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Orpi Maroc 2006 Special-Newssection
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This is the single-news section of the
marathonrally.com rally-live special of the Orpi Maroc rally 2006.
To see all news please use the link under the article or navigate
with the left main-navigation.
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Orpi Maroc: The stages of the Desert Rally in Morocco.
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The 7th Rally Orpi Maroc will be the second African round of the FIM World Championship and FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies, as a sequel to the Rally Optic 2000 Tunisie (7 - 17th April 2006). Organised since 2000 by the French NPO, the Rally Orpi Maroc is an event that has never stopped growing.
With a brand new course, the 2005 edition thrilled all the competitors and casted aside any idea that the Moroccan pistes are anything else than pure fun! Cyril Neveu and Jean Christophe Pelletier have chosen the same general location for 2006.
Total: 2.268 Km
Liaison: 589 Km
SS Distance: 1.679 Km
Day 1, 31 May
1st Leg: ERFOUD - ERFOUD, 310 Km
Liaison: Erfoud/Rissani 28 km
Special Stage: Rissani/Borj Yerdi 266 Km
Liaison: Borg Yerdi/Erfoud 16 Km
The Orpi Morocco Rally 2006 will start in Erfourd, 300km North-East of Ouarzazate. This ancient military fort is also known as the city of the "Princess of the Dates" . Besides the totally new first part, two-thirds of this first leg will be the same as in 2003, the last year when the Rally came to this region. A part of the SS distance will take place on the Tafilalet plateau named by the region’s inhabitants as "the palm tree sea". The course will offer the competitors, a sample of the different grounds that they will have the possibility of testing during the 6 days of the run. In particular, at half way, they will meet with the dunes of Merzouga and the famous Erg Chebbi again, the favourite training ground for all the teams, who shouldn’t encounter any problems with the navigation as they know the place by heart.
Day 2, June 1st
2nd Leg: ERFOUD - AIN BENI MATHAR, 475 Km
Liaison: Erfoud/Tazouguerte 117 Km
Special Stage: Tazouguerte/Ain Beni Mathar 357 Km
Transfer: Ain Beni Mathar/Bivouac 1 Km
The start of the Special Stage that will follow the Guir oued, and won’t be that easy. Everyone will have to be very vigilant because of the numerous dangers of the terrain. After crossing the oued on a track covered by huge stones, the competitors will return to the track used in the other direction for the Dakar race, last January. This track will take them to the village of Beni Tadjit situated at the entrance of the long valley that hugs the Snab oued. The track will then be smoother before deteriorating again due to the gully erosion provoked by the recent rains and the heavy snow falls of last winter. For a few kilometres, some fesh fesh will even be programmed before going back to a technical and fast track that goes over a 1200m mountain. A long track named "Inch Allah", sprinkled with numerous jumps will take the participants to the high plateau of Eastern Morocco where the navigation will be preponderant as a consequence of the large numbers of changes of direction. It will be a fast track along the Charf oued that will finish this Special Stage, the longest of the rally. The bivouac atmosphere in Ain Beni Mathar should give the competitors the occasion to recharge their batteries before the following leg.
Day 3, June 2nd
3rd Leg: AIN BENI MATHAR - ERFOUD, 479 Km
Liaison: Ain Beni Mathar/Merija 60 Km
Special Stage: Merija/Tazouguerte 302 Km
Liaison Tazouguerte/Erfoud 117 Km
After a liaison on a road under construction, the beginning of the Special Stage will be a pleasure for the navigation specialists. The course will cross a long plain where a large number of nomad’s farms are situated. In the middle, herds of cattle and plantations, so it’s going to be important to follow the roadbook indications and the course for fear of doing some gardening! After this part, the track will run through to join the town of Matarka on the high plateau,. At kilometre 166, the competitors will go back on the track they drove on the day before, indeed they will take the course in the opposite direction, back to the Souala jebel, then the Rhazzouane Oued valley and the Gran valley of the Snab Oued before facing the difficulties of the Guir Oued one last time before rejoining a tarmac track back to Erfourd for a hotel night.
Day 4, June 3rd
4th Leg: ERFOUD - ZAGORA, 339 Km
Liaison: Erfoud/Rissani 27 km
Special Stage: Rissani/Tamegroute 280 Km
Liaison: Tamegroute/Zagora 41 Km
This 4th Special Stage leaves from the village of Rissani. The drivers will start on the track of the mines. This black coloured track is in the heart of a lunar landscape. From Taouz, capital of the great Saharian Aît Atta confederation, the competitors will drive along the Algerian border below the Nouhaouar plateau. They will cross breath-taking landscapes in a succession of black-stoned mountains strewn with streams of sand. This route will be fairly fast. Arrival in the village of Tissemmoumine, then direction South to take a more technical track to the military fort of Zguilma. The passage over a mountain pass will plunge the vehicles into the very heart of a giant crater, which they cross from East to West.. Leaving this unusual landscape, the track follows a huge palm plantation before becoming narrower while penetrating into a gorge. The arrival will be judged at the edge of the Dra Oued, still filled with water at that time of the year. The bivouac will be set up not far from the dunes of Naklha and will also welcome the VIPs of the arrival trip.
Day 5, June 4th
5th Leg: ZAGORA - OURZAZATE, 345 Km
Transfert: Bivouac/Zagora 13 Km
Special Stage: Zaogora/Barrage Taghdoute 252 Km
Liaison: Taghdoute/Ouarzazate 80 Km
This stage will be the most beautiful of the Rally, but not the easiest with seven villages of the High Atlas to be crossed. A lot can be lost by exceeding the 30km/hour speed authorized this year. The departure will be given alongside the aerodrome of Zagora. The first part along the Boulougaye jebel will not be a piece of cake! For 70 kilometers, the track will be a traditional Morrocan track, meaning very rough. At km 80, the pilots will go past the uranium mine of Bleïda before driving on a technical track in good condition, in the Alogoum Oued. A small part of off-piste will be the transition to 25 Kilometers of very fast track before facing the High Atlas. Programmed : 6 mountain passes to be crossed, including one of 2600 meters. Given the narrowness of the track, drivers will need to be especially attentive, and it will not be impossible to overtake. This is also the part with the seven speed limited villages. Before starting the go down towards Tazenakht, the competitors will be delighted since they will dominate the plain of Issil which extends as far as the eye can see. A last verdant valley along a Oued leads to the arrival of this Special Stage, situated at the edge of the lake of the Taghdoute dam.
Day 6, June 5th
6th Leg: OUARZAZATE - OUARZAZATE, 311 Km
Liaison: Ouarzazate/Taghdoute 80 Km
Special Stage: Taghdoute/Ouarzazate 222 Km
Liaison: Arrival/Parc Fermé 9 Km
This ultimate special consists of mountain tracks in the Atlas foothills. On this abrasive ground, it will be necessary to save the tires, to be viligant for a last time. After an introduction on a narrow and technical track, the competitors will join a large plain where they will be able to put their foot down. But quickly, on the approach to the mountain of Toudgine the track will become technical again. Navigation will once again be priveliged with the sandy Oued near the village of Tazenakht . Approaching the Oasis of Fint, the participants still in the race will be able to enjoy the marvellous landscapes. They will then cross the last two passes including the Tizi Ouigrane pass which culminates at more than 1500 meters. The descent towards the valley of Assif Aït Douchchen offers a luxurious panorama and leads to the finishing line at the edge of the Tisgui Illane Oued dam, near Ouarzazate.
2006/05/30 I 14:06 CET I Editor: marathonrally.com/NPO
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