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From November 23 to 29, Laurence Belloeil and Fanny Marchesi, the two drivers from Saint-Barth, crossed the dunes and sandy deserts of the Sultanate of Oman in a rally-trail where only compasses, maps and the sky provide the clues to find the finish line of the stage, beacon after beacon. Stage after stage, the Irma's Rebelles crew climbed up the overall standings. With an eventful second half to the rally. Between a race to the cape, where the experience of the two Saint-Barthélemy pilots made the difference, and another stage which forced the duo to lose precious time to help a rival pair, stuck in the sand. Laurence and Fanny finally finished their rally with a victory on the last stage, where they were the first to cross the final finish line.
Here's a look back, with the two drivers, at a lively rally and a well-deserved podium finish.
The Irma's Rebelles crew, comprising Fanny Marchesi and Laurence Belloeil, finished 2nd in the Rallye-Trail Aventura W'Oman And Man.
At the end of a week's trail rally in the desert, how are you feeling?
Fanny Marchesi : We're feeling very tired, but we've got this urge to set off on new adventures - it's crazy!
Laurence Belloeil : It was great, we were aiming for a podium and we got it. We'd done top 5 in California, but second place was a different matter! After that, it's true that if the Rallye des Gazelles started tomorrow, we'd see ourselves there [laughs].
What were your emotions when you lifted the trophy?
Fanny: Enormous joy and satisfaction, because the competition was tough, and until the final podium was announced, we didn't know the overall classification at all. We knew that we'd validated the last stage by crossing the finish line first and on time, but we didn't know where we stood in view of the fact that we'd won the race. where we stood in view of the previous rankings and the points the other crews had scored on the final day.
Laurence: It was great, what a great adventure! What's more, as far as the Rallye des Gazelles is concerned, most of our competitors do this rally regularly, so the overall level of women's crews was pretty high. We're delighted to have won this title.
At what point in the rally did you feel you could finish on the podium?
Fanny: I think we quickly realized that it was going to be complicated to be on the podium all the time, because you could very easily get penalty points for covering a longer distance than planned, or for completing a stage outside the allotted time.For example, on Thursday's dune run, we lost a lot of points in the standings because we had to shovel a lot, certainly for our car, but also to help 3 other vehicles, one of which took a long time to handle because it was badly engaged and the sand was extremely soft. That evening, we were among the last to finish, but we didn't leave any crews behind... Helping each other is also part of the rally.
Laurence: Indeed, we were left to untangle (pull out of the sand) a pair of competitors for a good part of the penultimate day. In reality, beyond the time allowed to complete a stage, you lose points every 5 minutes. With an hour and a half to spare, we had to go all out on the last stage, and we were lucky to win it.
What is the difference between the desert of Oman, Morocco and Nevada?
Laurence: In this region of the Sultanate of Oman, it's really just desert and dunes as far as the eye can see. As for the sand, it's very loose, much softer than elsewhere, making driving more difficult.
Fanny: It's true, the dunes are a bit different, I think. They're smaller in Oman (at least in the areas we visited), but they're also less load-bearing and therefore difficult to cross without getting the 4x4 stuck in the sand. In fact, not a single vehicle made it through the dunes unhindered.
Which of the rally's 5 stages was the hardest? Or the most difficult?
Fanny: For me, it was the 2nd stage. The deadline for finishing the stage was too short for the reality of the terrain. We looked for a finish line, which we never found because it hadn't been placed because the race had been stopped.e because the race had been stopped because too many vehicles, including us, were further away than expected. But we didn't know it at the time, so we could look for a long time [laughs].
Laurence: That day, they completely stopped the race for a crew that was more than 100 kilometers from the original route. They were clearly lost in the desert. The organizers had to mobilize a number of machines to go and find the lost crew.
And the best part?
Laurence: As always in rally-raids, meeting new people and helping each other out. You get to know a lot of nice people, and the exchanges between pairs are very rich. And it was great to be on the podium too!
Fanny: In the same vein, I'd say the encounters with the other crews and the moments of sharing, in the evening, at the bivouac, over a meal. Yes, I liked hearing our name announced on the podium too, because we weren't expecting it at all.
How do you spend your evenings at the bivouac?
Fanny: The day before, we prepare for the next day. Every evening we have a report on the day's progress and a briefing on the following day. But it's also a time for sharing and enjoying the adventure with the other crews. Even if the competition and the race always come up in our conversations [laughs].
Laurence: In terms of comfort, we had brand-new 4x4s, or almost, with everything we needed to sleep well at night, equipped from the roof of the vehicle. We also had solar showers and other useful equipment. The organization provided a buffet and tents for dinner. And on the two evenings when we were totally self-sufficient, the well-stocked 4x4s enabled us to spend the night without worry.
With your finest performance, when are we going to see your tandem again in a competition?
Laurence: We wanted to thank our sponsors and friends, without whom we couldn't have finished 2nd in the Aventura. For us, this second place is also theirs! Now that they've seen what we're capable of, we'll be able to ask them, once again, to make an effort to support us in a future race [laughs]. Thank you all for your support and messages on the rally and to our sponsors: Sexy, ECP, CCD, Christophe Guyot, AI Domotique, GEC, NBM, Beenest, and of course Le Journal de Saint Barth.
Fanny: I have to admit, after an adventure like that, with a podium finish to boot... all we want to do is start again, but for the moment we don't really know when. We've just finished the Aventura d'Oman, which was a first for us, so we're going to make the most of it, even if... we've already talked about the idea of doing the Rallye des Gazelles again, in Morocco... To be continued...
