Dakar Rally 2020 Women Competitors Media coverage brought to you by:
Camelia Liparoti driver and Annett Fischer co-driver have experienced a rare phenomenon competing in Dakar Rally SSV category when their C.A.T Racing Yamaha SSV encountered mechanical problems and broke down in midst of Stage 6.
What happened next is close to amazing act of bridging gap between culture and sport whereby the sole female duo racing Dakar in Saudia Arabia were not only helped by local bedouins (arabic people of the desert) to spend the night sharing tea and warmth in their tent but also helped to tow their vehicle to safety the next day.
As Camelia explains: ‘@dakarrally Stage 6, our SSV stopped running. We did everything humanly possible to keep going. We spent the night in the desert and fixed the problem, but sadly vehicle stopped again due to technical issues’.
‘We got pulled out of the stage by a camel farmer who kindly offered to help.
Saudi people are really amazing ! Local bedouins welcomed us in their tent camp when temperatures went down to 2 degrees and offered all their hospitality. They show a lot of surprise and respect for women racing’.
Annett captured the experience on video as shown below, both so calm, secure in knowledge that humans speak and act with compassion to others no matter what the circumstance is- with or without the same language or culture.
Consequences for Camelia and Annett of vehicle break-down put paid to Liparoti’s 10 consecutive Dakar finishes back-to-back until both were given ‘Joker/Wild-Card’ to continue Stages to finish under ‘Dakar Experience’ category.
For Camelia: ‘After my last 10 Dakar Rallies finished on a quad and SSV, it brakes my heart to announce you that we had to withdraw from the actual race. đź’”’
‘Among all the extreme situations that we encountered in this “ Dakar on a rope”, we still see a “ light”, we can join from tomorrow the Dakar Experience category that allows us to go back into the race without being classified. This is the racing life rule, apparently, I have to learn from all type of experience and move forward’.
What must be truely life altering moments only experienced in racing Dakar- these 2 Women- Camelia Liparoti from Italy and Annett Fischer from Germany have just melted any pretence that the Rally world is based on the spirit of human adventure in the unknown.
Video captured by Annett inside tent camp Stage 6.
Words: Sharon Cox.
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