# Merzouga Rally

Merzouga Rally is a rally raid that takes place in Morocco every year since 2010 at the beginning of October in the big dunes of Merzouga. It’s a five-day race plus prologue and a marathon stage in the desert. The stages are varied and around 200–300 km long. Navigation is the key and the competitors use the GPS Unik2, the same used on the Dakar Rally. Safety is important as well with the competitors using the Iritrack, the tracking system studied for the African rallies. Plus a professional medical staff with 4x4 ambulances and doctors on bike and quad along the track and heli-ambulance service. To meet the needs of the professional riders but also the necessities of amateurs, the Merzouga Rally features the division of the route in 2 categories: PRO: open to pro riders and those competitors ready for an ultimate challenge EXPERT: a technical and navigated route but less extreme stages as the Expert riders will cover the 75% of the complete route of the Pro riders. The Merzouga Raid: Ideal for those who face the desert for the first time. At their own pace, riding on the same route of the rally in small groups with an expert guide. The vehicles will be equipped with world track, the satellite system that allow to follow the vehicles on track in real time. (for the rider no sports licence is required). Merzouga Rally took originally place in October and then was organized in April: the 2020 edition was originally planned on May, although it was finally cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The organizers postponed it until its next edition on 2021, which it never took place.

## History

In 2010, 40 competitors took part to the first edition of the Merzouga Rally. Every year the rally grows reaching an average of more than 120 vehicles on track. Studied by Italian promoter Edoardo Mossi, the Merzouga Rally formula is addressed to all amateurs that challenge the desert for the first time, but also for the professional riders who wish to train in preparation of the Dakar Rally. Many riders described Merzouga as ''the perfect training for the Dakar''. The race is open to the bike, quad and SxS categories (side-by-side).

## Editions

The winners of the Merzouga Rally in the bikes include Helder Rodrigues, Sam Sunderland, Pål Anders Ullevålseter, Kevin Benavides, Joan Barreda and Adrien van Beveren, who used the Moroccan rally as a launch pad for the Dakar.
In quads, the most famous winners are Nicolas Cavigliasso (who won Dakar 2019), Camelia Liparoti six time FIM Women's Cross-Country Rallies World Cup winner and multi finisher in the Dakar aboard quads and SxS, and Axel Dutrie two-time Merzouga winner in this category.
The SxS category has seen wins from Nasser Al-Attiyah the Qatarian driver and four-time Dakar car winner, Reinaldo Varela SxS Dakar winner, and Annie Seel the multi time finisher in the Dakar on bikes.

### Winners

| Year | Bike | Bike | Quad | Quad | SxS | SxS |
| Year | Rider | Make | Rider | Make | Driver Co-driver | Make |
| 2010 | Helder Rodrigues | Yamaha | Camelia Liparoti | KTM | Julien Roustan Daniel Pernot | Polaris |
| 2011 | Jakub Przygoński | KTM | Michel Scarcella | Can-Am | Oliver Abel Christian Manez | Polaris |
| 2012 | Jacek Czachor | KTM | Patrick Marto | Polaris | Frederic Henrichy Thierry Costa | Polaris |
| 2013 | Sam Sunderland | Honda | Fernandez Covadonga | ? | Garry Connell Annie Seel | Polaris |
| 2014 | Pål Anders Ullevålseter | KTM | Diego Ortega Gil | Yamaha | Frederic Henrichy Eric Bersey | Polaris |
| 2015 | Alessandro Botturi | Yamaha | Diego Ortega Gil | Yamaha | Roberto Tonetti Maurizio Dominella | Polaris |
| 2016 | Kevin Benavides | Honda | Clemens Eicker | E-ATV | Frederic Henrichy Eric Bersey | Polaris |
| 2017 | Xavier De Soultrait | Yamaha | Nicolás Cavigliasso | Yamaha | Frederic Henrichy Eric Bersey | Polaris |
| 2018 | Joan Barreda Bort | Honda | Axel Dutrie | Yamaha | Reinaldo Varela Gustavo Gugelmin | Can-Am |
| 2019 | Adrien Van Beveren | Yamaha | Axel Dutrie | Yamaha | Nasser Al-Attiyah Matthieu Baumel | Can-Am |