The Maroc Challenge Spring 2024, which takes place from March 22 to 30, presents important novelties, both in terms of the itinerary design and its new routes. Almost 170 teams have already registered for this adventure, just over half of them Spanish. We foresee another intense battle for the podium in the various different categories.
Renewing the route allows us to provide even greater doses of adrenaline and is one of the aims that the organisation sets itself, edition after edition, to keep the Maroc Challenge spirit of adventure strong. The Spring 2024 maintains this tradition and the event will venture even further south, exploring a whole new landscape that we haven’t previously encountered.
The upcoming Maroc Challenge will move further south than ever and at the end of the second stage, near Tissint, the traditional camp will be set up, halfway between Zagora and Guelmin, near Tata, where warmer, more benevolent, sunny and hot weather is expected.
Another major novelty in this Spring 2024 is that the event will start in Er-Rachidia, after we have crossed the Atlas Mountains, where administrative and technical verifications will take place. This offers us the opportunity of setting off into the desert right from the first stage.
We will start out from Er-Rachidia and from there we head towards Zagora, the capital of the Draa Valley, where we will reach the end of the first stage. From Zagora we continue in a southerly direction down towards Tissint, where the bivouac will have been set up for us. From Tissint we continue towards M’hamid, passing through Lake Iriki and the landscapes surrounding Erg Chegaga, following the course of its long rivers of sand. From M’hamid the teams will move on towards Erfoud, where a spectacular loop will be held in the fifth stage, concluding with the now traditional waypoint stage and the finishing line in Merzouga at the foot of Erg Chebbi, where the prize ceremony will be held.
The tracks, for the most part, will consist of dirt and sand, although some passes may be craggy and include stony areas, they will be fast and demanding and will require taking good care of both your mechanics and your navigation skills as unexpected obstacles can easily turn up.
From North to South and from South to North, the Maroc Challenge will follow the tracks of the old African Paris-Dakar, another incentive for the participating teams who will be able to fully enjoy the experience of tackling long and little-travelled stages.
It will, without a doubt, be one of the most adventurous, challenging and desert oriented editions of the Maroc Challenge, although as is logical and standard in this event, the difficulties will always be tailored to the different categories. The varied terrain conditions make the challenge even greater and increase the odds of being able to fully savour the driving and the spirit that truly characterise this event.