The 25th all female Rallye Aicha des Gazelles will take place March 20-April 4 and America will be sending 10 teams. European competitors will start with technical verifications March 20 in Paris, with American teams joining them in Rabat, Morocco on March 24. From there teams will travel over the Atlas Mountains to Erfoud to start the 9-day competition.
Participants in the Gazelle Rally are not allowed chase crews, cell phones, or GPS. Points are awarded for shortest distance between checkpoints, not fastest time. Teams can choose their route with the help of an old map, a plotter, and a compass. There is no roadbook. Teams are given map coordinates and must plot them on their maps, find their heading, then drive in as straight a line as possible. If a team comes upon an obstacle, be it a wash or a mountain, they must navigate around it and then return to their original heading.
With the exception of the marathon legs, teams return each night to a mobile bivouac, where they eat, sleep, gas up, and receive mechanical assistance.
Team X-Elles is back for the 2015 Gazelle Rally for their second time as a team. Driver Rachelle Croft also participated in 2012 with navigator Julie Meddows.
Team X-Elles has partnered with Voice Today, bringing awareness, and a voice, to sexual abuse. Their mission is to break the silence and cycle of child sexual abuse worldwide through awareness, prevention, and healing programs and resources.
Navigator Rhonda Cahill is a ten year resident of Bozeman, Montana with her husband and three kids. Adventure, camping, off-road, and travel have been woven into her DNA since the time she was a young girl growing up with her family in Michigan. Rhonda and her husband, Scott Cahill, have been given the opportunity to share their expression of loving the outdoor lifestyle through their adventure travel web-series called Expedition Overland.
Driver Rachelle Croft was born and raised just outside of Missoula, MT, and is 31 years old. The youngest of her family, she grew up loving life and adventure in all forms. She married her high-school sweetheart 11 years ago and lives in Bozeman, MT with her husband and their 3 boys. She began driving at the age of 5 with her dad and has had a love for it ever since. The past 5 years have been spent racing in the Rallye Aiche Des Gazelles, 2012, and 2014, as well as filming, producing, and starring in their web-series, Expedition Overland.
Both women are passionate about speaking out against sexual abuse. They share their own powerful stories of survival and look to give a voice to the millions who have been silenced through their trauma. Their goal is to show the world that the bridge from being a victim to a survivor of sexual abuse is to share your story and understand that you are worth it. This is the foundation of their campaign for the 2015 Gazelle Rallye, #youareloved. They hope to inspire, empower and celebrate women all over the world with the message that they are worth it and they are LOVED!
Many teams rent vehicles for the rally. The logistics are much easier as a team merely needs to receive the vehicle at technical verifications. No shipping or prepping is required. The X-Elles will be renting a Toyota Hilux in this year’s rally. The turbocharged diesel puts out 142 hp and 253 lb/ft of torque.
However easier it is to rent, the risk is that teams never know what they will get until they arrive in Morocco. The trucks are prepped in that they have a new set of off road tires and a snorkel, but suspension, lighting, transmission, and engine are all stock.
In 2014 the X-Elles had to fight a bad battery for the entire 9-day event. The truck had to be jump started every time, which meant they could not turn off the engine while checking their heading or plotting their points. Croft had the additional stress of not stalling the 5-speed manual transmission, which is easier said than done when trying to get out of deep sand or over larger rocks.
The team has excellent communication skills and plenty of experience behind the wheel. Look for them to advance steadily up the ranks as the rally progresses.
We’ll be posting daily updates on TFL Car, but you can follow all the American teams and even send them messages of encouragement at www.gazellerally.com.
You can check out Croft and Cahill on Episode 1 of Expedition Overland’s trip to Alaska.
And here’s the TFL Car’s review of the 2015 Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro. Do you think it would be Gazelle worthy?
Emme is a driver, reviewer, rabble rouser, and Gazelle who can be found online on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and either one of her blogs.
