The 2019 Rallye du Maroc ended yesterday in Fez with the victories of Giniel De Villiers (Toyota Gazoo Racing) and Andrew Short (Husqvarna) in the F.I.A. and F.I.M. categories.
ODC Director, David Castera, is already working on the next edition and on various sporting, environmental and cultural projects. These programmes have been developed thanks to the involvement and close collaboration of the event’s Main Partners: Afriquia, Maroc Telecom and OCP.
A 2019 edition, “intense and thrilling all the way to the last kilometres. Final victory, Cross Country Rallies FIM World Championship, FIA Cross-Country Rallies World Cup, were all played out on the last stage. For the amateurs as well, of course, for whom each day completed is also a victory,” and soon the outline of the 2020 Rallye du Maroc will be revealed. David Castera and his team have already been working on it for several months: “We are going to continue progressively evolving the Rallye du Maroc. The road-book in colour, distributed in the morning, was a first step. We have improvements to make but I think it is the right direction for the evolution of the discipline. All the competitors were of the same opinion. Currently some of the teams employ disproportionate means. The bike riders and car co-drivers sometimes work on the road-book all night. That engenders fatigue. We can no longer continue like that. I want to put sport back into the heart of the race.”
David Castera continued by revealing a little more the guidelines for the 2020 Rallye du Maroc. “With our Main Partners, Afriquia, Maroc Telecom and OCP we are going to build an itinerant rally, discover new regions and go even further towards meeting the local population. This is more than complementary actions; it is a truly global concept around the Rallye du Maroc that we want to build with our partners. We already know the direction to take.”
“It is following on from this contact with the local population that a point of honour for the Rallye du Maroc will be to contribute to the development of the regions visited and to help the most isolated populations. Recently fires ravaged more than 2000 palm trees. A disaster for this population that depends on date production for its livelihood. Taking advantage of the Rallye’s time at Aoufous, we supplied the town with equipment, including fire hoses and a pump, so as to prevent fires starting. We have also undertaken to replant these trees that, as they grow, will contribute to compensating the Rally’s carbon emissions.”
Carrying on from the building of a well and a reservoir, with a system powered by Solar Energy, in 2019, in the village of Outtara, the building of a women’s centre has already started, so that they can continue cloth making while looking after their children.
ODC and their Main Partners wish to multiple these initiatives so as to make the Rallye du Maroc an eco-responsible and durable rally. The goal for the 2020 edition is that this Rally gains ISO 14001 certification and becomes a reference as far as durability is concerned.
The discovery of Moroccan culture is also one of the fundamentals of the Rallye du Maroc. To this end, both during scrutineering and at the bivouac, after the traditional briefing for the following day, several local artists played on stage.
On the last evening a superb stage was set up in the Medina in Fez, Place Bab Boujloud, for a free end of event concert featuring internationally known artists. A show enjoyed, according to the authorities, by more than 8000 spectators in an excellent, festive atmosphere.
“The Rallye du Maroc is a fine event for the country. I am proud to help the competitors, journalists and members of the organisation, more than 1000 people and 39 different nationalities at the bivouac each day, discover this country and its customs. More importantly still, the Rallye du Maroc reaches several million viewers thanks to broadcasts and video content available in more than 190 countries. For future editions we are counting on an even more dense media presence and coverage via integrations of channels and more general-interest channels, so that the general public can discover and enjoy the discipline, while also giving them the possibility of discovering the magnificent country that is Morocco, both its scenery and the warm and open welcome given by its people.”
“To return to sport, local competitors are not sufficiently represented at the start of the race. For ODC and the Main Partners it is important that Moroccan participants take part in the rally in the future. We are working on a programme designed to train young competitors. The goal is to detect potential talent in Morocco, and in the rest of Africa. We are going to put in place a system of selection, training and assistance to help the worthiest participate,” concluded David Castera.
The 2020 edition is already underway, and we will continue to keep you informed of the construction of this ambitious programme that is indispensable for the Rallye du Maroc to be a durable event, ever more anchored in the country.
Source Rallye du Maroc
