Merzouga Rally is a

rally raid Rally raid is a type of off-road motorsport event competed with different types of vehicles. Along with shorter Baja (cross-country rally), baja rallies, rally raid constitutes cross-country rallying. Both the Fédération Internationale de l'Aut ...

that takes place in

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

every year since 2010 at the beginning of October in the big dunes of

Merzouga Merzouga (, ) is a village in southeastern Morocco. The village is near the Erg Chebbi dunes, one of the tallest in the Sahara. It is about southeast of Rissani, about from Erfoud and about from the Algeria–Morocco border, Algerian border. S ...

. It’s a five-day race plus prologue and a marathon stage in the desert. The stages are varied and around 200–300 km long. Navigation is the key and the competitors use the GPS Unik2, the same used on the

Dakar Rally The Dakar Rally () or simply "The Dakar" (), formerly known as the Paris–Dakar Rally (), is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). It is an off-road endurance event traversing terrain much tougher than convent ...

. Safety is important as well with the competitors using the Iritrack, the tracking system studied for the African rallies. Plus a professional medical staff with 4x4 ambulances and doctors on bike and quad along the track and heli-ambulance service. To meet the needs of the professional riders but also the necessities of amateurs, the Merzouga Rally features the division of the route in 2 categories: PRO: open to pro riders and those competitors ready for an ultimate challenge EXPERT: a technical and navigated route but less extreme stages as the Expert riders will cover the 75% of the complete route of the Pro riders. The Merzouga Raid: Ideal for those who face the desert for the first time. At their own pace, riding on the same route of the rally in small groups with an expert guide. The vehicles will be equipped with world track, the satellite system that allow to follow the vehicles on track in real time. (for the rider no sports licence is required). Merzouga Rally took originally place in October and then was organized in April: the 2020 edition was originally planned on May, although it was finally cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The organizers postponed it until its next edition on 2021, which it never took place.

History

In 2010, 40 competitors took part to the first edition of the Merzouga Rally. Every year the rally grows reaching an average of more than 120 vehicles on track. Studied by Italian promoter Edoardo Mossi, the Merzouga Rally formula is addressed to all amateurs that challenge the desert for the first time, but also for the professional riders who wish to train in preparation of the Dakar Rally. Many riders described Merzouga as ''the perfect training for the Dakar''. The race is open to the bike, quad and SxS categories (side-by-side).

Editions

The winners of the Merzouga Rally in the bikes include Helder Rodrigues,

Sam Sunderland Sam Sunderland (born 15 April 1989 in Poole) is a Dubai-based British rally raid motorcycle rider, best known for his participation in the Dakar Rally, which he won in 2017 and 2022. Career Sunderland made his Dakar debut in 2012, riding a Hon ...

Pål Anders Ullevålseter Pål Anders Ullevålseter (born 7 December 1968, in Oslo) is a Norwegian rally raid motorcycle rider. He came in second at the 2010 Dakar Rally, captured the 2004 FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship and has won the Africa Eco Race twice. ...

Kevin Benavides Kevin Max Benavides (born 9 January 1989) is an Argentine rally raid motorcyclist who is best known for winning the Dakar Rally twice, in 2021 and 2023, as well as coming second place in 2018. He is a former driver of the Monster Energy Honda Raci ...

Joan Barreda Joan Barreda Bort (born 11 August 1983 in Castellón de la Plana) is a Spanish rally raid motorcycle rider, best known for his participation in the Dakar Rally. Career Barreda Bort made his Dakar debut in 2011, riding an Aprilia, but was forced ...

and Adrien van Beveren, who used the Moroccan rally as a launch pad for the Dakar. In quads, the most famous winners are Nicolas Cavigliasso (who won Dakar 2019), Camelia Liparoti six time FIM Women's Cross-Country Rallies World Cup winner and multi finisher in the Dakar aboard quads and SxS, and Axel Dutrie two-time Merzouga winner in this category. The SxS category has seen wins from

Nasser Al-Attiyah Nasser Salih Nasser Abdullah Al-Attiyah ( : nāṣir ṣāliḥ nāṣir ʿabd allāh al-ʿaṭiyyah; born 21 December 1970 in Doha) is a Qatari rally driver and sport shooter. He was the 2006 Production World Rally Champion, 2014 and 2015 WR ...

the Qatarian driver and four-time Dakar car winner, Reinaldo Varela SxS Dakar winner, and

Annie Seel Annie Seel (born 5 September 1968) is a Swedish-born motorcyclist who set a world altitude record for climbing to Mount Everest base camp on a motorcycle in 2003. Seel climbed to , breaking the existing unofficial record by more than , using a ...

the multi time finisher in the Dakar on bikes.

Winners

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official Site
Rally raid races Motorsport competitions in Morocco Motorcycle races 2010 establishments in Morocco Recurring sporting events established in 2010

History

Editions

Winners

See also

References

External links