| Stage 14 (Dakar, Lac Rose) | Feb 12, 2012 |
 The moment of glory (EN, FR, CZ)
The moment of glory has arrived when all the pain and suffering is forgotten and the sense of accomplishment starts to settle in. After more than 5000 km and 13 days of full on racing the Rally has reached the finish line on the shores of Lac Rose, stone throw distance from Dakar and the westmost point of... |
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| Stage 13 (St.Louis - Dakar) | Feb 12, 2012 |
 Almost there (EN, FR, CZ)
As unreal as it feels at the moment we have reached our final destination! Lac Rose welcomed the Rally in all it's glory, glowing pink-purple in the afternoon sun. The penultimate stage featured sandy trails in the shadow of ancient baobab trees, through rural villages and bustling towns. The last 50 km was along a... |
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| Stage 12 (St.Louis - St.Louis) | Feb 11, 2012 |
 Savannah (EN, CZ)
This stage provided an introduction to the navigational challenges of the Senegalese Savannah. Everyone exercised caution as we raced near many small villages with curious children and ignorant goats everywhere. The short liaison provided for a memorable outing, and as the moon rose over the bivouac the excitement of reaching... |
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| Stage 11 (Nouakchott - St.Louis) | Feb 20, 2012 |
 Etape Nouakchott – Saint Louis (FR, CZ):
Le but principal de l’étape sera de passer la frontière sénégalo-mauritanienne. Il n’y a aura pas de chronométrage aujourd’hui bien qu’il y ait une partie TT d’une centaine de km.
De belles pistes ondulent sur les collines sablonneuses en parallèle de la nouvelle route qui amènera dans le futur les... |
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| Stage 10 (Nouakchott - Nouakchott) | Feb 10, 2012 |
 Nouakchott (EN, FR, CZ)
Another improvised stage to replace the two stages originally planned for the Atar region. The stage was relatively straightforward on very fast pistes with a massive dune at the finish. Due to the long liaison the car teams decided to forego the stage and the bikes raced on their own. There was one notable departure on... |
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| Stage 9 (Nouadhibou - Nouakchott) | Feb 8, 2012 |
 Sandstorm strikes (EN, FR, CZ)
After several days of high winds and blinding sandstorms forced us to forgo Atar and instead head to Nouakchott the special followed last year's course. To extend the range of the motorbikes to cover the 500km distance through some very remote coastal regions the rally team set up a refueling station around the... |
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| Stage 8 (Daklha - Nouadhibou) | Feb 6, 2012 |
 Crossing the Mauritanian border (EN, FR)
A liaison stage to cross the Morocco-Mauritanian border. Thanks to advanced preparation by the organization, the border crossing went extremely smoothly, and everyone got across within an hour. The short drive across the mined no-man's land strip reminded everyone the importance of good way points as... |
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| Stage 7 (Layoune - Daklha ) | Feb 6, 2012 |
 Finally an easier stage (EN, FR, CZ)
Finally a stage with a shorter and easier off road section! The caravan proceeded on the blacktop south towards the city of Dakhla with a special section on flat, wind swept plains short distance from the bivouac. The easy terrain perhaps relaxed the concentration of one of the riders a little too much as... |
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| Stage 6 (Fort Bou Jerif - Layoune) | Feb 5, 2012 |
 Stage 6 Fort Bou Jeriff - Laayoune (EN, FR, CZ)
It seems this year the physical punishment just will not stop. Another day, another draining stage.
The day started with the crossing of the legendary Plage Blanche, a remote 50 km long beach battered by the waves and winds of the Atlantic Ocean. Rising tide meant that the dry part of the beach... |
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| Stage 5 (Tata – Fort Bou Jerif) | Feb 4, 2012 |
 Atlantic ocean at sight (EN, FR, CZ)
Narrow gorges and steep mountain sides dominated the 5th stage as we crossed the Atlas mountains and descent towards the Atlantic coast. Tire punctures and technical breakdowns due to the rocky terrain kept the rally technical assistance team for most of the day. The racing, especially amongst motorbikes,... |
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| Stage 4 (Mhamid - Tata ) | Feb 4, 2012 |
 Sand and rocks! (EN, FR, CZ)
Today's stage was a little shorter than typical but it made up for it in difficulty. Later 10 o'clock start gave the crews a welcome rest and an opportunity for vehicle maintenance. The fesh section early on brought on frantic digging by many teams and shovels and winches did not stop until the afternoon. At... |
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| Stage 3 (Merzouga - Mhamid ) | Feb 2, 2012 |
 Stage 3 Merzouga – M’Hamid (EN, FR, CZ)
The 3rd stage along a traditional Dakar route provided for a memorable outing. Early in the stage the crews had to choose between navigating a tricky rocky section or avoid it by crossing a sandy ridge. Team Portside's Unimog had to be pulled out from the deep sand by a near by military unit. Later in... |
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| Stage 2 ( Guercif - Merzouga) | Feb 1, 2012 |
 IR 2012 Spectacular and challenging stage (EN, FR, CZ)
Long, difficult and absolutely spectacular second stage! Starting into the bitter cold desert air the bikers suffered a lot in the early morning hours. The special was in some places very technical and there were some early mechanical problems and few minor mishaps. As we are down for the... |
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| Stage 1 ( Almeria - Guercif) | Jan 31, 2012 |
 IR2012 hurtles to Taurirt (EN, FR, CZ)
The first stage of this year’s rally took the competitors into the bivouac in Taourirt. The 105km long prolog tested for the first time the navigational abilities of the crews who all easily earned the full allotment of 100 points for crossing the check point in the Almeria harbor. Tomorrow we start with... |
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| Rendezvous point in Almeria - IR 2012 starts! (EN, FR, CZ) | Jan 30, 2012 |
 IR 2012 is ready to start!
Today, the Spanish campground La Garrofa was unusually full, as the participants of the Intercontinental Rally gather at the start. Most of the day was taken up by technical and document inspection as well as marking of the competition vehicles with race decals. The prologue comprised of a single 100 pt control point... |
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| The Rally starts in few days | Jan 26, 2012 |
The Rally starts in few days, and so we would like to remind you that your friends and families can daily keep track of the following features:
1. Fresh news from the event at this section
2. Videos from every stage at "Videos"
3. Pictures from the event at "Gallery"
4. The position of your crew on map via the the Spot Tracker at... |
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| We are back from Mauritania and Senegal | Nov 24, 2011 |
 Members of our organizing team went to Mauritania and Senegal, where they negotiated with the local authorities to assure the IR2012 will run smoothly. It came out to be an easy talk, we have come to a nice agreement with all the "big wheels" we approached.
Please visit our Facebook page to see some pictures from the strip. |
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| IR 2012 Team Spot | Nov 16, 2011 |
 Our reconnaissance team has landed in Dakar and is enroute into northern Senegal and Mauritania to put finishing touches on the route selection as well as negotiate in person some of the practical details of accommodating the Rally. A little leg work upfront will have huge payoffs in terms of the best possible experience we can provide to all... |
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| Visa | Nov 10, 2011 |
 We have less than 80 days to the start, and so that you may want to slowly move forward to the phase of sorting out your visas.
The vast majority of the EU countries don't need any visa for Morocco and Senegal, however the Mauritanian visa is
mandatory with no exception.
If you need us to help you with your visas, just let us know. The... |
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| | Nov 4, 2011 |
In one month's time our registration servers will go dark and the list of participants for the 2012 rally will be final. If you are still on the fence now is the time to make up your mind and commit. And if you have registered already, we want to encourage you to start in earnest with preparations. January 30th will be here before you know it and all the hard work now will pay off in Africa.
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