Syd Stelvio – Sahara Challenge - Day 7 – Midelt to Ouarzazate – 495km
Day seven of this year’s Sahara Challenge may not quite have been the longest, but it certainly felt like it, with challenging, but very enjoyable roads as soon as the cars exited the desert town of Midelt. It was a relatively early start, and there was a chill in the air, although this may just have been the atmosphere in the Hotel Taddart, that was considered as a location for horror flick ‘The Shining’.
The road out of town took the rally into the Aoli Gorge, which after spending the night in the Taddart, did nothing to kill the horror vibes. The gorge walls were steep and imposing, and the early morning sun still hadn’t managed to penetrate the chasm, it didn’t help that the run into the gorge was over a less than sturdy wooden bridge, with the odd strut missing. Within the gorge itself were the remains of mining operations that ceased long ago, now rusting hulks. There is a community that still calls this gorge home, and a few were out to watch the parade of cars pass, in a spectacle that must be about as far removed from their daily lives as is possible.
Back into the light and the climb from the valley floor could begin, a climb that would host the days first regularity. It was the beginning of what was definitely a day for the drivers, and the temptation to bury the throttle and play on the slippery surface must have been incredibly hard to resist. Most must have managed to keep their right foot in check, as the times were reasonable, with people seemingly getting to grips with this business of regularities. One or two struggled on the second part of the reg, perhaps after scrambling trips by too heartily spinning wheels on the early climb, any mistakes that had been made could be debated thoroughly as a 160 km drive awaited everyone once the regularity was complete.
It was a long old stint, but the reward for the concentration run would be an STC section on what is possibly one of the finest rally roads in the entire world. I couldn’t tell you the name of it, but it is a mesmerising climb up into the Atlas, followed by a technically challenging descent right in the heart of the Atlas National Park. The views from the top over the valley floor below were sensational, with the road hitting a height of 2350m. There was little time for sight-seeing though, concentration was needed by the crews, with no less than 4 controls on the 25.43 km section, a test for even the most seasoned of competitors.
Out of the traps the times were strong, with few conceding time to the Mountain. As the section wound on though, the difficulty increased, and the time penalties began to increase exponentially. The descent was a particular challenge, with clear evidence of the damage the recent rains have caused. Freshly cleared landslip littered the verges, and with the surface still loose in many places it was difficult to maintain momentum, not to mention the gravity defeating drops that were adjacent to the road. Everybody dropped time at some point or another, but the best performance belonged to car 28, Jos Dejongh and Patrick Debussere in the time defying Porsche 914. Jos dropped just 30 seconds over the entire distance, although Patrick seemed to be a whiter shade of pale at the lunch stop that came just a few clicks down the road from the STC.
Lunch was in a beautiful spot overlooking Lake Tislit, and the azure blue waters were surely tempting everyone for a swim, that’s if the grilled lamb cutlets straight from the BBQ didn’t snatch your attention first. It was the perfect spot for a bit of respite and no doubt some competitor on competitor debriefing after what had been a spirited morning.
We were almost halfway through the day, with only one regularity remaining, but another long drive to meet it, a drive that would take in one of the trip highlights in the form of the Dades Gorge. The gorge road ran for many kilometres, and our descent into it began in the huge mountain pass beforehand, that saw the cars reach a dizzy 2990m. The road here was once a track, much more suited to our sport, but with Morocco’s investment in infrastructure there is a huge project underway to build a highway through this particular pass. It will be a feat of engineering once complete, but that is a long way off and instead the cars snaked through the roadworks and unsealed roads, at a snail’s pace at times, as the business of building the road continued around us.
The apex of the gorge road itself was the switchback descent of the ‘Serpent du Dades’, non-comp of course with the trucks and busses that we shared the roads with. It almost goes without saying that the sun had been with us for the entire trip up until this point, but there was a rainstorm sweeping through above the gorge, which at its peak bought sideways rain and sent rivers streaming down the asphalt of the ascents and descents that plotted a course along the Dades itself.
The hour hand was some way past three pm when the first cars made it to the final regularity of the day, and no doubt both driver and navigator were exhausted after the mammoth effort of the day so far. It took the form of another assault on the mountains, though this time less severe and took place on tarmac as well. There was misery for Car 5, who’s gearbox problems returned, and they were forced to sail straight by the regularity start as they were stuck in fourth gear, and pulled onto the side of the road shortly afterwards awaiting rescue by the Sweeps, who did manage to get the Chevy Coupe moving again.
Even when the regularity had been concluded, there was still a lengthy run of more than 100km into the evenings finish at Ouarzazate, but the cars were given a hero’s welcome by traditional Moroccan singers and drummers, with a guard of honour into the hotel – invigorating stuff for sure! After such a big day behind the wheel the results team had a fair bit on their hands, but when the scores did finally come through Jorge Perez Companc and Jose Volta had managed to extend their lead again, with Aussies Sutton and Lawson still in second from the Bentley of Judge and Singh in third. There was no movement in the top three of the Classic Category either, although after that tremendous performance in the STC the number 28 Porsche had closed the gap to the second placed Mercedes of Michael Rodel and Andrew Duerden by 2 minutes and 16 seconds and were the best performers on the day to boot, with the only sub minute penalty count. It had certainly been a big day, and now with the rally just over the halfway point the leader board is perhaps beginning to look settled, although anybody hoping to bring home a trophy would be wary of any thoughts like that.
Syd
