… we would like to say thank you to all teams and participants, to our business partners and sponsors, to our ORGA employees and of course to all our friends for the great cooperation.
We are already looking forward to the challenges of the events planned for 2018.
Just in time for the end of the year 2017, we are again offering an additional Christmas bonus on the early booker participation fee of the Rally El Chott 2018 for those who are determined to make a fast decision.
The updated entry forms are available online at 04/12/2018 0:01 am. ->click here
The date for El Chott 2018 has already been set. But 2 weeks after the rally I look back once again:
The El Chott 2017 was running smoothly and without any incident. As in all previous years, we were warmly welcomed and also the cooperation with the Tunisian authorities worked great. The security situation in Tunisia has apparently stabilized further. The number of package tourism is increasing again. And also in the oases of the Sahara and in the places far away from the Mediterranean beaches were again more individual tourists and small motorcycle and jeep groups from Europe to be found. All this has also increased the subjective “sense of security” among the participants, as I was confirmed in some talks.
Our two very well-staffed tourism groups offered their participants great experiences on individually defined routes – first and foremost a merit of the two guides.
Also our changes in course and length of the special stages, shortened distances and reduced sand passages enabled the teams to achieve almost all daily goals in the specified time, were very well received. Unfortunately, despite a slight increase compared to the previous year, the number of participants was still far from the figures of earlier years. Distributed to the different vehicle classes and once again subdivided as “just” PowerWeek participats or “complete” rally participants, the number of competitors was unfortunately low.
Even though individual teams were obviously ambitious on the road, we want to leave no stone unturned to streamline the course of events and increase the number of participants.
The first steps:
Everyone will have the choice, after a joint prize giving ceremony to start the return trip already on Tuesday via Marsaille (as before the PowerWeek participants) or to do it as until now back to Genoa.after a 3-day extension.
For previous PowerWeek participants this means: For the same amount of time, we offer 3 additional competition days.
For everyone else it means: After the rally there is the possibility for the rally team, the service and maybe the family wich participated in a tourist group, to spend 3 days together.
Because there will be only one rallye-ranking for all, more competition in the individual classes is to be expected for the same number of participants.
For me as an organizer, the effort will be reduced a bit and also the ORGA staff, for some this is their annual leave, have the opportunity in the end to relax a few more days at the pool or beach.
My intention is to organize the Rally El Chott in the next few years as well.
For that, apart from my dedicated ORGA and service teams, I especially need you – the participants. And although I, like many of our drivers and co-drivers, appreciate the family atmosphere in the paddock of the El Chott, I would like to have a slightly larger field of competitors.
Jörg Schumann
