Rabat – Participants in the 16th edition of Africa Eco Race made their stop at Morocco’s Tarfaya on Friday.
The Tarfaya stop offered participants a moment to regroup and recharge after they kicked off the race on December 28 from Monaco.
Spanning over 6.000 kilometers and bringing together 250 participants, the rally connects Europe to Africa, from Monaco to Dakar.
Participants from around the globe, including motorcyclists, car drivers, and truck operators, compete along the 15-day rally across challenging terrains to reach the final destination in Dakar, Senegal, on January 12.
Competitors have to cross the Moroccan and Mauritanian deserts before reaching Dakar, specifically Lake Rose, where the final stage of the competition takes place.
Runners have to prove their driving skills and endurance through routes featuring slightly sandy, rolling tracks.
Vehicles are equipped with state-of-the-art satellite tracking systems, enabling precise geolocation and featuring a communication function that allows real-time contact with the race control center.
In a statement to MAP, the state-owned news agency, Nicolas De Vahia, Secretary-General of the Moroccan Sahara Rally Association, expressed gratitude for the warm welcome extended to the participants, noting the beauty of the tracks traversed during the various stages of the rally.
The rally is to pass by five stations in Morocco’s southern provinces, including a stop in Dakhla tomorrow before resuming to Mauritania.
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It will continue southward with five stages in Mauritania before concluding in Dakar on January 14. The rally is an opportunity for participants and spectators alike to celebrate the Africa Eco Race, not only as a competition but as a unifying event that fosters cultural exchange and displays the enduring allure of Africa’s landscapes.
In the previous month, the Polisario separatist group warned participants in the rally to assume responsibility for passing through El Guerguerate, which it labeled as “a war zone.”
The group unsurprisingly claimed that “[the self-proclaimed] Sahrawi republic reserves the legitimate right to respond firmly to any actions aimed at undermining its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
The separatist group’s threats are most likely to prove empty, as the previous rally successfully passed through El Guerguerate on January 8, 2024, without any incident.
