press releases
Stéphane Henrard joins the Pharaons Rally staff
The great family of the Pharaons Rally widens. It’s recent news that Stéphane Henrard has become part of the Organization machine of our Egyptian rally with the role of commercial director.
Henrard is a well known name in the rally raid world. Born in Brussels in 1965, has started to race very early in the motor sport events, at the beginning on motorbike at the Enduro Belgian Championship. Then the magic Dakar has taken him over the African trails, again on bike, then driving a buggy made-up by himself in the year 2000. Quite over active with his many great placements on the most significant rallies, among which his victory right at the Pharaons Rally in 2005. His best result at the Dakar is sixth place in 2001, beside being the winner in the diesel category and the best private competitor.
Stéphane has commented with enthusiasm his new role ...
SPEEDBRAIN and OFFROADSPORT BACK TO PHARAONS!!
Less than 6 months before the start under the shadow of the Pyramids of Giza, the organizers of the Pharaons Rally are glad to announce the participation - already confirmed – of the last edition winner; the Spanish Joan Barreda with his team companion, the Portuguese Paulo Goncalves. Stage after stage, dune after dune, he will try again to take to the top the colors of the Team Speedbrain.
In the cars category, many repeaters from 2012 are confirmed for 2013. At the start will be the crew Zapletal/Marton (Offroadsport), Matzker/Lee and Krech/Reitbauer (Team Matzker) and also the ever presence of De Lorenzo twins at their eleventh participation at Pharaons, stating “we always come back with pleasure to the Pharaons”.
This is a rewarding result for the organizers that always dedicate great attention to the needs of all competitors, from the brave amateurs wishing to challenge the champions, to ...
PHARAONS, THE REAL RALLY-RAID
A country with a seven thousand-years old history, a desert among the most beautiful and varied of the world, a reliable organization that gives priority to its participants’ needs, a contest that spans more than thirty years, and wrote some important pages in the history of Rally-Raids. This is the Pharaons Rally, ready to renew its challenge in the Egyptian desert from September 28th to October 5th 2013. Registration that opened mid-February are proceeding fast with a few days left to the deadline of the first and most convenient rate. Meanwhile the Pharaons Rally staff met at the Italian Baja in Pordenone - the first trial of the FIA World Cup - to invite drivers and riders to a great start of this 2013 edition with a discount on the early Pharaons registration rate as an offer to the Baja competitors. Scouting will start in a few weeks to trace the route ...
Pharaons Rally 2013
Less than hundred days after the last spectacular arrival of cars and bikes back from the desert under the Pyramids of Giza, the registrations are opening for the Pharaons 2013!
This will be another special and memorable edition, aimed to confirm the expectations of not only our affectionate supporters but also the brave new ones who wish to face one of the most beautiful deserts in the world with its varied and unpredictable terrains, its majestic dunes, the endless sand of Sahara.
Almost three thousand kilometers of outstanding SS; transfers reduced to the minimum; first class services and bivouacs, incomparable to anywhere else; fast sea transport that allows vehicles to be back in time for the final events of 2013. This is our recipe that racers and riders have definitely appreciated, which we are glad to continue while keeping competitive prices and a personalized assistance, that starts with your registration ...
Joan Barreda and Khalifa Al-Mutawei/Andreas Schulz, winners
After spending the last week in the desert, the “survivors” of the fifteenth edition of the Pharaons Rally finally reached the Giza Pyramids to receive their just rewards for six days of hard work.
Among the bike riders, it was Spaniard Joan Barreda taking the top honors on his Husqvarna and, in the cars category, it was Khalifa Al-Mutawei/Andreas Schulz (Mini All 4) being received by the Egyptian dignitaries to celebrate their first win in this rally. And it was a rally that more than lived up to its promises: sportsmanship, a friendly atmosphere, wondrous stages, a precise road-book and an exciting race to the end in both categories; bikes/quads and cars.
Moto: Joan Barreda is first
At 29 years of age, Joan Barreda has achieved the first important victory in his young rally career (two years long), riding the new Husqvarna developed for the Dakar. He now ...
A day of firsts….
Scoring their first stage wins of the 2012 Pharaons rally were Jakub Przygonski (KTM) among the bikes, and Miroslav Zapletal-Manciej Marton (H3 Evo) in the car category. Both of them were hoping to win at least one of the six stages, and today, finally, it was mission accomplished! Today Joan Barreda found a rider that was faster than him. The leader in the overall standings wasn’t pushing flat out for the stage win, and was more than happy to manage his lead and, more importantly, hone his navigating skills. Indeed, during this fifth stage it was very difficult for everyone to find their way, with many navigational errors being committed. The most glaring of them involved Paolo Goncalves, who lost what seemed like an eternity, 1h16’ to the stage winner Jakub Przygonski. The result allowed the Polish rider to regain his smile, as he continues his pursuit of Barreda ...
Breaking News: Schlesser’s adventure is over!
For the first time in twenty years of rally-raid experience, the ”Schlesser Adventure” faces a tough evening after having had an outstanding day !
After a random check by the FIA technical steward at the end of two special stages carried out on the day (215 km and 248 km), through a torrid climate and a super heated engines, the authorized air intake size of 37.2mm was found to be outside of the regulations!
To err is human. The Schlesser Aventures Team who is usually perfect in the preparation of their 2 WD buggies, finds itself excluded from the Egyptian championship round as notified by the FIA.
As a result, the blue Buggy exits from the stage without even appealing the decision.
We remind you that the paring of Jean-Louis Schlesser – Konstantin Zhiltsov had taken the lead following the 4th stage with 10:07 gap over the Mini All4 Racing ...
Joan Barreda breaking away... Schlesser take the lead
It was another hot day today, and the high temperatures have been the overriding characteristic of the four stages of the Pharaons rally disputed thus far. The racing starts early in the morning for this exact reason, with the sun just peeking out over the tops of the dunes and the fresh night air still lingering over the golden sands.
The fourth day of competition turned out to be slightly more difficult than yesterday, and perhaps a little less trying than what awaits the “survivors” tomorrow. As far as the bikes are concerned, everything can be summed up with a single name: Joan Barreda. He has swept the competition aside with such ease that the KTM riders can only look at his results with extreme envy. Everyone in the paddock now sees the Husqvarna as a serious threat to the Austrian manufacturer in the next Dakar.
After Barreda won the ...
Barreda repeats, Al-Mutaiwei gains breathing room
“It was a beautiful special stage, something from a real rally raid,” commented recognizance scout Stephan Le Bail, outside the Abu Mingar bivouac as he prepared to set off again for his work as rally trailblazer. “It’s a real pleasure to find such symbolic situations: sands, rows of dunes, navigation…,” added Pierre Lartigue, charged with driving the recognizance car. And the competitors got more than their fair share of sand today. Joan Barreda seems to be riding on another planet aboard his Husqvarna, and he was dominant once again today: “The bike was working very well again, and it’s the same one we will use for the Dakar,” the Catalan rider affirmed. The competition, and the KTM riders in particular, again seemed shocked by the outright speed of the Husqvarna.
As was the case in stage one, Paulo Goncalves was second fastest, 2'24'' behind, completing Husqvarnas third ...
Viladoms and Schlesser triumphant!
The second stage of the Pharaons Rally didn’t see any significant changes in the motorcycle category. Even if the day’s special stage was increasingly difficult as it wore on, both in terms of terrain and navigation, the top riders all took it in stride. Amongst the cars, the gap between Khalifa Al-Mutawei and Jean-Louis Schlesser was reduced notably, thanks to a fairly dominant win by the Frenchman.
Jordi Viladoms (KTM - Bordone Ferrari) ran a nearly perfect stage today. We say nearly because the Catalan rider started very strong in the first part, before losing a little concentration later on. As he explained in his usual calm and direct way: “The second part of the stage was faster than the first. I left the refueling point with a thirty-second lead on the others, but Barreda and Goncalves were able to catch me. I was impressed by their speed, as ...