We are at the OiLibya Rally in Morroco
3.10.2015
On Monday the OiLibya Rally started in Morroco. The five-stage „tour“ is a final run-through for us before the legendary Dakar.
„At the weekend technical handovers took place and the race itself started on Monday. In total, there are thirteen hundred kilometres of a racing track to beat, which also mark the peak of our testing efforts. The next race we’ll start in will be the Dakar itself,“ commented the team’s chief constructor Mario Kress.
Mario’s pack has a quartet of trucks in Morroco that they provide technical support to.
The two specials developed entirely in the north-Bohemia-based technology centre for the Dutch Mammoet-Riwald Rally Sport with pilots Martin van den Brink and Pascal de Baar, were followed by powertrains for the Holland’s Gerrit Huzink and Czech pilot Tomáš Vrátný from the Bonver Dakar Project team. Moreover, the competition will be hardly insignificant. In Africa they will match their skills with the 2012 Dakar winner Gérard de Rooy or his new partner on Iveco Aleš Loprais. “For us the essential thing is to put our special under the utmost possible pressure, and if that means a podium in the end, then it’s even better. However, the result will only be our focus on the Dakar. But then again, everyone wants to win, no matter which race they are starting at,“ gave us a wink Mario.
The Morrocon OiLibya Rally opened its longest, three-hundred-kilometre stage around Zagora on Monday and is about to finish after five days in Agadir. In total there are more than thirteen hundred kilometres ahead of the pilots to tackle before Friday. From the very beginning, they can look forward to some fast and even sections as well as some technically demanding passages, mountain passes and the popular sand dunes. “The Moroccon rally is a great test before the Dakar and so I believe in our technogy to do well, so that we can fine-tune it appropriately,“added Kress.
RALLYE OILIBYA DU MAROC 2015 - program:
5. 10. - 1st stage - LOOP OF ZAGORA - 133km/330km
6. 10. - 2nd stage - LOOP OF DRAA - 141km/224km
7. 10. - 3rd stage - LOOP OF M’HAMID - 196km/274km
8. 10. - 4th stage - ZAGORA – AGADIR - 348km/293km
9. 10. - 5th stage - LOOP OF AGADIR - 79km/237km
