Disclaimer:
As a service to the sport we all love and follow, Rally-Raid Network posts numerous media releases from a wide variety of sources on our website. Due to the large number, and some times short time available, it is nearly impossible to review each public release. These articles are written by reporters or press officers who work for various organizers, teams, drivers, riders, and other parties, and they do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Rally-Raid Network.
Fenix Rally 2024: The big winners
Fenix Rally 2024 is in the books. The 8-day desert marathon ended with a final stage near the beautiful resort of Djerba with 136 kilometers of timed section. And, after the challenging week, which was full of surprises, including some unexpected from the nature, we have the new crowned kings of the desert.
Jerome Pelichet, co-piloted by Pascal Larroque, won every single stage of the race in the car class with their Optimus 2WD bolide. Thus, the French crew repeated their success from the maiden edition of Fenix Rally in 2021. The second place went to Alexander Oberlechner from Austria and his navigator Peter Brunner from Switzerland with their well-made Land Rover. Deserved third place for the Breslau veterans Jork Neese and Torsten Mueller, who relied on a machine, also suitable for hard trophy.
Olaf Seip and Matthias Stock from Germany are the winners in the Car Limited class, for the vehicles without modifications, driving their Land Rover to the finish precisely. Second place for Marian Andreev and Valentin Capota from Romania with Dacia, and "bronz medal" for the Tunisian crew of Abdennour Benabdennour - Abdel Waheb Dakhalaoui with Mitsubishi.
In the SSV class, Alexander Parpottas from the UK and his Bulgarian co-pilot Zornitsa Todorova pushed after the restart of the rally and grabbed the first place a day before the finish. Despite that Parpottas missed the last stage win from the Lithuanian crew Egidijus Malinovskis - Povilas Ignatavicius, he was enough advance to take the title, leaving the French duo Herve Guillaume - Maxime Guillaume on the second place. Third in the final rankings were another French tandem: Marc Bonnafoux - Jean-Michel Polato.
The last stage win in the bike class went to Remi Lauilhe from France, but it was his fellow countryman Sebastian Tocaben, who clinched the overall victory. Tocaben repeated his success from th last year’s Fenix Rally, leaving far behind his main rivals Laurynas Avyzius from Lithuania and Robert Przybylowski from Poland.
The French triumph continued in the ATV class, where Jerome Pla leaved nothing to his rivals and grabbed the victory with a huge advance. Second place overall went to Stuart Marley from the United Kingdom, and the third was for his compatriot and team-mate Jamie Shaw.
In the truck class, the title went (early) to the Italian trio Paolo Calabria - Loris Calubini - Giuseppe Fortuna. Second place for Klaas Steinhoefel-Jochen Ullman - Ralf Schwark and third for their countrymen from Germany Mathias Koerber - Max Jackermeier - Sebastian Roedel.
As Fenix Rally 2024 is over, the race director Alexander Kovatchev is no less than happy and tired. But, the boss of RBI Sport is already turning his mind toward the jubilee Breslau Rally in Poland, which will celebrate its 30th anniversary in the end of June. We expect on more racing day, three bivouacs and many more surprises. See you there!
Source: RBI / Fenix Rally
Helder