Route 2008

France, Maroc, Mauritanie, Sénégal ... 2008 : The Francophonia Race

FRANCE

After verifications in Courbevoie (suburb just west of Paris) and at the enclosed parking facility on the Esplanade in Paris’ famous business district La Défense, we’ll head down through France. The various preliminary legs will enable everyone to carry on the great tradition while getting into the swing of things with their vehicles and the event itself.

* Tuesday and Wednesday, November 11-12: Technical and administrative verifications just west of Paris in the suburban district 92, from 12noon to 6pm on the 11th and from 9am to 5pm on the 12th. Open to the public. Vehicles will be kept in an enclosed parking lot at the Parvis of La Défense. Open to the public.

* Thursday November 13th : Paris La Défense - Olivet : liaison 130 km The official start of the event will take place at La Défense business district’s big Parvis as of 2pm. This site was chosen as a symbolic nod to the 1989 Paris-Dakar which started at this same spot. The initial connecting leg will take us along the legendary highway Nationale 20. We will then stop for our first night in a large hotel complex with a group dinner all together and our first briefing session in the town of Olivet in the Loiret region.

* Friday, November 14th: OLIVET / ALES - Liaison 698 km - Trail 15 km Here’s our first regularity sector, held on the Olivet military field, always a highlight – 9am to 11am – open to the public. On the agenda: 15 km of non-stop slip ‘n’ slide, since the terrain is always very slick.... After this exercise, participants will tackle the only long connecting leg of this entire rally: 700 km south to Alès.

* Saturday, November 15th: ALES / SETE - Liaison 5 km - Trail 34 km - Liaison 80 km For the first time, the automobile city of Alès will welcome the event and will provide a second regularity sector from 9am to 12noon. Start and finish lines will be right at the Circuit of Monteils. Open to the public. Then the TransAfricaine Classic’s entire caravan will head for SETE and cross over to Morocco.

*  Dimanche 16 novembre : en mer

MOROCCO

Morocco is and has been for many years the ideal place to start our African adventure. A multi-facetted country, it gives people the opportunity to discover the whole gamut of trail-riding amidst breath-taking scenery. This year we’ll spend more time here than in the past to allow for shorter, more enjoyable legs. In fact, we’ve even decided to allocate a new rest stop, since the bivouac will be set up on the shores of the Dakhla lagoon!


* Monday, November 17th: TANGER / RICH - Liaison 330 km - Trail 100 km - Liaison 147 km
Quickly after arriving in Africa, participants will jump right into the heat of the event with a short (330 km) connecting leg followed by 100 km of pure trail-riding. The regularity sector will start on the winding trails through the hills lined with blue cedar trees of Lebanon. The pace will speed up on the plateaus south of Azrou. And we’ll set up camp at the RICH oasis.



* Tuesday, November 18th: ERFOUD / TAGOUNITE - Liaison 151 km - Trail 290 km - Liaison 4 km
From RICH, the competitors will go to Erg Chebbib where the day’s first regularity sector will include plenty of sand dunes and clever navigation. Shovels may need to come out for some…. Next up, quick trails amidst breathtaking landscapes. Miles of pleasure-filled moments focused on the joys of driving all the way to the night camp set up in a thousand-year-old oasis reminiscent of the legendary Thousand and One Nights in Tagounite.

* Wednesday, November 19th: TAGOUNITE / AIT- OUABELLI – Liaison 25 puis 177 km - Piste 145 puis 60 km
We’ll start off right away with a regularity sector in Mahmid for 145 km of pure heaven along the Oued Draa. Then we’ll cross the Erg Chegaga (optional for 2WD vehicles). Black-top roads will take us to Tata where we’ll embark on a second series of winding trails to the oasis where we’ll camp for the night.


* Thursday, November 20th: AIT OUABELLI / TAN TAN - Liaison 190 km - Trail 200 km - Liaison 5 km
A drastic change in setting with a 200 km regularity sector along the last outskirts of the Atlas Mountains. Competitors will have to face hairpin turns and serpentine trails way up into the rough mountain terrain where driving skills will need to be tip-top before following the banks of the “White Beach”.



* Friday, November 21th: TAN TAN / LAYOUNNE- Liaison 45 km - Trail 300 km - Liaison 20 km
A transition between traditional Morocco and the vast expanses of desert in the South. Everyone will need to be extra careful navigating in order to reach Layounne, the capital of this magnificent Sahara, coveted by so many.

* Saturday, November 22nd: LAYOUNNE / DAKLHA - Trail 490 km – Liaison 70 km
Here, at last, the real desert! Endless expanses where one easily loses all sense of direction. A glorious stretch of fast, sandy trails: 490 km opened exclusively for the TransAfricaine Classic by the Moroccan authorities. Normally closed off from tourists, this haven strongly resembles the famed Tenere! The bivouac will be set up here, on the shores of the Atlantic, for two whole days, to let everyone catch their breath, relax, recharge and refill before heading back out into the heat of the action and excitement.

* Sunday, November 23rd: A Day of rest
This entire day will be devoted to rest for the participants and repairs for the vehicles. It’s also the unique opportunity to switch team-mates! Thanks to the special travel arrangements available for accompanying participants, teams can share the experience, including more than just two “players”. The extra perk: a seaside setting that sets the mood for holiday fun!

MAURITANIA

For this 3rd edition of the TransAfricaine, we’ll only spend 3 days in Mauritania, following a route far to the west and always around 500 km away from the areas where tourists are not advised to travel. This itinerary, which has already been approved by the French and Mauritanian authorities, provides participants with an exciting new path and includes dune crossings with maximum security.


* Monday, November 24th: DAKLHA / BOU - LANOUAR – Liaison 40 km – Trail 80 km - Liaison 350 km
A transitional phase as we prepare to enter Mauritania, with only a short bit of trails in the morning in order to quickly cross the border. The first bivouac in Mauritania, amidst the sand dunes in the middle of nowhere: a marathon leg..

* Tuesday, November 25th: BOU - LANOUAR / ERG TIZOUGUINE - Trail 560 km – Liaison 30 km
The toughest leg of the entire rally, totally off-road, extremely sandy, with alternating strips of quick and then extra soft terrain. Pure sport… and a few tears on the horizon, before reaching Akjoujt where everyone will refresh their energy and determination before heading off to our next bivouac at the foot of the dunes.

* Wednesday, November 26th: TIZIGUINE / IDINI – Trail 432 km – Liaison 60 km
The day will start off with a bang! First off, the challenge of the dunes. Followed by lots of tricky navigation to make it all the way to Nouackchott. On the agenda: plenty of sand, difficult clearing of dunes and a few stuck vehicles as well.

SENEGAL

Last year, the event was missing one key aspect: a taste of Black Africa. To fill that void, we’ve incorporated three wonderful legs in Senegal this year, with real an honest to goodness recce in the tropical bush country.


* Thursday, November 27th: IDINI / RICHARD TOLL - Liaison 105 km - Trail 170 km - Liaison 34 km
A leg devoted to the joy of driving and the delicious Sahelian décor that will set the scene all the way to the Rosso ferry which will take us across the river – convenient link to Senegal and our grand entrance into deep, “black” Africa.

* Friday, November 28th: RICHARD TOLL / LOMPOUL - Trail 188 km - Liaison 95 km
The last big leg across the Ferlo desert. Along the way, participants will discover little villages with typical grass huts and the first baobab trees. The bivouac will be set up in a truly enchanting location in the hollow of the dunes along the seashore. Final briefing session before returning to “civilisation”.

* Saturday, November 29th: LOMPOUL / DAKAR - Liaison 15 km - trail 120 km
The big reward of knowing you’ve made it! The pride and satisfaction of achieving your goal, and the glory of riding the last 100 km of beachfront beauty for a magical finish at Rose Lake! The day will be filled with highlights and exceptional moments, including the winners’ podium and awards ceremony, champagne for everyone and regretfully the end of a great adventure. The convoy will proceed to Dakar for an evening of festivities, tributes, toasts and rewards!.

TOTAL LIAISONS: 2,600 km - TOTAL TRAILS: 3,200 km