A Broyarde wins the Gazelles rally in Morocco

“We wanted this victory so much. It’s magic!” They still have their heads in the Sahara sand dunes and struggle to achieve their feat. A few days ago, Mélanie Grognuz and Carine Randin won the Gazelles rally, driving their Jeep. This 100% female competition in the Moroccan desert is an orientation race without GPS, only with a compass and cards. The goal is to reach a maximum of beacons by making the minimum kilometers.

The two friends participated for the third time. They savor their victory even more this year because during their two previous adventures, the Friborg navigator and the Vaudoise pilot were each time at the top of the ranking, before seeing the podium escape, because of a failed tag or a technical problem with their 4×4.

And even this time, they thought they were second at the end of the six stages and nine days of rally. “We believed that two other girls had won. Seeing them arriving at the bivouac, I get up to go and congratulate them and there, surprised, they teach us that we are first. We first believed in a joke. Then we realized and we felt an explosion of emotions, a crazy thing!”, Says with a big Mélanie Grognuz smile.

However, everything had not started so well in mid-April … The French-speaking, their patience and their serenity, are put to the test, even before being able to set foot in Morocco. Their plane cannot land because of the weather and must turn back, causing long hours of waiting. “Our loved ones told us that this time, we had the bad luck before the rally and that it could not happen to us during the race,” continues the Broyarde.

Accomplices and determined

And indeed, once launched, nothing stops the duo, an accomplice in life and rally. “Our strength is our longtime friendship. We know each other by heart. We each have our tasks and we no longer even need to talk to each other, whether it is for the assembly of the tent, mechanics or essence. It is a saving of time and enormous energy,” explains Carine Randin.

Their benevolent and solid relationship, their organization made the difference against the 150 other crews, but also their determination and their mental strength, according to Mélanie Grognuz. “We transcend ourselves during this rally. We put ourselves in our bubble. We go for it and nothing can move away from our goal. We only noticed in the evening all the hematomas that we had done during the day!”

So now that they won this first place, Mélanie Grognuz and Carine Randin finished with the rally? Absolutely not! The call of the dunes is already felt, even if the two sportsmen want to take advantage of this victory and their family first. “We drooled during the rally, but yet the desire to leave in the desert returns to us very quickly. It is a parenthesis far from our daily routine. We like to eat sand!”, Pleaning the Friborg.

The 35th edition of the Gazelles Rally will take place from March 27 to April 11, 2026. To see if this Valdo-Fribourgian crew will be on the starting line!