The two young women united with a firm and common intention: to run the Rallye Aicha des Gazelles in Morocco for a cause close to their hearts, breast cancer.
The Aicha des Gazelles rally is a car race which brings together 200 exclusively female crews, a map and compass navigation race only. Every day, the Gazelles must trace their own route with their navigation tools to connect the “beacons” one by one while covering as few kilometers as possible.
For the two Commingeoises, the adventure began on a Gazelles dating site. Émilie and Alexa quickly hit it off, sharing the same goals of surpassing themselves in sport and supporting the Sœur d’Encre association which fights against breast cancer through tattoos on scars caused by breast removal.
The journey was long and complicated. For two years, they worked hard to find the necessary sponsors and organize events to raise an essential budget of more than €35,000. A first step taken. After technical checks, they were able to leave Monaco on April 12 towards the Erfoud region in Morocco, the designated venue for the competition. Every day, the roles were well defined. Alexa at the wheel of the Toyota Land Cruiser, Émilie at the navigation had only two objectives, return before dark and reach all the markers. Done. They didn’t miss a single marker during eight days of racing, arousing real pride for us. In the general classification, they finished the event 14th among novices and 29th overall out of 197 ranked crews. A hell of a performance.
“The race was made complex by very unfavorable weather conditions, testifies Émilie Perez, with violent sand winds which made visibility zero, our noses stuck to the windshield of the vehicle. But we knew how to support each other to surpass ourselves and fulfill our objectives. A sandstorm even forced the organization to move us to safety one night and to cancel the next day’s stage. We experienced incredible solidarity during the rally. All these women helped each other to get out. difficult situations: vehicles stuck in the sand, loss of direction, loss of motivation, a solidarity that we will perhaps never experience again and which allowed us to move mountains. The rally is humanitarian. We collaborated with the Caravane Cœur de Gazelles. who followed us during the race. The caravan brings medical aid to remote populations. This year, 3,900 consultations were carried out during the race, we can only be proud of our journey. We would never have made it alone without the support of our families, friends and our Pessoulens team. But above all, we thank our 4X4 trainer Franck from Star Bivouac who knew how to train us perfectly. We also thank the Ecurie Automobile du Comminges, our club, which supported us, helped us technically/financially and morally throughout our project. Finally, we would like to particularly thank the Mounès Group which provided us with our 3rd teammate, “Groot”, a Toyota land cruiser 95, who was a great teammate and who returned in perfect condition. This adventure would not have been possible without this support. Today we miss the desert. This adventure will forever mark the women who experience it because as they say: “Once a Gazelle, always a Gazelle”.
