As it has become a habit, the season began with the biggest rally, the Africa Eco Race, for which the team set out with great enthusiasm. However, the suspension shock absorbers did not correspond to the expected quality, and the team was forced to moderate the pace, so as to preserve the mechanics of the truck. Due to health problems, one member of the team had to be evacuated, and that upset everything enormously. Although it had to proceed with a reduced number of members, the team kept its characteristic determination, and it ended in third place in the Truck class.
In April it entered the Libyan Rally for the first time: it was the seventh edition of that Rally, but it took place in Morocco. The team is first in the third round general classification and leads the next round for some time. However, when crossing Erg Chegaga, the truck tumbles over one of the dunes. The damages were such that the team chose not to go on.
The second part of the year was devoted to changing the image of the team, since the Oleoban brand, present from 2009 onwards, gave its place to the Bio-Ritmo brand, which corresponds to a food supply from Medinfar lab designed to diminish physical and mental fatigue, as well as to boost energy levels in situations of extreme weariness.
To prepare for the next season, the TGS engine undergoes a boost in power, setting off for the next Africa Race with 830hp.
In March, Elisabete was once again present at Aïcha des Gazelles Rally, as a member of the Belgian VW team, with France Clèves as navigator. They finished fifth in the Expert class, which is the most difficult in that rally.
The Bio-Ritmo® racing truck is already up and running and finally the trio managed to get out safely from the Erg Chegaga dunes where they were for two days and two nights ago. The backhoe that helped the Portuguese to put the MAN TGS in its position arrived with them this morning when a complex operation began to straighten the truck. After many hours of work they were able to put the truck upright and after having checked the engine it was possible to remove the vehicle from the hole where it had fallen.
The assistance team of Elisabete Jacinto acted promptly from the moment they realized that the broom wagon of the organization couldn’t reach the place where the trio was. The aid didn’t arrive sooner because the machine, rented by the team, took about 14 hours to reach the place where the incident occurred.
The Bio-Ritmo® team is still waiting for help to lift the MAN TGS that fell yesterday in a dune area in the Erg Chegaga when the Portuguese were fulfilling the third stage of the Rallye Oilibya du Maroc. The Portuguese team was still trying to continue the race, but this situation depended on the help they would receive from the “broom wagon” sent by the organization on a rescue mission of the Portuguese.
Meanwhile the NPO helicopter has been with Elisabete Jacinto, José Marques and Marco Cochinho having left food and water.
The Portuguese driver Elisabete Jacinto is stopped in the desert, where she is likely to stay overnight, after her competition truck has turned in the dunes of the Erg Chegaga when the pilot attempted to dodge a mud-covered area.
In the last hours a great sandstorm has risen which is greatly damaging the works of the Portuguese team that looks forward to the developments of the next hours.
The Portuguese driver Elisabete Jacinto finished today the second stage of the Rallye Oilibya du Maroc in the fourth place among the trucks, in a day in which the special, composed by a route of 354.45 kilometers, ended up being neutralized after the CP1, because the strong rains that fell in the region of Erfoud left one of the oued, that was part of the selective sector, impossible to surpass. For this reason, after completing 130 kilometers of course, the competitors were forced to stop and return to the bivouac without disputing the entire journey.
of the first place the Argentinean Frederico Villagra: “unfortunately today’s stage was neutralized shortly after CP1. It rained a lot two days ago and the oued that we were going to cross was impassable. NPO did the track reconnaissance before it rained and they didn’t realize that the rain caused damages. So it was only when the bikers arrived there and saw that they couldn’t get through, that the organization decided to neutralize the selective sector from CP1 onwards. We ended up doing only 130 kilometers, out of the 354 that composed the special. Everything was going well and we were getting a good rhythm when we had to go back to the camp” explained the Portuguese driver.