Elisabete Jacinto completed today the sixth stage of the Morocco Desert Challenge, one of the most demanding days of the entire rally where were completed 306 timed kilometers in a route that included another passage through the majestic dunes of Erg Chebbi and another one in the Erg Znaigui.
The journey held between Merzouga and Boudnib was not easy for the Bio-Ritmo® team, who, after having made 30 kilometer in the dunes, had a mechanical problem with the shock absorber support, which forced them to stop an hour to resolve the situation. Nevertheless the Portuguese finished the special in the 16th place among the T4, a result that allows them to maintain the seventh position of the overall classification of trucks.
Elisabete Jacinto, José Marques and Marco Cochinho have completed another stage at the Morocco Desert Challenge and are now two days away from completing another rally: “today’s special wasn’t easy. 
We had to run about 30km in the Erg Chebbi, wheich was a very complicated course that gave us a lot of work, but we were able to pass it without any problems. Soon after we found another section of dunes that we also surpassed well. Unfortunately we had a problem with the support of the shock absorbers and we had to stop to solve the situation which delayed us a lot. With all this we lost almost an hour. However, we managed to finish another stage and tomorrow we set off with the aim of regaining positions“, said the Portuguese driver on arrival at the bivouac.
The penultimate stage of the Morocco Desert Challenge will be held tomorrow between Boudnib and Matarka. It will be disputed 410 timed kilometers in this seventh special that follows north by the plains of Hamada and the plateau of Rekkam. After the sandy tracks of southern Morocco, in the north the riders will find deserted valleys, stone and mountain paths but the landscapes remain fabulous.
The Portuguese driver Elisabete Jacinto finished the fifth stage of the Morocco Desert Challenge, which took place today between Fezzou and Merzouga, in the eighth place among the trucks. The Bio-Ritmo® team took 5h11m01s to complete the 275 timed kilometers that composed this difficult journey that included the crossing of Erg Ouzina and Chebbi. In two days the Portuguese managed to recover nine places in the general ranking and now ascended two positions occupying the seventh position of the general classification of their class where 17 teams are currently competing.
very arduous and tiring. We didn’t have great misfortunes because we did everything very calmly, however, the sand passes are always complex. In the Erg Ouzina, although the layout didn’t present great difficulties, we caught a big scare. We were leaving a very high dune and the truck made an incredible flight. We were very lucky to have stopped with all four wheels on the ground because at one point I even thought I was going to overturn. But it was the Erg Chebbi’s pass that gave us more headaches. It was particularly difficult because we entered the dunes at noon and we couldn’t see anything of the terrain. We chose to walk calmly because we didn’t want to make bad choices and fortunately all went well“, said Elisabete Jacinto.
The Portuguese driver Elisabete Jacinto reached today, at the end of the fourth stage of the Morocco Desert Challenge, the seventh place among the trucks on a day when competitors crossed once again the Erg Chegaga dunes. The special allowed the team Bio-Ritmo® to win 15 places, compared to the stage of the previous day, and to increase again in the overall classification of the T4. With this result the Portuguese return to the top positions of the trucks occupying the ninth place of its class.
all went well. We passed the dunes without any problems. We had a minor problem on the crest of a dune, but we were able to solve the situation very quickly. We had to pass the dunes quite calmly, because due to the configurations of our truck I’m not able to be fast in the sand. But we did everything gently and it went pretty well. After the sand we were able to print a good rhythm and we managed to climb places in the classification of the trucks which makes us satisfied”, revealed the Portuguese pilot.
Elisabete Jacinto completed today the third stage of the Morocco Desert Challenge, a difficult day in the Erg Chegaga dunes that proved to be devastating for the Bio-Ritmo® team. In this special, composed of 335 timed kilometers that began in Touzounine and finished in the Erg Lihoudi, the Portuguese rolled among the first five trucks. However, at the crossing of a large section of sand one of the MAN TGS’s tires left the rim which caused them to lose a lot of time trying to solve the situation and finished the stage in the 22nd place of the truck classification.
but we had problems with the shock absorbers. However, our major problem was the dunes. One of our bedlocks, the system we use that lets us ride with lower tire pressures so that they don’t get out of the rim, failed when we were crossing a sand barrier, and the tire came out of the rim and we got stuck. It took us a long time to sort things out and to get out of there. The dunes are always very treacherous and without the right material it is difficult to do better. After that we only had minor difficulties in a place where it is always very complicated to navigate but we managed to run with a good pace. However we lost too much time in the dunes. This makes us frustrated because we were doing a good race”, said the Portuguese driver who is in the 16th place in the overall classification of her class.
The driver Elisabete Jacinto reached, at the end of the second stage of the Morocco Desert Challenge, the fourth place among the trucks and made a brilliant recovery of 22 positions in the ranking, after the setback suffered in the prologue that left her in the last places among the T4.
can say with certainty that it was the day we beat our record of overtaking. It was a difficult job, because we got a lot of dust, but we managed to do a very good and smooth stage. The special was really complicated. The hardness of the route and the extension of the selective sector made life very difficult for us. We spent seven hours driving what is truly tiring. Despite the obstacles, we had no difficulty with the navigation and we always came on the right track with a good pace. We did a good job and we are happy with our position”, said the Portuguese driver on arrival at the camp.
Elisabete Jacinto completed today the prologue of the 10th edition of the Morocco Desert Challenge, which was composed of a selective sector of 77 kilometers completed along the Plage Blanche in Morocco. The Bio-Ritmo® team, despite having started in a positive way this great African competition, suffered a setback when crossing a muddy oued that ended up tossing the Portuguese to the 25th position among the trucks.
the third truck to leave to the prologue and we were able to maintain a good rhythm and always on the right track. At a certain point, when we were crossing a muddy oued, the truck jumped up, and as the wheels settled on the ground, they got completely buried on the mud. We tried to get out of there, but the mud was so dense that it wasn’t possible to leave without help. So we decided to call the balai truck. However, a competitor with a MAN KAT 6×6 similar to ours pulled us and managed to get us out. After that we ran in a good pace. Despite the setback we don’t fade. Tomorrow we have to do a careful progression, because we are going to leave after many slower competitors, but we believe we will be able to achieve good results”, said Elisabete Jacinto.
The driver Elisabete Jacinto and the team Bio-Ritmo® held today in Agadir, Morocco, the administrative and technical checks of the Morocco Desert Challenge rally. On this day dedicated to the analysis of the documentation of the teams and the technical compliance of the vehicles, the Portuguese also received their race number. In this edition, they will leave for the competition with the number 503 being, therefore, the third truck on the prologue.
“This is a day when there is some bustle. We have schedules to accomplish and we cannot be distracted. We hardly have time to take a deep breath when all this administrative part is finished, as we have to follow to the briefing where are given a series of indications that must be taken into account. We like to look at the trucks of our opponents and guess their abilities … to greet everyone but we haven’t got the time to do everything … it is amazing to see the number of people who have gathered this year and all these vehicles ready to race!” said Elisabete Jacinto.
A few days before the start of the 10th Morocco Desert Challenge, Elisabete Jacinto and the Bio-Ritmo® team are setting the final details to start their third participation in this competition. The Portuguese have been in the last few days in the region of Erfoud, an area of Morocco well known for the great conditions for the practice of off-road, where they could test the performance of the MAN TGS.