The Berber stage, the longest of the rally, was not easy for the Xtreme+ Polaris crew N°205. The duet, Garry Connell and Annie Seel, took the start of the S.S. 10 a.m. and arrived at Xaluca, the hotel that host the Merzouga Rally in Erfoud, at 5:15 p.m. The crew had to take the tarmac road because at the moment they reached to CP4, it was closed. The day was full of problems, shovels and a titanic fight to find the right track.
“We started out with a puncture, and changed the tire very quickly. Then, we arrived to the dunes and everything was going fine until we got to the skirts of a big dune… We launched the attack to this huge mountain dune in front of us without deflating the tires and got trapped in the sand… and not just a little! I pull the jack and the plates twice. After this, we were able continue, going around the dune. With all this, we gave out more than an hour,” tells Connell about this crazy day.
“Further in the stage, he continues, we could not find the entrance to the canyon. We went back to the way point twice to make sure we were going the right direction and again, we lost about 20 more minutes before finding the right road.”
“Then, there were more dunes, and it was outstanding because the small and medium sized dunes do not cause me any trouble. Unfortunately, we arrived to CP4 when it was just closed so we had to take the tarmac,” finishes Connell.
Tomorrow competitors will take beginning of the marathon stage, meaning no assistance service will be allowed, and will have to sleep under the starry sky, close to Merzouga.
