Elisabete Jacinto maintains second place among trucks

The Portuguese driver Elisabete Jacinto won today another second place in the Africa Eco Race 2019. In the special that linked La Momie to Foum Zguid, which was composed by 431,22 timed kilometers, the team Bio-Ritmo® spent 6h29m52s to complete the route of this second day of race that already included the passage of sand tracks and the crossing of dunes.

The formation composed by Elisabete Jacinto, José Marques and Marco Cochinho kept the first place in the classification of the trucks during most of the scratch, but at the crossing of a dune, the MAN TGS of the Bio-Ritmo® team got stuck and the Portuguese had to dig to remove the truck from the sand, making them waste a lot of time. With this result, the Portuguese trio maintains the second place in the T4 category and in the joint auto/truck classification comes in 9th place just behind the Czech Tomas Tomecek, who is currently the leader of the truck class.

For Elisabete Jacinto the stage was tough, but the team managed to overcome the setbacks and ended the day with another positive classification: this stage wasn’t easy because the ground was quite bad because of the stones, and it was very winding. But despite everything, we managed to make an excellent race. We only had a difficulty when at a certain point, crossing a dune, we got stuck and we had to dig what made us lose some time. However, the special went very well and, beyond this mishap, we had no other situation to report“, said the Portuguese driver.

Tomorrow will be accomplished the third stage of the Africa Eco Race that will be held between Agdal and Assa and will count with a total of 400 timed kilometers. The departure will be made directly from the camp. On this day participants will have to face mountain passes, dry valleys and numerous military stations among the relentless Moroccan tracks.

Elisabete Jacinto starts Africa Race with second place

Elisabete Jacinto reached the second position among the trucks in the first special of the Africa Eco Race 2019, a short 90-kilometer journey held between Ameziane and Merada, in Morocco. The Bio-Ritmo® team also attained the fourth place in the joint auto/truck classification, finishing the selective sector with a difference of only 1m34s for the first overall competitor, and took 1h01m20s to complete the course of the day.

The trio composed by Elisabete Jacinto, José Marques and Marco Cochinho completed the first day of this great African marathon without any difficulties imposing a good performance against their most direct opponents and finished ahead of the Czech Tatra Tomas Tomecek, the great opponent of the Portuguese in this race. Now, the Bio-Ritmo® team is only 1m23s away from the first place of the truck category, that is occupied by the Belgian Igor Bouwens who competes with an IVECO.

For Elisabete Jacinto, this was a very positive way to start the competition: “the special was difficult in terms of navigation. But we did all very well without making mistakes and we managed to impose a good rhythm. We won several places in relation to the competitors that left before us and in the end, we reached a good position. The start for the stage was delayed because Morocco changed the entry system in the country. So, we had to carry out the formalities twice, one on the boat and the other as soon as we reached the port, which greatly delayed the competition. However, it all went well, and we are happy with this first day of racing” said Elisabete Jacinto at the end of the first stage of the Africa Eco Race 2019.

The second stage of the Africa Race 2019 will have a debut track and marks the beginning of a rally that promises to be quite interesting. Experienced navigators will have no problems during the special, but they will have to be vigilant to avoid the dangers of the Moroccan tracks. The arrival will be made in the camp where the teams will be able to enjoy the maximum of rest.

Rally Africa Race starts today in Monaco

Elisabete Jacinto and the Bio-Ritmo® team celebrated today the departure of the Africa Race 2019 that took place in Monaco. Always swathed in great glamor, this event that marks the leaving of the rally from Europe is the opportunity for competitors to get together, share opinions and celebrate the beginning of this great adventure. Once again, the Victoria’s Secret former model, Adriana Karembeu, who is the godmother of the competition for the third consecutive year, gave the starting signal for this competition in an atmosphere of celebration and party near the Quai Antoine 1º.

The caravan is now leaving for Sète, in the south of France, where they will board the ferry that will allow them to cross the Mediterranean and arrive to Morocco at dawn on January 1st, when the first stage of the race will take place, in Nador. For Elisabete Jacinto and her teammates José Marques and Marco Cochinho this will be the phase of outlining strategies and relaxing before the start of the rally: “this moment of the start it’s a fantastic… we are happy and full of expectation. We believe that everything will work out the best way. The day on the boat passes quickly because there are always some tasks, but it serves, above all, to calm down and rest, because the days before the race are always very busy and we accumulate a lot of anxiety”, said Elisabete Jacinto.

On the first day of the new year of 2019 will be disputed the first stage of this 11th Africa Eco Race. The stage that will connect Nador to La Momie will be composed by a short selective sector with 90 kilometers. The special starts in Ameziane and ends in Merada and the pilots will have to travel 503 kilometers before reaching the camp at La Momie, a place named after the famous movie that was filmed there.