Den anliegenden Text haben wir als Kommentar zu einem Artikel im Dakar Weblog erhalten. Im November 2006 wird es eine neue Afrika Rallye (auf den Spuren der ursprünglichen Paris Dakar) geben: die TransAfrican Classic.

Veranstalter ist nicht irgendwer, sondern der letzte Dakar-Chef Patrick Zaniroli. Er arbeitet nach eigenen Angaben schon seit drei Jahren an der Vorbereitung dieser neuen Wüsten-Rallye. Angesprochen werden sollen im Sinne des Ursprungsgedankens der Paris Dakar (und im Anbetracht der immensen Kosten einer Teilnahme an der Rallye Dakar) vor allem Amateure.

Wer gerne einfach einmal ein Stück Dakar Feeling erleben möchte, sollte sich einmal diese Enduro-Tour nach Marokko mit Dirk von Zitzewitz ansehen.

Original Text von Patrick Zaniroli:

1st TransAfricaine Classic, 1st 4WD regularity rally, under the aegis of FFSA, “made by Patrick Zaniroli” in November 2006
More than a new race, a new sport is born !

Dear Friends,

It is with great pleasure that I am introduce you my exciting new project on which I’ve long had my heart set (3 years)!

More than just the introduction to a new African challenge, this is truly the creation of an all new discipline linking Rally-Raid and Regularity.
The TRANSAFRICAINE CLASSIC is not a rival or competitor to the other races, but rather an alternative appropriately adapted for amateurs, for all those who carry a certain nostalgia for a long-gone era, or who are looking for a challenge that meets both the expectations of their greatest dreams and the limits of their actual budgets.

I will keep you up to date and informed on the specifics of this unique opportunity over the course of the coming months. In the meantime, please feel free to contact me directly for additional information or to discuss the event in further detail.

Patrick Zaniroli

EDITORIAL: Do you recall…how long was it in fact? Ah, yes, thirty years. Led by Jean Claude Bertrand, an adventurer who was as crazy as he was wonderful, a small group left Abidjan heading for Nice: the shoulder-to-shoulder pack and the lone biker, Thierry Sabine, who got lost near a dark mountain and became a true legend by creating the amazing Paris-Dakar off-road rally and then died during his quest. The early mornings at the Trocadéro and the Concorde, leather mingling with sequins on New Year’s Eve, vast crowds of spectators making way for the competitors all along the N20 highway, dozens of pages covering the event in Paris-Match magazine, VSD, and Le Point, people watching the rally for hours on TV, witnessing the distress of the now famous “idlers” … Those were the good ‘ole days! Yes, indeed, because those races across Africa fed the French people’s dreams, from the corporate CEO to the local hairdresser, and long before assembly-line car manufacturing or GPS navigation systems, each mile crossed in the open desert was a major achievement. But that’s evolution. And although today, the race continues to thrill even the most experienced drivers, the general public no longer shares the passion: the dream has faded. The phenomenal speeds, the colossal sums of money, the outrageous logistical tools, this great expanse of Africa through which the racers virtually fly without even really seeing anything, the powerful emotions have disappeared.

But perhaps not forever!

Imagine a race that combines adventure and pleasure, one that takes you on a slalom course swerving and bumping along through sand dunes and camel pastures, over rough ‘n ride bridges on a rustic 4×4. Instead of racing all out against the clock, participants maintain an average speed, guided only by their common sense and road-book…. No airports but rather simple, family-style bivouacs set up in the shade at the foot of a baobab…. Blistering heat, and sweat, of course, certainly some fear but above all: incomparable pleasure…. That’s what we call the TransAfricaine Classic and it’s coming up in just about one year!

Africa + regularity = TransAfricaine Classic “The making of a new sport! “

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