Erfoud, Morocco–After battling heavy snowstorms over the Atlas Mountains on Tuesday, competitors finally reached Erfoud, Morocco—the gateway to the Sahara Desert–to take the start line for the 25th edition of the Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles on Wednesday afternoon.

The rally began with the Prologue, which allowed teams to practice their driving and map reading skills while establishing the departure grid for Thursday’s competition. Considered the most prestigious all-women’s motorsport event in the world, 316 women from 13 countries took the start line for the 2015 competition, including a record ten American teams.

Unfortunately, for first time competitors Team #23 Sarah Price and Erica Sacks, who are also the first Americans to compete in a side-by-side vehicle, the transportation of their vehicle was delayed because of weather, and they weren’t able to participate in the Prologue. While it won’t affect their standings or results, it did take away from their time behind the wheel.

“I was ready for a surprise and a bit of shock on this race,” said first time competitor Sue Mead about the snowstorm, “but I wasn’t prepared for that to begin in the Atlas Mountains. It was magical, though, like something from a different land.”

Schedule:
Prologue – March 25th

Competition
March 26th – April 2nd

Finishing ceremony
April 4th

Check the website for the latest standings on all 158 teams

Rankings  Rankings from each stage are not official until noon (local time) the day after each leg. While updates will be sent out after every stage, official rankings should be pulled from the Gazelle website: www.rallyeaichadesgazelles.com

United States Teams:
Quad/Moto/SSV:
#23 – Price/Sacks

Crossover:
#316 – Mead/Marschner
#317 – Roenigk/Beavis

Automobile/Truck:
#107 – Hoehn/Hoehn
#175 – Saxten/Saxten
#180 – Pitell-Vaughan/Combs
#182 – Klishevich/DeSybourg-Siffert
#183 – Donaghe/Fiorentino
#218 – Croft/Cahill

Expert:
#400 – Lerner/Howells

About:  The Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles is a grueling test of driving skill and navigation across southern Morocco’s most beautiful and challenging terrain. The rally is unique whereby teams are not allowed technological assistance. In the absence of GPS, communications and service crews, teams must find the shortest distance between the checkpoints over nine days of competition with only the aid of traditional navigation – compass, outdated maps, and plotters. The event is an incredible test of endurance, patience, and teamwork, pushing competitors to their limits.  The rally includes nine days of competition (including the prologue) broken up into six stages. While the last day of racing will conclude on April 2nd, the official results won’t be announced until Saturday, April 4th in the coastal town of Essaouira.