The Portuguese pilot Elisabete Jacinto finished the fourth stage of the Morocco Desert Challenge, a demanding journey with many sand passages and dunes, in second place in the truck category. The Bio-Ritmo® team took 4h40m31s to complete the 276 timed kilometers of the selective sector that was held between Oum Jrane and Merzouga.
The Portuguese trio formed by Elisabete Jacinto, José Marques and Marco Cochinho finished the stage that took place today with a difference of about 28 minutes for the Dutch Martin Van Den Brink who, at the command of a Renault, was the fastest among the T4 and is currently the leader of this category.
Elisabete Jacinto is now going to the fifth stage of this African marathon in third place in her class with a short difference of 13 minute for the second place, which is occupied by the Dutchman Gert Huzink, and with a comfortable advantage of about 50 minutes for the Belgian Igor Bouwens, who continues to occupy the fourth position among the trucks.
Although the course of this fourth stage imposed many difficulties, the Portuguese team managed to overcome all obstacles:
“today’s stage was very varied, but it was also very difficult. The first part of the sector was fast and we managed to do it quite well. The second part was slower. We crossed two Ergs, the Ouzina and the Chebbi. In the first one we caught some very high dunes, but we passed them without any complication. When we reached the Erg Chebbi we had to make about 20 kilometers of dunes that were truly difficult to overcome. For several times, we almost got upside down. One time I even thought we would roll forward. The crests of the dunes were very high and the rear seemed to want to jump forward. But fortunately it went well and we are proud of the work we did today, “revealed Elisabete Jacinto on arrival in Merzouga.
The Morocco Desert Challenge is set to dispute its fifth round tomorrow in Merzouga. Once again the Erg Chebbi dunes will be part of the menu of a day where sand and dunes will be the main key words. The stage will count with 215 timed kilometers starting and arriving at the camp that is situated near the Moroccan city of Merzouga.
Elisabete Jacinto conquered today the third place among the trucks at the end of the third stage of the Morocco Desert Challenge. The Portuguese took 5h46m35s to complete the 347 timed kilometers that made up the special that linked Foum Zguid to Oum Jrane. After three days of competition, Elisabete appears in the third position of the general table of her category registering a 40-minute lead over Igor Bouwens who, at the wheels of an IVECO, is currently the fourth among the T4.
“it went well. Even though we have passed the dunes very slowly, we didn’t have to dig or get stuck in the sand, which for us is very positive. As soon as we stepped out of the sand we accelerated and fought to go fast. We managed to finish among the first which is very good” said the pilot on the arrival at the camp that is situated in Oum Jrane.
Elisabete Jacinto achieved at the second stage of the Morocco Desert Challenge rally, which took place today between Icht and Foum Zguid, the fourth place among trucks. The Portuguese move forward in the competition in second place in the overall classification of their category with a lead of 14 minutes for the third place, the Dutchman Gert Huzink who already won this same race in 2015.
Elisabete Jacinto and her team completed another stage without problems:
The Portuguese driver Elisabete Jacinto started today her participation in the Morocco Desert Challenge with a victory among trucks. The first stage of this great African competition, held between Agadir and Icht, was particularly hard. The 387 timed kilometers that composed this special were made in irregular soils, with a lot of stone and narrow tracks that made difficult the progression of the teams in the field.
“It was a really difficult day. The tracks were very hard and were full of sharp stones that degraded our tires. We tried to go fast but it was difficult to make progress on this kind of floor. The navigation was very complex and required a lot of concentration on the part of our navigator José Marques. But, as always, he did an exemplary job and we were always on the right path. In addition to the difficulties inherent to the course we had to stop for three times to change the tires that, due to the bad tread, got flat and made us to lose some time. Adding to all this it was a very hot day. Our thermometer reached the mark of 41 degrees. But we are satisfied with the result above all because we have given our best” said Elisabete Jacinto.
The Portuguese, who participate at the wheel of a MAN TGS, have as main objective for this competition the achievement of a place at the podium of the truck category. However, although they acknowledge that there are many difficulties in this race, especially the ones regarding to the routes that the organization of the competition presented, they believe that it is possible to fight for a good classification: “what impresses me the most in this race is not only the number of trucks that are present, but their level of preparation. Each of them is a showcase of the team’s ability to prepare. If the level of progress in the race is equivalent … this race promises to be quite disputed”, revealed Elisabete Jacinto.