Morocco, a cross between tradition and modernity
A neighbour of Europe, Morocco is a hospitable, colourful country with an agreeable climate. The millions of tourists who make it their favourite destination each year know what they are about: lovers of sea and mountains make a beeline for it.
Morocco is also a modern State, juggling democracy, Islam and ancestral traditions. A State which plunged into the twenty-first century as a model of integration and development, just like its economic capital, Casablanca.
Long a historic ally of the Dakar rally, most of all Morocco symbolises the entry into Africa for all the competitors, and their passage across the first hazardous routes. The pilots must immediately practise constant vigilance, as Richard Sainct, the victim last year of a fall between Tangiers and Er Rachidia, which earned him several stitches and may have cost him the final victory, learned to his cost.
Mauritania a country worth discovering
A country whose beauty was wonderfully recounted by the famous French naturalist Théodore Monod, Mauritania welcomes tourists wishing to discover the desert or be initiated into the joys of sport fishing. A State where democracy is durably established and which successfully juggles development and respect for its traditions.
Crossing Mauritania is always a “turning point” in the Dakar race. Everything may happen in the Mauritanian sands, which have given the rally a warm welcome ever since 1983. Its convoluted landscapes, glorious and overwhelming, must not make the competitors forget to concentrate, on navigation above all. From Atar to Nouakchott, passing through Nema or Ayoûn-El-Atroûs, errors can be counted in hours, and disappointments rain down on the men in the front line. In 2004, for example, it was at Tidjikja, after straying for over an hour, that Cyril Despres realised his dreams of final victory would still have to wait.
Mali, land of contrasts
Crossed regularly by the Dakar for the past 25 years, Mali is an open door to West Africa, a crossroads of the sub-region. Its seven borders corroborate this strategic geographic position and offer visitors outstanding sites of interest: its desert and its legendary city, Timbuktu, the Dogon region and the Bandiagara cliffs as well as the majestic Niger river.
A dynamic land of democracy and trade, Mali offers the competitors breathtaking landscapes. Once the wide expanses of desert have been crossed, the rally ventures onto the rapid routes of black Africa, where technology and piloting hold sway. Indeed, it was on these routes that in 2004, Colin McRae by car and David Frétigné by motorcycle won the first feature victory of their promising rally raid careers.
Senegal, the art of daily living
Senegal, via its symbolic capital, is fundamentally linked to the biggest rally raid in the world, the Dakar. The arrival of the competitors, spelling celebration and excitement, always arouses the enthusiasm of the Senegalese. But Senegal is also a country of music and dancing: the rhythm of the Mbalakh, the sound of Djumbé and its suave and rhythmic melodies are known the world over, largely thanks to the talent of Youssou N'Dour, the symbolic musician of the Senegalese stage.
Mechanical sports occupy an important place in the Dakar landscape with the mythical “Six hour Dakar” car race, organised each year by FSAM.
On the rally side, Senegal teaches a lesson of humility and patience. While the Pink Lake (Lac Rose) is certainly the ideal place to finish a three-week long adventure as testing as it is unforgettable, the last few laps are not always the easiest. A piloting error, a mechanical breakdown or a heavy penalty (like Jean-Louis Schlesser in 2001), and the rally can just as easily be lost in Senegal.
