4th TransAfricaine: Back to the Future!

WE ARE MOVING UP THE DATES!

As recently announced, theoretically to all of the enrolled participants, due to the FIM's change in schedule that bumped up the timing of the Morocco Motorcycle Rally, JVD, the organizer of the Pharaohs' Rally, was forced to advance their dates by one week in order to give the competitors a two-week breather between events.

In loyal support of Jacky Ickx and Daniele Cotto (JVD), Patrick Zaniroli has logically decided to move the TransAfricaine Classic 2009 up on the calendar as well. It will now take place from October 1 to 11 (instead of the 8th to the 18tth), running parallel to the Pharaohs'.

The timing during the TransAfricaine Classic 2009 will not change, it is simply moving up by one week compared to the initial schedule:

• September 18 & 19: vehicles will be shipped from Genoa to Alexandria
• October 1: crews arrive in Cairo
• October 2: vehicles are collected and presented for administrative verifications
• October 3 to 10: 8 days of non-stop riding the trails
• October 11: vehicles return to Alexandria
• Pre-departures will be organized in early September to invite the press, partners, friends and families for a thrilling sneak-peak at the adventure

Transafricaine in Egypt by Patrick Zaniroli

By creating the TransAfricaine Classic in 2006, I hoped to apply the “classic” spirit of regularity rallies to the African all terrain tradition, while cultivating a certain sense of “coming home”, a sort of back-to-basics. Revisiting the very essence of what Thierry Sabine had originally envisioned some 30 years ago.

Three years into this exciting new tradition, 400 TransAfricaine teams have written extraordinary tales that will go down in history and fill their memory banks to the brim. They rose to the challenge of reconciling the art of driving through harsh yet marvellous landscapes with the art of carefully-paced execution instead of high-speed racing. These pioneers of African regularity rallies knew just how to find the right rhythm… since the trend has already been moving away from excessive anything over the past few years. Clearly, the fad of pushing the limits has passed, along with that of over-consumption.

Society has evolved deep down at its core, and traditional rally-raids, which are no longer in synch with today’s priorities and people’s values, seem destined to disappear. There have never been so many events available, and yet fewer and fewer amateur competitors are stepping up to the plate. Disappointed by false promises and betrayed by unscrupulous organizers who all too often confuse dreams with reality. All things considered, the time has come to offer real change, something completely different.

Given the current context, it was obvious to me that we needed to adapt our solutions to today’s needs, taking into account people’s new goals and limits. So I invite you now to join us on the road to the future: a rally that’s more than ever in synch with the times, with the various crises and the many changes underway, a rally where people have the priority over the machines.

In 2009, I am committed to giving people more of what they’re looking for, you have my word!