is won by the team that covers the shortest distance while passing all the correct checkpoints. No GPS systems are allowed – only a compass, ruler and outdated maps.

This year there were two entrants from the U. S. among the 110 teams competing. Professional off-road racer, Emily Miller, returned for the third time and was slated as the team to watch. Emily is a driver for Rod Hall Racing – among her achievements, she has won a class in the Baja 1000 and the Vegas to Reno. She drove a fairly stock Hummer H3 and her navigator guiding her through the dunes in Morocco was Armelle Medard from France, who won the event in 2008. They eventually finished second overall behind Carole Montillet Carles and Syndiely Wade, driving a Springbok Prototype, which is essentially a tubular-framed Nissan Frontier pickup from South Africa that is also a popular race vehicle in other Rally-Raid events, including Dakar.

After finishing on the podium, Emily Miller said: We competed in a stock H3 with no modifications so it was truly a test of vehicle management as a driver and my co-pilot, Armelle Medard, was spot on with the traditional dead reckoning navigation. Many times she used the sun to keep us on target.

The second Rod Hall Hummer H3 was driven by a team of sisters, Amy Lerner and Tricia Reina, who made an impressive showing early in the event by running in twelfth position by the second day. The team ended in 52nd place after vehicle difficulties and illness. It was an incredible adventure from start to finish, first time competitor Amy Lerner said. More challenging than we anticipated in so many ways. We are really proud of what we accomplished and pushed ourselves each day.

The organizers say the Rallye Aicha des Gazelles is the toughest female race in the world and it has extensive initiatives to maintain the land and help the people. Its non-profit, Heart of Gazelles, not only supports a number of Moroccan outlets financially but it supplies over 5000 medical treatment to locals, builds schools and orphanages, provides job training for women, among others.