25 March 2009
Tunis — On the calendar of the FIA cross country World Cup and the FIM World Championship for motorbikes and quads, the 2009 Tunisia Rally will lead participants through a magical circuit stretching over some 4500 km composed of 11 stages.
For the first time in its history, the event which will take place from April 22 to May 2, 2009, will begin and end in Tunisia with 4 stages due to take place in Libya.
Sponsored by OilLibya, the event will attract a number of racing champions such as Cyril Despres, Marc Coma, Alessandro de Petri, Jean Louis Schlesser and Luc Alphand.
Tunisia will be represented by a number of professionals including two women pilots, Abla Lassoued and Hend Chaouch and the 2008 Quad World Champion, Karim Dilou.
Incidentally, for the first time in its history, a Tunisian woman, Hamida Saklaoui, will be a member of the rally's jury.
Pilots from more than 20 nationalities will take part in the race, which is an essentially an off track event, in which competitors will never see the tarmac. Various categories of vehicles such as cars, motorcycles, quads, trucks and SSV, will run on the vast stretches of sand dunes, rocky tracks, and oueds that make up the rally's magical circuit.
Security has not been left out thanks to the presence of 20 doctors, 4 helicopters, 2 planes, 2 advanced medical units, 7 supply and assistance vehicles in addition to the assistance of the Tunisian and Libyan military which will ensure that all goes according to plan.
Needless to say that all vehicles will be equipped with GPS devices enabling real time tracking of their position.
A demanding but thrilling event, which will provide as much pleasure to the participants as to the many fans who will follow with angst and awe the performances of the pilots engaged in the race.
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