What an adventure it was again this year after a year of absence from the dusty and versatile Drâa-Tafilalet region of Morocco. Popular for many for various reasons, and the favorite for most of the rally fanatics from Europe and worldwide.
Apart from being one of the twelve regions of Morocco, Drâa-Tafilalet is 88,836 km² in area, which makes it marginally larger than entire Austria. Despite being in the Atlas Mountain, it has recently been negatively impacted by increasing desertification.
So there was no better place to host the Tuareg Rally 2025 because of the ample sand and rocks as well as the continuously changing landscape.
The official starting point for the Tuareg Rally 2025 was Erfoud, which is around an hour's drive south of Errachidia and which serves as the regional capital and the entry point for many of the participants to Morocco.
Founded by a group of German enduro and motocross aficionados, Rainer Authenried and his small team took over the helmet and gradually improved the rally to meet international safety standards and important cost-effective criteria.
The Tuareg Rally began as a motorcycle rally in Morocco, expanded to Algeria ones, and has rapidly increased in number over the years, along with the number of participating SSVs and rally cars.
ERFOUD
This year the headquarter for the start of the Tuareg Rally 2025 was at the Kasbah Hotel Chergui and the overflow of the participants at the nearby Kasbah Hotel Xaluca, both being on the outskirts of Erfoud and both of equal international standards.
The registration of the participants, administrative steps and the usual scrutineering took place here. Here the participants also got the first chance to test run their vehicle of choice for the upcoming six days.
82 motorcycle riders registered either direct with the Tuareg Rally or decided to join one of the tour operators specialized in rally tours such as Memo Tours, providing applicable service and transport of the equipment and the motorcycle.
Another significant group of 21 SSVs registered too. Here also some booked directly with the Tuareg Rally and others used e.g. Blackforest Racing to provide the SSV and focus only on racing.
A rather small group of only 10 vehicles, some 4x4 but also two 4x2, registered. The Tuareg Rally was born as a motorcycle rally and somehow remained more popular with the international motorcycle riders over the years.
However, all participants in all the categories were provided with individual tracks over the six days to match their capability and individual classification standards. At the end of each rally day all the different tracks merged again though at one finish line.
A kind of unique Touareg Rally experience, if you want to call it one, is always the lunch break for all the participants. Here snacks are catered for, snacks the organizers brings all the way from Germany accompanied with fresh daily local bread.
Cold cuts, spreads, small snacks and fresh fruits were served from a catering caravan, before one has to get back on track and fight the sand for glory again. A handful of mini salamis can make champions.
MHAMID
Mhamid, here the road south literary ends, what follows is nothing else but sand dunes. The tracks from Erfoud to Mhamid and back were similar in nature, but different in endurance because in between were two stages out of Mhamid, sand dunes only.
Here also the hotel standards were slightly different as less tourists travel that far south, even though the dominant Erg Chegaga is worth to visit. The Chez Le Pacha Hotel and the Riad Sbai Hotel hosted all participants very well, providing a relaxing atmosphere after long days in the dunes.
MERZOUGA
Another Moroccan favorite in the rally community with plenty of action around, and a place where you will find the highest sand dunes in all Morocco, the Erg Chebbi. A place to get lost, big and heaps of loose sand, with the top of the dunes hardly reachable.
A bonus, but also a must if you can reach the highest individual check point of the motorcycle category. Interesting to find your way with little information given in the roadbook, instinct is key here.
ERFOUD
Erfoud was the starting point and here the Tuareg Rally 2025 also ended with a spectacular display of joy from all the participants. The official finishing line of the rally was the entrance to the Kasbah Hotel Chergui.
In the evening the organizer of the Tuareg Rally, Rainer Autenrieth, hosted the official price giving ceremony. It was announced that the next and also the last Tuareg Rally he organized will be in March 2027 with dates to be announced.
In the individual categories the following winners were announced:
CAR PRO
1. Vetter / Frutiger (#205)
2. Navarro / Dorado (#202)
3. Broomans / Broomans (#201)
SSV PRO
1. Lauda / Henken (#245)
2. Team Daktek (#240)
3. Team Trösser (#238)
4x4 EXPERT
1. Rupp / Ruhaltinger (#244)
2. Coyne / Fitzimons (#236)
3. Joze Zalar (#130)
2WD
1. Ziegler / Meyer (#211)
2. Vogt / Hurrle (#210)
MOTORBIKE PRO
1. Thorsten Kaiser (#60)
2. Gerhard Forster (#77)
3. Wouter de Graaff (# 21)
MOTORBIKE EXPERT
1. Mirco Bettini (#101)
2. Ludwig Kuhn (#70)
3. Roberto Miotto (#33)
BIG BIKE
1. Michele Fiore (#103)
2. Felix Schäfermeier (#106)
3. Michael Riebel (#107)
RAID
1. Francesco Calise (#301)
The endless and deep Atlas mountain valleys and the picturesque dune landscapes in Morocco are not only non-forgiving, but on the other hand also a landscape made for a rally-raid like the Tuareg Rally, where small teams and private individuals with smaller budget can strive and enjoy.
So what better place there is to join a family off rally-raid enthusiasts either yourself or through one of the tour operators in individual countries to get the support you might need.
Text and photos: Thomas Pfister
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