Jean-Louis SCHLESSER and his team have just returned from reconnaissance after three weeks traveling through Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal, to complete a route mixing the best stages of all the editions, but also including many novelties.
On 15 March 2022, the entire caravan of the AFRICA ECO RACE will arrive in Nador, entry point to the African continent and start of this 14th edition. This year, the first section will be 100% new and shorter than in 2020 with a longer special stage. As always, an excellent warm-up, to find your driving and navigation marks.
For the rest of the Moroccan route, the special stages will combine the most beautiful tracks and dunes of the country with some unexplored parts in order to continue the discovery of this very demanding playground. As traditionally, after five Moroccan stages, the AFRICA ECO RACE caravan will set up its bivouac in Dakhla for the rest day, on Sunday March 20, 2022, along the ocean, for everyone’s pleasure.
Then, down to Mauritania, for a second week of racing that many competitors dread but also impatiently await. After crossing the border between the two countries, a 200-kilometer special stage will give you a taste of the Mauritanian sand. The first bivouac will be set up near Chami, where visa formalities will take place.
Although the route will include the usual two loops, which will give some rest to the assistance, Mauritania will deliver its share of surprises with a majority of new stages, where navigation will be, as always a priority, especially during several off-track parts.
Some great news for this 2022 edition: an ADDITIONAL special stage will take place in Senegal. This completely new stage will take competitors on tracks through the typical Senegalese steppe. With many navigation challenges, this stage could change the result of the race, right until the last bivouac set up in Mpal.
After a pleasant last evening in Senegal, where the bivouac will be entertained by the arrival of VIPs and families, the iconic special stage along the “Lac Rose” will be the last opportunity to make the engines roar before driving up the arrival podium, the main goal for all the AFRICA ECO RACE competitors.
The recce impressions from Jean-Louis SCHLESSER:
“ What a joy to be back in Africa, to reunite with this magnificent playground, its wide open spaces and the spirit of freedom. It is therefore a beautiful 2022 edition which is being prepared, both in terms of the route, but also the amount of participants and quality of the competitors registered. I will look forward to seeing you on March 12, 2022 in Monaco, for the official start of the 14th edition of the AFRICA ECO RACE . "
Please note, the closing of entries is around the corner ! Don't forget to register on time to be part of this unforgettable adventure from March 12 to 27, 2022.
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