Mali


A country regularly crossed by the Dakar for the last 25 years, Mali is a gateway to West Africa. With its seven borders, Mali is a real crossroads, and competitors inevitably experience a change, in terms of the landscape and the way of life. After the wide-open desert spaces have been crossed, the rally arrives onto the speedy tracks of black Africa, which give way to technique and expert driving.


STAGE 12: KIFFA > BAMAKO

Wednesday 12th January 2005
Liaison: 25 km - Special: 586 km - Liaison: 208 km
Total: 819 km

The arrival in Sahelian Africa is marked by speedy tracks surrounded by vegetation. Difficulties in finding landmarks make navigating a delicate operation in the first third of this stage, up until the malian border. Then follows the crossing of numerous villages. Drivers are here obliged to slow down for the security of everyone. After Nioro competitors will encounter narrow laterite tracks, which make overtaking very difficult. They will also splash through their first rivers, and perhaps encounter a few animals. In Bamako, vehicles will once more be placed in the Parc Fermé, and no mechanical interventions will be allowed.



STAGE 13: BAMAKO > KAYES

Thursday 13th January 2005
Liaison: 205 km - Special: 370 km - Liaison: 93 km
Total: 668 km

From the start of the Special to the Manantali barrage, the still laterite track is on the wide side and allows for fast Rally style driving. For the next 150 km, it's back to bush landscape, where the track more often than not takes the form of a bush path through the middle of nowhere. Motocross specialists will be the most confident in the crossing of the Tambaoura cliffs. The finish of the Special will be judged in Sadiola, a small Malian town known for its opencast gold mine.