PASSION & SPORT

Home > Passion & Sport > Rallye des Gazelles
Category : Team 318 Blog home
April 02, 2011

Finish line for our Gazelles : they did it !

A beautiful finish for our Gazelles, since our teams ranked top, 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the SUV category and in the first third in the SUV category.
 
Marie and Sylvie, the Women@Renault team from Belgium, 2nd in the standings, also won the title of best eco-driving team in the Logica eco-driving challenge.
 
Julie and Claire, 3rd on the podium, find themselves at the top of the rankings for "First time running team."
 
Congratulations to our Women@Renault Gazelles !
 
 
 
Sylvie and Marie (318), the Belgian team, ranked 2nd.
 
 
 
 
The Crossover teams at the finish line.
 
 
3rd : Team 315, Julie & Claire.
 
 
Crossover standings :
 
2. Sylvie and Marie, the Belgian team (318).
 
3. Claire and Julie (315)
 
4. Audrey and Sonia (316)
 
 
SUV standings :
 
32. Isabelle and Dounia (122)

» 0Comment
Réagissez


March 28, 2011

The week-end races : on the dunes of Merzouga

 

Julie & Claire (315).

 

For the first time, Saturday, Claire and Julie manage to follow their entire road map. "It still took us 12 hours to do it, to cover 300 kilometres."


Being the pilot, Claire is getting more and more responsive to to the car's reactions.

 

 

 

Marie & Sylvie (318).

 

Always constant, Sylvie and Marie grow serene as the competition evolves. On Sunday, after driving only an extra 23 km compared to the optimal route, they got back to the camp before nightfall.  "And that's a first ! " says Marie.

 

 

 
Technical problem for team 122.
 
 
Isabelle & Dounia (122).
 

The 122 (Isabelle Charles and Dounia Bennani) is stuck due to a mechanical problem. Technical support is on site to help them get back on track. A breakdown that might cost the team its 4th position in the standings !

» 0Comment
Réagissez


March 24, 2011

Leg 1 : it's all to play for

We've seen it with the prologue, the podium won't be an easy task. The first leg of 192,8km that took place today was on easy to average grounds, where the teams had to travel an few extra kilometres to reach the 7 checkpoints.
 
 
 
Sylvie & Marie (318).
 
For her fourth participation to the Rallye des Gazelles, Marie is suprised by the difficulty of the route, more complex than previous years. She remains satisfied "Everything went well. We managed to stay on track with the checkpoint, and managed to optimize the number of kilometres we've travelled."
 
Sylvie, however, is happy with Dacia Duster's abilities "I am happily surprised by what this vehicle can do. We can go through uneven terrain without a problem."
 

 
Claire & Julie (315).
 
 
Isabelle & Dounia (122).
 
Team 122 (Isabelle CHARLES et Dounia BENNANI - DACIA), last year's Crossover winning team, is now on board a 4x4 with a Dacia Duster that was prepared just for the Rally. The team is ranking 6th with a 20,21 points difference compared to the "ideal" distance of this leg of the competition.
 

» 0Comment
Réagissez


March 23, 2011

D-day : the prologue begins

After driving to Sète, France, crossing the sea to reach Tangiers, and finally the journey to the base camp, the D-day has finally arrived. The day the 220 Gazelles will be able to get busy : cover a 2,500 km course, with no timer, trying to cover the distance in the smallest number of kilometres possible, without using navigation systems.

In the Crossover class, the Dacia Dusters from Renault and La Poste finish ahead of Mercedes, who proved to be a serious contender in 2010 : Team 318 (Sylvie DELCOUR and Marie SPEECKAERT - DACIA) are in first place with 7.28 points, just ahead of Team 310 (Sophie BOURDON and Emilie MARTIN - LA POSTE) who trail by only 0.33 points!

The Gazelles' reactions :

"This morning, when I woke up, I felt a little anxious, but I quickly managed to get the good reflexes back from the driving weekend we had" admits Claire.

Same feeling from Sonia, who explains the importance of being able to rely on a good navigation methodology to stay focused. 

To get an idea of how many times Julie double checked things, she checked more than thirty times within four hours the course followed, as well as the vehicle's capacity to overcome obstacles according to the terrain's typology.

Audrey, one of the Duster pilots, reminds us of how beautiful the Moroccan landscapes are, the contact with the soil and rocks, and the camels !

Isabelle Charles, a Rallye des Gazelles expert, since it is her 6th participation, considers having done a good prologue. « We went through some rough patches, and wasted a bit of time, but our Duster is a real jetplane ! »

» 0Comment
Réagissez


March 18, 2011

Introducing our Gazelles

There are 8 of them on the starting line. Meet the Women@Renault teams leaving for Morocco today...
 
 

The Gazelles around Isabelle Charles, 2010 champion.

Julie Salameire & Claire Oberti (Team 315).

We both work for Renault Group. One of is an Assistant Director of Purchasing at Renault-Nissan and the other works on electric vehicles concepts. We met 6 years ago on a volleyball court. Having been beach volleyball partners, backpacked together all over the world and carpooled to work every morning, we are ready for a new adventure. Thanks to Renault and its women's network Women@Renault, we're finally ready to face the desert. From carpooling in Paris in a Renault Clio to driving in the desert in Dacia Duster, there is only one step: the 2011 edition of the Rallye Aicha des Gazelles !

Sonia Elfakir & Audrey Bourgois (Team 316).

"At Renault since 2005, we work together in the After-Sales Division where we provide the means to satisfy Renault and Dacia brands customers worldwide. Profoundly convinced of the added value of women in the company, we're happy to contribute to the Group's image as strong, extreme, and Dacia driving women! This is our first participation in the Rallye Aicha des Gazelles and we're really excited to embark on this new adventure combining our love of discovery, motorsports and surprises."

Isabelle Charles, who will team up with avec Dounia Bennani (Team 122).

2010 Champion, Isabelle Charles, who works in Design at Renault, hopes to face the challenge again this year. Behind the wheel of a Dacia Duster Crossover on last year, with teammate Dounia Bennani, she is committed this year, to win on board of a 4x4 Dacia Duster.

Sylvie Delcour & Marie Speeckaert (Team 318).

Sylvie works at Renault Belgium Luxemburg since 2001 within the sales force of Sodicam. She has raced from 1993 to 2007 on various rallies. She's always been attracted by adventure and rally raid and took part in her first raid on a motorcycle in Morocco in 2005. Her first participation in the Rallye des Gazelles was in 2006, behind the wheel of a Dacia Duster 4X4 with Marie, where they ranked 6th. Mary has worked in Events in Brussels for 10 years. She has always been attracted by rallies and is passionate about Africa and its deserts. She is delighted to represent Dacia Belgium Luxemburg.

The substitutes : Gabriela Grajewska & Ana Maria Gaudry de la Fuente.

» 0Comment
Réagissez