Tuesday January 1st 2019: Stage 1 NADOR / LA MOMIE: 648,68km Liaison : Nador / Ameziane: 54,79km Leg: Ameziane / Merada: 90,57km Liaison: Merada / La Momie: 503,32km For the AFRICA ECO RACE® caravan, the year 2019 will begin with the early morning arrival of the GNV ferry in Nador. After two busy days at sea, navigating from the South of France, with many briefings and trainings for security and navigation equipment, this stage will be the perfect warmup. It will also be the opportunity to understand the difficulties of the rally when it comes to navigation and the numerous new tracks. For the drivers, some gravel tracks with a few technical passes will enable them to get slowly accustomed behind the wheel or handlebar of their vehicle. After the arrival, there will be a last 500km of liaison to the bivouac set up in La Momie, a location named after the famous movie that was filmed there.
Wednesday January 2nd 2019: Stage 2 LA MOMIE / FOUM ZGUID: 433,89km Liaison: 2,67km Leg: La Momie / Foum Zguid: 431,22km Finish at the Bivouac After a night, where negative temperatures aren’t uncommon at this time a year, the competitors will be amazed when stepping out of their tent, as they will be able to contemplate the mountainous panorama of La Momie, enlighten by the morning sun of Morocco. Even though well known by the regulars of the AFRICA ECO RACE®, this second stage will include a new dune chains and a brand-new track. An interesting rally start that won’t be as quiet as usual on this 400km of special sector. The experienced navigators will be able to pull through without much of a fight, as well as the other drivers who will have to be vigilant to avoid the traps of Moroccan tracks. As on half of the 12 stages of this 11th edition, the arrival will be at the bivouac. A good way to avoid any liaison issues et enable maximumrest.
Thursday January 3rd 2019: Stage 3 AGDAL / ASSA: 415km Start from the bivouac Leg: Agdal / Assa: 400,71km Liaison: Assa / Oued Draa-Assa: 14,29km This time, it will be a departure directly from the Bivouac, enabling the competitors to have that little extra rest and their assistance to see the vehicles leaving. This special sector, combining speed and navigation will cross mountain chains, dried out lacs and numerous military stations. The beginning of the stage won’t be too difficult thanks to tracks marked by cairns. Nevertheless, the Moroccan tracks are ruthless and tire problems will disrupt the ranking. Competitors will have to remain reasonable if they do not want to lose time. The end of the stage will be challenging when arriving towards the Oud Draa. The arrival will be set on the outskirts of the city of Assa, a usual stop for the AFRICA ECO RACE ®.
Friday January 4th 2019: Stage 4 OUED DRAA / FORT CHACAL: 494,57km Start from the bivouac Leg: Oued Draa-Assa / Fort Chacal: 492,75km Transfert to the Bivouac: 1,82km The competitors will once again border the Oued Draa on several miles by taking a slightly challenging part sand, part rock track. After M’seied, a large track will push the rally towards the south of Morocco. The landscapes will radically change. The co-pilots will have difficulty navigating through the smooth lands and fast tracks. The special sector will include a few downslopes. The offtrack parts from 2018 which were problematic for the navigation of many competitors, will be a distant memory as this portion has been transformed in a perfectly identifiable track. The 4th stage will end in a long fast and easy drive. With nearly 500km on the odometer of this 4th day, all teams will be happy to arrive at Fort Chacal.
Saturday January 5th 2019: Stage 5 FORT CHACAL / DAKHLA: 638,40km Transfert Oued Hamra: 4,97km Leg: Oued Hamra / Jreififa: 419,37km Liaison: Jreififa / Dakhla: 214,06km A new start and a new arrival for the last Moroccan stage. The new tracks inspired from last edition, will enable, experienced teams to be up front, as the desertic land of the South of Morocco won’t often be marked. A good way to end this first week of racing before the well-deserved traditional rest day for all the AFRICA ECO RACE®, along the Atlantic Ocean in Dakhla.
Sunday January 6th 2019 DAKHLA: Rest day For the fifth year in a row, the bivouac of the rest day will be set up in DAKHLA, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. Warmer temperatures and a golden sun should be awaiting competitors for this well deserved day off. This day will enable teams to take care of their mechanicals issues and recover physically before preparing for the next Mauritanian stages.
Monday January 7th 2019: Stage 6 Stage cancelled. Footage is a recap of the previous stages.
Tuesday January 8th 2019: Stage 7 CHAMI / GARE DU NORD: 500,99km Liaison: Chami / Gare du Nord: 20,01km Leg: Gare du Nord / Chami: 480,98km Finish at the Bivouac This first special sector in Mauritania will also be the first of the two traditional loops in the AFRICA ECO RACE® Rally 2019. The fact that assistance is forbidden at the end of the special sector, means the mechanics will have plenty of time to rest. It won’t be the case for the competitors, as this stage, already raced in 2018, but this time in opposite direction, will be restless. Indeed, participants will feel the challenge on the first 30 kilometers with much camel grass, not very pleasant for the teams and their vehicles. Then will arrive the beautiful dunes for which the competitors will have to monitor their tire pressures and respect the roadbook to the letter to avoid any extra difficulties. At the same time, vehicles will have to be treated as gently as possible as there will be no mechanical assistance after the sandy 480km of the day and the arrival at the “Gare du Nord” Parc Fermé. Reliability will be the key word if competitors wish to depart in the morning without any problems.
Wednesday January 9th 2019: Stage 8 CHAMI / AMODJAR: 506,85km Départ du Bivouac Leg: Chami / Aouelil: 445,12km Liaison: Aouelil / Amodjar: 61,73km The rest of the marathon stage will begin by some nice offtrack followed by some serious dune crossings. The competitors will then be confronted to a mix of fast and sandy tracks. A true pleasure for the drivers but having driven hundreds of kilometers without any mechanical help, they will have to steadily manage their vehicles. Even more because the last third of the route will be challenging in terms of navigation and driving will several interesting cordons of dunes. Focus on the roadbook will be primordial to not miss the waypoints or make errors that would cost some precious time. A second day of the “500 miles” marathon stage that will without doubt shake the rankings.
Thursday January 10th 2019: Stage 9 AMODJAR / AMODJAR: 482,82km Liaison: Amodjar / Oued Chinguetti: 38,73km Stage: Oued Chinguetti / Chinguetti: 374,37km Liaison: Chinguetti / Amodjar: 69,72km Considered one of the nicest stage of this 11th edition, the competitors will make the most of the stunning landscapes of the Mauritanian desert. This special sector is familiar to regulars of the AFRICA ECO RACE® as this loop was part of last year’s route also. This time, the stage will be done in the opposite direction. Therefore, it will totally change the experience. The morning liaison towards Chinguetti will be through rocky tracks impossible to race on. A difficult start to the day but after a departure in the Oued Chinguetti, all the rest will be bliss with tracks in the heart of the dunes among mind-blowing panorama. Competitors will have to be tough and clever to face the challenges of the day. With no doubt, one of the most important stages of the race.
Friday January 11th 2019: Stage 10 AMODJAR / AKJOUJT: 519,86km Liaison: Amodjar / Ain Attaya: 48,28km Leg: Ain Attaya / Akjoujt: 471,58km Finish at the Bivouac In 2018, this same stage was the toughest since the creation of the AFRICA ECO RACE® according to René METGE. There were many changes in the ranking. This time, the organization teams decided to limit the difficulty of this stage and therefore only the first third of the special sector was kept. Therefore, the white valley and the El Nhouk pass are now back onto the program. Then, competitors will drive through new very interesting tracks and cordons of dunes. The arrival will be set at the bivouac not far from the city of Akjoujt in which the rally makes the most of their stop there to deliver several packages for the municipality and their children.
Saturday January 12th 2019: Etape 11 AKJOUJT / ST LOUIS: 556,20km Start from the bivouac Leg: Akjoujt / Fimlit: 217,69km Liaison: Fimlit / St Louis: 338,51km As usual, this final Mauritanian special sector will be relatively short to not waste time and enable everybody to join the St Louis Bivouac by sunset. Most part of the track will be sand tracks between the dunes with a just a few nice crossings in the first part. The second portion of the special sector should allow competitors to beat speed records, but they will need to focus until the arrival in Fimlit, near Nouakchott, to try and be part of the top three on the podium. The last 300km of the stage, with beautiful driving along the Senegal river and the border, will enable participants to meet with friends and family at the bivouac set up on the old aerodrome of Saint Louis.
Sunday January 13th 2019: Stage 12 ST LOUIS / DAKAR: 299,75km Liaison: St Louis / Niokhob: 229,67km Leg: Niokhob / Lac Rose: 21,93km Transfer: Lac Rose / Dakar: 48,15km After a night under the starry skies of Senegal, the sun won’t be up yet but competitors will begin their liaison towards Niokhob, fishing village along the Atlantic, located not far from Dakar. The traditional starting grid will be on the beach. A unique moment et the last chance to go full throttle and compete for the podium in this mythical special sector to the Lac Rose. These 22 last kilometers will be the winning streak for some, and for others, profound relief. The last formalities of this adventure will be participating in the award ceremony organized by the Senegalese Federation of Auto and Moto sport. The podium on the shores of the Lac Rose will be the opportunity for all heroes of this beautiful adventure to be congratulated by the officials, passionate, family, partners and friends present at the arrival of this 11th edition of the AFRICA ECO RACE®.
JANUARY 7th 2020 : STAGE 1 TANGER MED / TARDA: 754,24 km Liaison: Tanger Med / Kenitra: 241,28 km SS: Kenitra / Zardal: 23,18 km Liaison: Zardal / Tarda: 489,78 km After crossing the Mediterranean for two days, the participants of this 12th edition of the AFRICA ECO RACE® will finally get to the heart of the matter. They will start this first stage with a 241 km liaison which will lead them to Kenitra where will be given the start of the first SS of the rally. It will be a short special sector in the Maamora cork oak forest. The route will be mainly sandy and windy with some holes and ruts. No major difficulty is to be noted except for the trucks which will have to watch certain passages under the trees. A selective sector which will mainly determine the starting order for the next day. After this warm-up, the participants will head for the Tarda bivouac, which is still almost 500 km away. It will be the longest liaison of the Rally.
JANUARY 8th 2020 - STAGE 2 TARDA / MHAMID: 333,13 km Start Bivouac SS: Tarda / Mhamid: 329,47 km On several occasions on the AFRICA ECO RACE® 2020, the starts will be given from the bivouac. So it will not be too hot when the first motorcycles start at sunrise. Until the first erg that the competitors of the Africa Eco Race raced through for the first time in 2019, meaning a little more than 100 km, the special is unprecedented. A 100% Moroccan track with many wadis, sometimes very stony and gravelly track, sometimes rolling with some undulations. Therefore, pay attention to the tire pressure for the first few wheel treads in the sand. The 200 kilometers to Mhamid will be identical to last year with rather fast tracks, some more delicate areas and most of all, navigation in the middle of wide open spaces. A few small dune crossing will be the last difficulty of the day, about ten kilometers from the finish.
9th JANUARY 2020 : STAGE 3 MHAMID / ASSA : 516,31 km Transfer : 4,58 km SS : Mhamid / Assa : 497,44 km Liaison : Assa / Oued Draa : 14,29 km With 497 km of special stage, the third day of racing will be like this 12th edition of the AFRICA ECO RACE®, focused on endurance and navigation. After sixty kilometers, the participants will cross Erg Chegaga for 28 kilometers. Even if this chain of dunes is now well known, since used by several rallies in Morocco, it will be tricky. The rest of the route, with the exception of a small new part, will be identical to previous years with, in particular an ultimate very rolling track which will allow journalists present at the finish to see vehicles tumbling down from very far away at full speed.
JANUARY 10th 2020 : STAGE 4 ASSA / SMARA: 404,53 km Start Bivouac SS: Assa/Sidi Laroussi: 385,39 km Sidi Laroussi / Smara: 19,14 km For this penultimate Moroccan day of the AFRICA ECO RACE®, it is a beautiful special stage, very pleasant and entirely new that the participants will tackle. Interesting gravel tracks, fairly fast on average with just a few rocky parts, the pilots will be able to give it their all. The navigation must not be overlooked with several delicate points, especially on a large and very fast chott where it will be necessary to stay on course. The end of this leg will also be rather complicated in navigation but also technically with a very difficult wadi crossing since it will be necessary to slalom between the holes and the trees.
JANUARY 11th 2020 : STAGE 5 SMARA / DAKHLA: 686,10 km Transfer: 1,17 km SS: Smara / Wad Assag: 473,17 km Liaison: Wad Assag / Dakhla: 211,76 km The descent towards the great Moroccan south will be done at high speed on good tracks chosen in the heart of rather monotonous desert landscapes. On the other hand, once again, you will have to be extremely vigilant in terms of navigation with many parallel tracks and a lack of landform. Enough to conclude this first week of racing in style before tackling the now traditional well-deserved rest day, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean in Dakhla, for the entire caravan of the AFRICA ECO RACE®.
SUNDAY JANUARY 12th 2020 DAKHLA: REST DAY For the sixth consecutive year, the rest day bivouac will be installed in Dakhla, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. Pleasant temperatures and a golden sun should be there for this well-deserved break. This day will allow the crews to repair their mechanics, to regenerate physically and to prepare for the next stages in Mauritania.
JANUARY 13th 2020: STAGE 6 DAKHLA / CHAMI: 559,93 km Liaison: Dakhla / Arzmeila: 383,36 km SS: Arzmeila / Chami: 176,57 km Bivouac Arrival After a very early departure from Dakhla to reach the border between Morocco and Mauritania early morning, in order to satisfy simplified customs formalities specially negotiated for the rally, the competitors will discover a special stage raced only once since the start of AFRICA ECO RACE®. The route, very sandy, will evolve along the Banc d'Arguin. Even if it will not involve any particular technical difficulties, navigation will be a tough exercise which should prove to be very useful for the Mauritanian stages to come. The arrival of this small leg will take place directly at the bivouac in the middle of the afternoon. Enough time for the audience to properly overhaul the vehicles before the next day's marathon stage.
TUESDAY JANUARY 14th 2020: STAGE 7 CHAMI / AIDZIDINE: 477,95 km Start Bivouac SS: Chami / Aidzidine: 477,95 km Arrival Bivouac This special stage will start from the Chami bivouac to arrive directly at the Aidzidine bivouac, a village located between Akjoujt and Atar, at the foot of the mountains. The peculiarity of this selective sector is that it is almost entirely off-track and therefore includes pure navigation without any existing route. This stage will be varied with at first crossing of dunes and camel grasses. After the motorcycle refueling, that is to say at the halfway point, the route is composed of 80% sand and little stones, and joins the single track alongside the Mauritanian railway with a large rapid section. Then the serious things will really start with dune crossings which will be complicated depending on the direction of the wind. The last part of this long stage will be relatively rolling but still strong in navigation.
JANUARY 15th 2020: STAGE 8 AIDZIDINE / TIDJIKJA: 450,83 km Transfer: 3,05 km SS: Aidzidine / Tidjikja: 429,01 km Liaison: Tidjikja / Bivouac: 18,77 km This selective sector will include two motorcycle refueling, the first of after 70 km. The reason is that the middle of the stage is difficult of access for KERO trucks. The start of this very nice leg is completely new with sand tracks until the Tifoujar pass, then with a very stony plateau, not too fast, until the village of Maaden. Then comes the descent into the white valley with at the end, a relatively difficult passage of dunes. The track will then evolve through various wadis towards the pass of Elnouk. From there on, it will be a portion never used by the Rally before, partly off-track across magnificent landscapes. A beautiful dune crossing located just off the service road may interest journalists after CP3. Until the end, it will be relatively rolling but navigation will be very difficult due to the absence of tracks since no one ever evolves in this sector.
JANUARY16th 2020: STAGE 9 TIDJIKJA / TIDJIKJA: 469,11 km Liaison: Tidjikja / Nimlane: 27,16 km SS: Nimlane / Nimlane: 415,07 km Liaison: Nimlane / Tidjikja: 26,88 km This will be the only loop stage of this 12th edition. Probably the most beautiful special stage of the Rally with a route never taken by the AFRICA ECO RACE. The participants will be really spoiled by what they will see during this unique day with even a little surprise revealed only at the bivouac the day before. After a first half-sand / half-pebble portion, the route will become entirely sandy in a huge corridor alternating between dunes and large sublime spaces. Even if the route will avoid the large dunes, the crossings will not be easy, especially at the end of the route with a long sandy climb between large narrow rocks which could cause a lot of problems in the event of a crash because it is almost a unique track. The last 35 kilometers will be on the same part as that taken in the morning, in reverse.
JANUARY 17th 2020: STAGE 10 TIDJIKJA / IDINI: 600,59 km Liaison: Tidjikja / El Kouaz: 77,34 km SS: El Kouaz / Idini: 499,46 km Liaison: Idini / Bivouac: 23,79 km After the 77 km liaison, including a 50 km track, the AFRICA ECO RACE competitors will tackle the longest special of this 2020 edition. The landscapes will once again be breathtaking, and two thirds of the day's route will be new. 90% of sand will be present since the route will evolve between dunes, some of which will have to be crossed. Navigation will be essential, and it will be necessary to be vigilant and follow the course of the road-book to not to end up on wrong tracks and loose precious time. Fortunately, the second half of the special, after the Moto and SSV refueling, will be fast with little navigation but you will have to be careful in the big turns between the small dunes. There will still be a small liaison on the road to hope before a well-deserved rest.
JANUARY18th 2020: STAGE 11 IDINI / ST LOUIS: 473,65 km Transfer: 1,95 km SS: Idini / Teverit: 187,16 km Liaison: Teverit / Saint Louis: 284,54 km As every year, the last Mauritanian special will be rather short but competitors will have to stay focused until the end. The partly new 187 km route will be relatively quick with some dune crossings but no major difficulties. At the end, a sense of freedom since the Rally will be almost finished. The last long road connection with the passage of the dike and the Senegalese border to reach the bivouac installed on the old Saint Louis aerodrome will be the last big exercise of this 12th edition of the AFRICA ECO RACE. But at the end, friends and families will be there to spend one last beautiful African evening.
JANUARY 19th 2020: STAGE 12 ST LOUIS / DAKAR: 299,75 km Liaison: St Louis / Niokhob: 229,67 km SS: Niokhob / Lac Rose: 21,93 km Transfer: Lac Rose / Dakar: 48,15 km After a night under the starry Senegal sky, the sun will not yet be up when the competitors of the AFRICA ECO RACE® 2020 will set off on the final liaison to Niokhob, a fishing village on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, located close to Dakar. The traditional lined up start will be given on the beach. A unique moment and the last opportunity to unleash the horses to try to be the first for fun in this legendary Lac Rose leg. The last 22 kilometers to be timed will feel like a reward for some whilst for others, it will be more freeing. The last effort of the adventure will be to participate in the award ceremony organized with the Senegalese Federation of Auto and Motorcycle Sport. Driving up on the podium installed on the banks of Lac Rose will be the opportunity for all the heroes of this magnificent African adventure to be applauded by the officials, enthusiasts, family, partners or friends present at the arrival of this 12th edition of the AFRICA ECO RACE®.
