AUTO

AUTO+WOMEN IN MOTOR SPORT
Cross Country Rallying
Desert Determination
Having come through a tough selection process instigated by Qatar’s ASN and the FIA Women in Motorsport
Commission, three all-new female cross country crews recently took part in one of motor sport’s toughest
challenges – the Sealine Cross Country Rally. What followed was a tale of grit, bravery and immense
perseverance
The Sealine Cross Country Rally lived up to its reputation as
a gruelling test of competitors and machinery as the three
female crews selected by the FIA Women in Motorsport
Commission and the Qatar Motor and Motorcyle Federation
battled towering dunes, mechanical mishaps and the vast
emptiness of the Arabian desert to eventually gain hugely
valuable experience of this incredibly tough motor sport
discipline.
Prior to the event, the pairings of Charlotte Berton and
Antonia de Roissard from France, Emma Gilmour and Lisette
Bakker from New Zealand and Holland respectively, and
Cristina Gutierrez Herrero (ESP) and South Africa’s Sandra
Labuscagne, spent three days training in the desert under the
expert supervision of Dakar Rally winner Jutta Kleinschmidt
and multiple rally and cross country winning co-driver
Fabrizia Pons.
Then, with the practicalities of managing tyre changes,
GPS and trip systems completed, it was time to take on the
ultimate challenge – the rally stages.
The first of five punishing days of action across the length
and breadth of Qatar saw the crews tackle a first selective
section of 226.42km, stretching from a startinfg point at the
ancient northerly military fort at Al-Zubara to a finish close to
Sealine. All three female crews finished the first stage, though
the shortest of the rally’s stages wasn’t without its difficulties.
Gilmour and Bakker were forced to drive with a broken GPS,
while Berton and de Roissard suffered two punctures and
got stuck in the sand. Gutierrez Herrero and Labuscagne
fared better and ended the day in 25th place overall, despite
getting stuck once.
Afterwards, Berton admitted it had been a baptism of
fire. “It was a tricky first day for us,” she admitted. “Two
punctures, and when you are running at the back of the field
and you get stuck, there is no-one there to help you. We lost
45 minutes.”
Day two saw the competitors battle through a 345.89km
section, starting in Al-Kharrara. Once again the three female
crews made it to the finish, with Gilmour and Bakker
finishing in 21st position, though this time it was their turn to
suffer with a puncture. Berton and de Roissard, meanwhile,
had to contend with a broken shock absorber and were forced
to drive slowly to finish the stage.
It was a tougher outing for Gutierrez Herrero and
Labuscagne. The women were halted at km281 by electrical
problems, though they were eventually recovered and
transported back to the bivouac by trailer. They would take
part in the following day’s stage, however.
Day three brought the rally’s biggest test, a massive stage
of 355.49km. The day began close to the former bivouac at
Sealine before heading towards the Inland Sea and the Saudi
Arabian border, before revisiting the western coastline and
turning inland to finish between Umm Qarn and Abu Nakhla.
Charlotte Berton and Antonia de
Roissard tackle one of the many
4beautiful but gruelling stages of the
Sealine Rally in their QMMF supported
NIssan T1 Patrol.