Alastair Caldwell, team manager at McLaren during the James Hunt era, won the inaugural Marrakech Express Rally in April, along with co-driver Hayden Burvill in one of 16 Citroen 2CVs. All cars were identically prepared and selected at random, to ensure that the event reflected the skill of the driver and co-driver.
Driving a course of just over 3,000 kilometers, the 12-day rally included the High Atlas mountains, the Middle Atlas, the desert in the south, stunning gorges, roads never travelled, camels, Marrakech, film sets and exotic locations.
The rally started from Malaga in Spain, before crossing to Tangier and a night stop in Meknes. From here, it took minor roads to Beni Mellal, then Marrakech, where the crews had a welcome day off.
With plenty of kilometers under their belt, the participants had become used to the quirky gearbox, the leaning body and the limited power on offer. However, Caldwell and Burvill were already showing their class, albeit with Nicholas Pryor and Lesley Stockwell in hot pursuit.
From Marrakech, the field headed for Ouarzazate, a city most noted for filming, where a string of blockbusters have been made. Next, the cars were truly in the desert, after a long day’s drive across the arid plains to Merzouga. After some fun in the sand, the cars had a short stop to Kasbah Tombouctou.
Turning north, the rally headed for a series of spectacular gorges, starting with the famous Todra Gorge, a slit in the rock outcrop just barely wide enough for cars to pass through.
A stop-over in Midelt was the reward that night, before a spectacular drive to Fes the next day. A run to Chefchaouen, over the Rif mountains, confirmed the final result, before the rally headed back to Tangier and Malaga the next morning.
While everyone agreed that the scenery was spectacular and the route exceptional, the real stars of the show were the 602-cc Citroen 2CVs, which performed spectacularly throughout the event.
