OP
I ran into this excellent video from the MotorTrend Channel from 10 years ago explaining the rally quite well ... and in English
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TJ rally raid build
- Thread starter aldesso
- Start date
OP
And they're off ...
STAGE 1 - Sept 23 2021
110km - 10h
Stage/General Ranking: 45/141
First leg was 110km ( 70miles ) as the crow flies (blue line). Once they make it past the last check, they could choose to return to the bivouac in a straight line or drive, as they did, on existing trails ... I think they managed fairly well, covering the distance in 10 hours and only driving around a few obstacles.
STAGE 1 - Sept 23 2021
110km - 10h
Stage/General Ranking: 45/141
First leg was 110km ( 70miles ) as the crow flies (blue line). Once they make it past the last check, they could choose to return to the bivouac in a straight line or drive, as they did, on existing trails ... I think they managed fairly well, covering the distance in 10 hours and only driving around a few obstacles.
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OP
STAGE 2 - Sept 24 2021
100km - 12h30m
Stage Rank: 21/141 - Overall Rank: 18/141 - First participation Rank: 3/96
... most of it will be in the sand dunes of Erg Chebbi, some of them massive, rising close to 150m (450 feet) from the surrounding desert. The teams got to pick between 3 routes, with different levels of difficulty. Hard, Moderate and Easy. From the looks of it, team TJ went for moderate difficulty ... moderate get an additional 120km penalty while choosing the easy route will cost you 240km ...
Today's Stage was around 100km (62 miles). Distance was covered in close to 12.5hours, 9 of which were spent in the dunes.
Best strategy is to try and get out of the dunes as fast as possible before the scorching afternoon sun. The longer in there, the softer the sand gets ... That stage is usually one of the most feared but based on the GPS data, it doesn't look like they were stuck and if stuck, not for long (20min max) which might have also been their lunch break ...
Except for a little navigation mistake toward the second to last checkpoint, which got corrected, they stayed mostly on course, driving around some large dunes when needed.
100km - 12h30m
Stage Rank: 21/141 - Overall Rank: 18/141 - First participation Rank: 3/96
... most of it will be in the sand dunes of Erg Chebbi, some of them massive, rising close to 150m (450 feet) from the surrounding desert. The teams got to pick between 3 routes, with different levels of difficulty. Hard, Moderate and Easy. From the looks of it, team TJ went for moderate difficulty ... moderate get an additional 120km penalty while choosing the easy route will cost you 240km ...
Today's Stage was around 100km (62 miles). Distance was covered in close to 12.5hours, 9 of which were spent in the dunes.
Best strategy is to try and get out of the dunes as fast as possible before the scorching afternoon sun. The longer in there, the softer the sand gets ... That stage is usually one of the most feared but based on the GPS data, it doesn't look like they were stuck and if stuck, not for long (20min max) which might have also been their lunch break ...
Except for a little navigation mistake toward the second to last checkpoint, which got corrected, they stayed mostly on course, driving around some large dunes when needed.
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OP
STAGE 3 - Sept 25 2021
150km + 30k liaison - 11h40m
Stage Rank: 74/141 - Overall Rank 19/141 - First participation Rank 4/96
This should be nice and challenging ... 150km (93 miles) . Here, the plateaus and hamadas are crisscrossed by a variety of oueds, some deep, some shallow, some crossable, some not. There are also sandy oueds, smooth and fast … but protected by barriers of camel grass, which has the annoying tendency to lead to a good deal of shoveling.
This area offers very few clearly defined landmarks. And the few features to be found are often too far away or masked by the heat haze. To make things even more interesting, today's navigation maps are 1:250,000 scale as opposed to the usual 1:100,000.
Get the full description directly from the Rally's website
PS: I try as much as possible to find pics of the TJ and/or the team, but I sometimes cannot find any for a specific stage ... I'll add them if any come up ...
I still try to stick with the Jeep theme from other competitors to give you an idea of the terrain they are dealing with.
150km + 30k liaison - 11h40m
Stage Rank: 74/141 - Overall Rank 19/141 - First participation Rank 4/96
This should be nice and challenging ... 150km (93 miles) . Here, the plateaus and hamadas are crisscrossed by a variety of oueds, some deep, some shallow, some crossable, some not. There are also sandy oueds, smooth and fast … but protected by barriers of camel grass, which has the annoying tendency to lead to a good deal of shoveling.
This area offers very few clearly defined landmarks. And the few features to be found are often too far away or masked by the heat haze. To make things even more interesting, today's navigation maps are 1:250,000 scale as opposed to the usual 1:100,000.
Get the full description directly from the Rally's website
PS: I try as much as possible to find pics of the TJ and/or the team, but I sometimes cannot find any for a specific stage ... I'll add them if any come up ...
I still try to stick with the Jeep theme from other competitors to give you an idea of the terrain they are dealing with.
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OP
STAGE 4 - MARATHON STAGE - Sept 26-27 2021
265km over 2 days- 23h (12h to make it to Checkpoint #6 to set up camp for the night)
Stage Rank: 19/141 - Overall Rank 17/141 - First participation Rank 4/96
This first marathon leg covers more than 265 kilometres on paper (more than 320 km in reality) in complete autonomy, with no mechanical assistance in the evening, no refuelling, a makeshift campsite, and a dozen checkpoints to reach in two days.
265km over 2 days- 23h (12h to make it to Checkpoint #6 to set up camp for the night)
Stage Rank: 19/141 - Overall Rank 17/141 - First participation Rank 4/96
This first marathon leg covers more than 265 kilometres on paper (more than 320 km in reality) in complete autonomy, with no mechanical assistance in the evening, no refuelling, a makeshift campsite, and a dozen checkpoints to reach in two days.
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OP
STAGE 4 - MARATHON STAGE - Sept 26- 27 2021 ... CONTINUED
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OP
STAGE 5 - Sept 28 2021
105km - 11h45m
Stage Rank: 18/141 - Overall Rank 16/141 - First participation Rank 4/96
This will be a tough one to navigate. Features are low or shrouded in mist, hidden by the heat haze or erased by the wind.
The team arrived early on the last leg and was able to send me a message ... the rear suspension had had it, hopefully, the mechanics were able to find replacements for them so they could start fresh. They almost rolled over on the last leg and were pretty shaken up by it. Hopefully they will regain confidence quickly. They were doing well on the first part and somehow completely lost their heading, driving much more and missing CP 5 .. I am afraid that will cost them some spots in the ranking ... still waiting on the results. EDIT: to my surprise, they actually climbed up one spot in the general ranking ... I guess it really was a tough stage
105km - 11h45m
Stage Rank: 18/141 - Overall Rank 16/141 - First participation Rank 4/96
This will be a tough one to navigate. Features are low or shrouded in mist, hidden by the heat haze or erased by the wind.
The team arrived early on the last leg and was able to send me a message ... the rear suspension had had it, hopefully, the mechanics were able to find replacements for them so they could start fresh. They almost rolled over on the last leg and were pretty shaken up by it. Hopefully they will regain confidence quickly. They were doing well on the first part and somehow completely lost their heading, driving much more and missing CP 5 .. I am afraid that will cost them some spots in the ranking ... still waiting on the results. EDIT: to my surprise, they actually climbed up one spot in the general ranking ... I guess it really was a tough stage
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OP
STAGE 6 - MARATHON STAGE - Sept 29-30 2021
225km over 2 days - 24h (12h15m to make it to Checkpoint #4 to set up camp for the night)
Stage Rank: 49/141 - Overall Rank 13/141 - First participation Rank 3/96
Sixth and final leg of the Rally, and a Marathon stage to boot. Lots of sand, almost impossible to get a clear heading. For those brave enough to challenge the large dunes of Erg Chegaga, only the extra kilometres driven penalty over the ideal “crow flies” distance will apply, for those who choose to go around, an extra 120km penalty will apply. Will they be daring enough?
EDIT: they seem to have chosen the tough route through the large dunes. From a stategic POV, waiting for the morning to tackle them means that the sand is harder and the wind calmer... but it also means that the second day will be much longer ... We will see if it pays off. As it stands, depending on how well they do, they have the potential to climb up in the rankings as 2 of their competitors have taken the easy route which will incur them the 120km penalty ...
Once they finally manage to cross Erg Chegaga, there are still a few obstacles: Lake Iriqui and its baseless mountain, dinosaur ridges, “impassable” passes; the impenetrable cliffs of M’daouer… And then the Gazelles cross the finish line.
EDIT: As it turns out, for safety reasons, the last 2 checkpoints were cancelled. There simply wasn't enough daylight left to finish and to be honest, they were all exhausted ... 45*C desert heat will do that to you, along with 8 days of non stop rallying and testing your limits.
225km over 2 days - 24h (12h15m to make it to Checkpoint #4 to set up camp for the night)
Stage Rank: 49/141 - Overall Rank 13/141 - First participation Rank 3/96
Sixth and final leg of the Rally, and a Marathon stage to boot. Lots of sand, almost impossible to get a clear heading. For those brave enough to challenge the large dunes of Erg Chegaga, only the extra kilometres driven penalty over the ideal “crow flies” distance will apply, for those who choose to go around, an extra 120km penalty will apply. Will they be daring enough?
EDIT: they seem to have chosen the tough route through the large dunes. From a stategic POV, waiting for the morning to tackle them means that the sand is harder and the wind calmer... but it also means that the second day will be much longer ... We will see if it pays off. As it stands, depending on how well they do, they have the potential to climb up in the rankings as 2 of their competitors have taken the easy route which will incur them the 120km penalty ...
Once they finally manage to cross Erg Chegaga, there are still a few obstacles: Lake Iriqui and its baseless mountain, dinosaur ridges, “impassable” passes; the impenetrable cliffs of M’daouer… And then the Gazelles cross the finish line.
EDIT: As it turns out, for safety reasons, the last 2 checkpoints were cancelled. There simply wasn't enough daylight left to finish and to be honest, they were all exhausted ... 45*C desert heat will do that to you, along with 8 days of non stop rallying and testing your limits.
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OP
STAGE 6 - MARATHON STAGE - Sept 29 - 30 2021 CONTINUED
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OP
I try as much as possible to find pics of the TJ and/or TEAM #208, but I sometimes cannot find any for certain stages ... I'll add them in their respective stage if any come up ... I try to stick with the Jeep theme from other competitors to give you an idea of the terrain they are dealing with.
Most pics on the website are from cars in difficulty ... maybe the short wheelbase and the lightness of the TJ was a good choice after-all
After that ordeal, it'll definitely have earned a "Sahara" sticker, even though it isn't a Sahara Edition.
At least following the GPS data, they do not seem to get stuck much, if any. Most of the long pauses were at the checkpoints waiting for their turn ...
Most pics on the website are from cars in difficulty ... maybe the short wheelbase and the lightness of the TJ was a good choice after-all
After that ordeal, it'll definitely have earned a "Sahara" sticker, even though it isn't a Sahara Edition.At least following the GPS data, they do not seem to get stuck much, if any. Most of the long pauses were at the checkpoints waiting for their turn ...
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OP
Last day of the rally proper ... you can see the details and pics above. Unless something really crazy happens, they should finish in 16th or better overall and 4th or better in the first participants. Not bad at all!
OP
Clearly, the rear failing springs got replaced by the mechanics on the night from stage 4 to stage 5 ... amongst other checks:
STAGE 4 :
STAGE 5: MUCH BETTER !!!
STAGE 4 :
STAGE 5: MUCH BETTER !!!
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OP
And the results are finally in ... the trio finished in 13th place overall (141 teams in the 4x4 category)
and 3rd out of the 96 team participating for the first time. Not bad for the little TJ.
and 3rd out of the 96 team participating for the first time. Not bad for the little TJ.
Just finishing something like this is an accomplishment. Finishing top 10% the first time out is awesome! Congratulations to the team.
I'm truly impressed. What a great read. I regret not following along while it was underway. I tend to get lost in build threads and this illustrated just how much you can do in a Jeep. Look forward to more adventures. Now to get an off road rally planned....
