One more year and after loading all the junk in our FJ we set off for the port of Marseille, to compete in one of the most charismatic events, in which we have participated, with the desire of course to fight.
Cold very cold, we get out of the car to greet people and we think, better to greet them by boat, rude? No!. Cold, very cold.
After a fantastic journey and already knowing most of the participants and follow-up people, exchange of impressions, battles, etc… we arrived in Tunisia, as always, patience, a lot of patience and we are finally in. That moment is indescribable for me, a feeling of happiness and tranquility, here begins the total disconnection from the West, while you are assembling the antennas, radios, gps’s, you are forgetting about the problems and the so fashionable crisis. A quick call to the family and attack!
Quietly, heading to Gafsa to spend the first night, wanting to eat those lambs that are so cute, hanging from the roadside bars, if we can call them that, um! How good the meat is, let’s not think about the West!, aren’t we looking for adventure?, I say to my co-pilot.
After the verifications and explanations by the organization, about the different routes for stage 1 we go to the room without wasting a minute, turn on the computer, create the routes and organize the routes to be done the next day.
The first stage begins, which we lead the start that we had by lot (would it be a harbinger of what was going to happen?) (Hopefully!). We start this in the usual way, in which we have started the different competitions of this style, in which we have participated, starting and stopping to see more or less, what our rivals do, and the rivals is in racing jargon, and with an affective character, every 5 minutes a car comes out. We let 3 cars out as it was not a plan to wait for them all to leave, and we decided to start sailing towards the first wtp, we immediately entered dunes, how good! How fast, we already have sand, after a while we didn’t say the same thing, the sand came out of our ears, and never better said!, but that’s what it’s all about, right?, of course it is!, sand and more sand, with temperatures around 20ºC, what a delight to surf through the dunes, why yes! Surfing, it’s amazing, we’re really surfing in a competition and on top of that I don’t have to be controlling the pointer of my GPS the copi takes care of everything, this is great, I’m really enjoying the car, the scenery, and the sand, a lot of sand.
Two hours after starting I told my co-driver, if every day is like this, it seems to me that I am not going to participate in any other competition that is not like the format of the Desert Raid, I am having a great time, piloting my FJ, pampering it in each of the ridges not a jump, not a bit, all soft, rhythmic, non-stop, except for the hooks, which by the way, were not few. No more the typical Moroccan tests that have so many stones and in which the format forces you to follow such a straight course that it really becomes boring, apart from crushing the car much more.
At the end of the day my co-driver and I were amazed at how much fun we had had, I couldn’t believe it, after 20 years competing at a professional level, I have discovered a totally amateur style of competition in which you feel the same sensations as in professional competition, but without the stress that the professionals imprint.
If we add to that a perfect course, with super studied wtp’s, very well placed, with very accurate scores, together with a balanced regulation, we have a really interesting test, and as if that were not enough, the good coordination of the organization made throughout the competition have a plus of tranquility, than in other tests we have been in, we have not had.
The following days were full of emotions, as the classification was very tight, which forced us to surpass ourselves, scoring 100% of the wtp’s in the last 3 days, which our main rivals also did. the final classification was decided by the differences obtained in the first two stages.
It should be noted that the best of this competition has undoubtedly been the last day, 23 hours driving, yes, yes, 23 hours. Let me explain:
After finishing the last stage and checking that we had won the competition, the press car was waiting for us at the end of the stage to carry out a report and interview, when in the middle of the report, they called the organization car on the radio asking for its presence about 5 km from where we were, since there were three cars with problems, From the competition monitoring group, they subtly tell us that we must leave the interview for another time since he had to go to support the rest of the cars, when we commented, can we accompany you to lend a hand?, to which he replied, better not, because because of the time it is we will have to spend the night in the desert, That my ears heard! Night in the desert? I can’t miss that, the icing on the cake, for a great adventure, how great the night was, once the problem of the vehicles was solved in situ, what an organization! and with the tents set up, the little fire… And after holding a small referendum, on whether we slept in the desert or left it, it was decided to leave it, how good! More dunes, but: we have to do 10 km backwards, since the 5 km that are ahead are very technical, and at night not very advisable, so go ahead!, we set up the operation, with 3 organization cars, divided between the 5 tracking cars and us opening the caravan of 9 cars. I have to say, that it is the most beautiful thing I have done with my FJ lately, 8 hours were the protagonists to get out of that beautiful labyrinth of dunes, constantly looking for low steps, since one of the cars was followed carrying a little problem in its transmission that made it difficult to crest, with a cold that peeled, With a breeze that erased the marked footprints and that made the advance of the caravan an eternity, with constant stops, but with a good vibe among everyone, which made this adventure its main virtue, we were all tired, but we all smiled from ear to ear, with that feeling, I say sensation!, with that reality, that you are living an experience that is rarely lived, this is adventure! and the rest of the nonsense.
Without a doubt, this Desert Raid, with its new format, will surely be the reference to follow, suitable for any type of participant, from the most novice to the most expert, each one is marked and pigeonholed in his level, something that the rest in which we have participated, require much more capacity both car and driving. Both in navigation and in driving we had to get our act together, to get this new victory, which has not been easy.
I want to thank all the people in the organization, who know how to do things so well, the sponsors who make it possible for it to be so, and of course, all the participants/rivals, who without them, none of what was written would make sense, nor would anything that happened have been possible.
Until next time…
Joan Lario
