{"id":1175,"date":"2014-02-06T19:13:51","date_gmt":"2014-02-06T19:13:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/usnomadstudio.com\/usnomads\/blog\/?page_id=1175"},"modified":"2014-04-18T21:00:13","modified_gmt":"2014-04-18T21:00:13","slug":"notes-from-the-road-mar-22","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/usnomadstudio.com\/usnomads\/blog\/?page_id=1175","title":{"rendered":"Notes from the Road – MAR 22"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NOTES FROM THE ROAD<\/h2>\n
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< more recent<\/a> | 22 MAR 2014 | older ><\/a> <\/p>\n

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LEG 3: THE DUNES OF MERZOUGA<\/h5>\n


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Today’s Leg takes the Gazelles through the heights of the Erg Chebbi, the famous dunes of Merzouga<\/strong><\/h6>\n


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22 MARCH 2014:<\/strong> Merzouga: the most anticipated and most dreaded leg of the Rallye. Today the Gazelles will face the majestic Erg Chebbi dunes. There is a lot for the teams to remember when facing the dunes: they will need to air down their tires and always approach the slope head-on. Driving in dunes is a bit like surfing: angle is everything.

\n“Don’t approach them as insurmountable obstacles. Think of the sand as a moving substance. You need to manage your speed: don’t assume that the faster you drive, the less likely you are to get stuck. It’s not true”, warns Ludovic Tach\u00e9, the rally’s sporting director.

\nTeams can select the level of difficulty they are comfortable with, but points are allocated according to difficulty, so in choosing a route each team is deciding how competitive they hope to be overall (teams who check off all 3 of the “X” CPs will have 0 penalty, those who choose the 3 “Y” CPs will have a 90-point penalty while the Z route will earn a penalty of 180 points). The X route, the “black” line of the Rallye, snakes through the highest peaks in the heart of the erg. Route Y is an intermediate level, and Route Z is the most accessible. However, all 3 routes cross Erg Chebbi in one way or another, so there is no escaping the sand! (The crossovers have their own route.)

\nIn addition to good driving in the sand, the Gazelles will need to accurately assess their abilities. The teams must decide their route before seeing it — once they reach CP1 for a specific route they have committed to finishing that level, and cannot change their minds. The choice of level becomes strategic as teams must estimate their capabilities correctly — Gazelles who overestimate their skills could lose a great deal, while those who underestimate themselves or opt for a more “relaxed” day also stand to lose. So what should they do? Go for the more “valuable” checkpoints at the risk of not being able to reach them? Or choose a “safer” option and accept a penalty for being too timid? Each team will have to make choices.

\nRally officials estimate that the “ideal” time to complete the 110km leg is 9.5 hours. Also there is a special aspect of the dunes days — teams are allowed to follow each other — but only in the dunes. Once they leave the erg at CP5, the regular rules apply again — “no following.”

\nAs teams reach the edge of the sand sea, they find that Merzouga seems more hospitable than they imagined. Recent rain has made the sand more firm, making for an easier driving experience and many of the teams are racing easily through the daunting heights. By 9:30, most of the teams on Route X were already approaching the 4th checkpoint. The Gazelles on Route Y were also making good time, but those who had selected the “easy” route Z were having trouble.

\nOnce out of the dunes, the Gazelles still have over 100 kilometres and 4 more checkpoints to find before reaching the new bivouac in Mech Irdane.

\nThe first teams to complete all nine CPs on the course began arriving at the bivouac around 4pm. There was a buzz of excitement as teams revelled in the feeling that they had “conquered” the famed Merzouga dunes.

\nBy 7:15pm 127 teams had reached the new bivouac, though some made the strategic decision to abandon the remaining checkpoints and return by the road — motivated no doubt by fatigue and a desire to get back early to rest up before tomorrow’s marathon leg. The atmosphere at the bivouac this evening is celebratory, ringing with laughter, exclamations, epic tales and sandy anecdotes. Today there were only five calls for mechanical assistance from teams stuck in the sand — Merzouga was merciful this year!<\/p>\n


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\nFor more live coverage of Today’s event from the official Rally site: English<\/a> | Fran\u00e7ais<\/a><\/p>\n


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VIDEO: LEG 3 – FACING MERZOUGA<\/h5>\n


Gazelles TV presents the third leg of the competition — Through the dunes of Merzouga. [Sorry for the obligatory advertisement at the start of this clip, it comes as part of the embedded resource, not our site.<\/em>]<\/p>\n