Rallye des gazelles finale: Podium finish and making friends for life

From September 7th to October 2nd a total of 177 all-female teams, two drivers each, competed in the desert of Morocco in the Rallye des Gazelles. Prizes could be won across a variety of categories. One of these was the “E-Gazelle Vinci Immobilier Auto”, which was “fully electric”. Aicha Sostaric and Kitty Duquesne of Hager France
participated with their Bollore BlueSummer in this special category.



The word “competition” doesn’t really begin to cover what was going on over the two weeks in Morocco: The seven stages in challenging terrain were crying out for teamwork, solidarity, empathy, stamina, courage and passion. Plus, of course, expertise and excellence.



The objective of this Rallye is to reach the checkpoints by driving as few kilometers as possible. Every call for mechanical assistance adds penalty kilometers to your balance. During one stage, one of the electric cars ran out of battery a few hundred meters before the finish line. To avoid yet another penalty, other drivers who had already finished, ran back to the car and collectively pushed it across the finish line. A sticker on the back of that car described this spirit perfectly: “Alone we are invisible, together we are invincible“.

 
A Rallye in a desert is an unforgiving undertaking. The route crosses Morocco from North to South, before finishing in Essaouira by the Atlantic Ocean after a total of more than 1000km. As was to be expected, Aicha and Kitty ran into issues along the route, just like about everyone else. They had a total of four punctures, lost orientation once, and during one of the stages they arrived late at the camp, leaving them without enough time to fully charge the battery. This meant they were forced to take a totally different approach to the next stage than originally planned. The Moroccan heat put additional strain on the car’s electric systems, making continuous adjustments to their driving strategy a necessity.

 
All of that makes us even prouder to report that Team 512 finished on the podium, coming in third for their fully electric category.

 
Aicha and Kitty are coming home with very special memories. When asked about their experiences, they concluded: “When we arrived at the start, we didn’t know anyone. Still, from the very beginning there was support from everywhere and everyone, no questions asked. We have made friends for life!”



Do you ever ask yourself why things happen the way they do? Sure you do. The answer is: things happen because someone is making them happen. At Hager Group we make things happen. Every day, since 1955. Today we are one of the world’s leading technology companies – and still a family-run business. With more than 11,500 employees around the globe we create products and solutions for living and working environments offering peace-of-mind, safety and well-being to people and their assets.

Relive the Rallye on  Instagram and win a 3D printed model of Team 512’s car.