YAZEED PUSHED today to keep Nasser behind him. ‘It was easy today to be clever,’ he said. ‘When I saw his dust in the last 50 kilometers I knew our plan would work.’ With Yazeeds 1st place also his team wins, after three races in a row in the desert and a lot of work on the cars. ‘This is really good for us,’ says Matty Green of Overdrive, ‘and of course for the sport, because it shows we can still have a good competition in the cross country class.’
Nasser lost the race after the prolog, when he choose to open the stage. Matthieu and Nasser made a mistake in the first stage, losing the time they lack for the first place. Nasser shrugs when asked if he would do anything different, finishing second after a long fight with Yazeed. ‘I am happy for him, he was faster this rally. I will come back to this great event, with a buggy!’ he says at the finishline of the Pharaons Rally.
After Dabrowski had problems with the drivetrain the track was open for Erik van Loon, who aimed for and got his third place overall. ‘We had a few narrow escapes today,’ Erik said, who was delighted with the result. ‘One point surprised us, so I breaked and the car went sideways. We flew over a crest, a crossing and landed without any problems. In my head I was already preparing for a big crash and to my surprise nothing happened. Now we are here, in between all these fast riders. This is what I hoped for!’
Don’t get a victory on a plate
Adham Mostafa and Hakam Rabie were delighted to see the finishline today with their trusted Isuzu D-Max. Winning the T2 class for standard vehicles today, they are most happy. ‘We did not get our victory on a plate,’ Adham said, ‘Today we had problems with the clutch right before the dunes, so we had to go through most carefully. Luckily help came when we met Ahmed El Shamy with the Desert Warrior, who stayed behind us in the last section of the stage!’ Winning the T2 class in the Pharaons Rally was the ultimate goal for the team. ‘With our Isuzu we try to avoid the big jumps, we don’t have a spectacular style but we like to race with this well-known vehicle and show that we are able to finish. We never expected to be the first T2 car, it is a great feeling!’
Stefano Chiussi, who dislocated his arm yesterday managed today to secure his lead on Stefano Turchi in the open class, even though it was only minutes: ‘So long I have dreamed of being on the podium, this is my moment even it is the last time. I have touched the sky with my fingers!’ Rafael Erase wont touch to much in the next days as he managed to finish with broken fingers. ‘I am third in the 450 class and very happy to be here after this beautifull race!’
Wessel Bosman finishes
Wessel Bosman finished today, even though his injuries from a crash yesterday seem worse than he wanted to know. The man who rode from Capetown to Caïro to participate in the Pharaons Rally is humble about his achievement: ‘Everyone thinks that riding in Africa is difficult, but it is a piece of cake compared to this rally. I still don’t believe I am here, I never expected I would make it. What I did is decide on my goal: to finish. And I went for it day by day. You have to respect the challenge you take but if you ask yourself to many questions about what might go wrong you will never do anything.’
The Pharaons Rally has finished flawlessly: a breathtaking rally with strong competition. great roadbooks, comfortable bivouacs and a tough race for everyone. With this event, the organization shows what is possible in Egypt, given enough time and effort. For me as a journalist it felt like crossing a new frontier, which came into place after the recent developments. Cross Country Rally has always brought people to special places, managed to connect different worlds and brought adventure and motorsports together. The competitors who are here show they still have guts to cross borders, just as the organizers of the Pharaons Rally show what is possible in Egypt.
author: ‘Niels Hatzmann, World4x4.org / Dutch Rally Press