Friends since middle school in Limas, Estelle Desmonceauxde Montmelas et Léanne Rabotfrom Liergues, are working to complete the budget for their major 2025 project, aimed at rallying Morocco to participate in the 4L Trophy.
Reserved for under 28s, this 6,500 km orientation raid, over around ten days, will take them to the departure village in Biarritz on February 17, before crossing Spain to reach the Strait of Gibraltar, then Tangier and the Moroccan desert for an arrival planned in Marrakech on February 28.
“Until then, I didn’t realize much”confided Estelle who sees the date approaching. However, the two students have been planning the adventure for almost a year.
Estelle is in her third year of BUT HSE work-study program (health, safety, environment) and has been a volunteer firefighter for six years, currently working in two centers in Blacé and Villeurbanne-La Doua. Léanne is in business school in Lyon, with internship periods in Paris.
“We came across this rally a bit by chance during the 2024 edition and by consulting the site, all the conditions motivated us. We first had to make ourselves available for twenty days, thanks to leave for my part and a gap year for Léanne, then find a 4L”explains Estelle, who specifies that she bought it from two former competitors and then set about finding sponsors to support the Beaujo4laise, the name of their tandem.
A rally in the desert with values
“We are not going there so much for the race. There is no notion of speed in the regulations and only the kilometers covered in the Morocco section count, with the objective of doing as little as possible using the map and the compass, for the classification, controlled by the GPS beacons Beyond the journey, there is the challenge to take on for this entire year of preparations and during the race, then as for each. crew, this humanitarian approach of bringing school supplies and sports equipment for local populations”confides the young woman.
The 4L Trophy joins forces with several associations, including the French Red Cross, present at the start village, to collect food donations from competitors, as well as Les Enfants du Desert for its actions in favor of education and the development of Moroccan schools in the desert , Surfrider Foundation Morocco (Dahir law association of 1958), for the protection, management and sustainable development of the Moroccan coastline, Cap Eco Solidaire, present since 2022 alongside Trophistes to support eco-citizen projects in destination of Moroccan populations, to name just a few.
The online collection continues The two friends had no shortage of ideas to take up the challenge, going to present their 4L and project during conscript events at the local level, at the Limas handball club for sports equipment, as well as ‘at the Montmelas school where Estelle was a student to collect school materials.
The three classes at the school will even be able to follow the journey as partners after creating a flocked logo on the car. Two or three sponsors are still missing two months before departure, plus a few mechanics courses and the crew will be ready! To support them, a prize pool is online until January 17. Finally, a departure party organized in Montmelas on February 15 should make it possible to complete the budget of 10,000 euros.
