A spectacular Tunisie Challenge has come to its conclusion on the island of Djerba, with sixty participating teams and after five gruelling stages in which the sand has been the main protagonist.
The third edition, which was held under a fierce sun and in very hot conditions, featured a new and elaborate route, which put both the participants and their vehicles to the test.
Following these three editions, the Tunisie Challenge has become a benchmark event among amateur automobile competitions held in Tunisia. The adventure has been exciting, spectacular and very demanding, combining many different types of terrains and tracks, with both mountainous areas and a large variety of dunes.
The sand, due to the lack of rain and the heat, was very challenging, extremely soft and loose, forcing the cancellation of two sections in the raid category – at the end of the third stage and at the beginning of the fourth – for safety and logistical reasons… The decision was made after seeing that the dune crossings were generating much more problems than usual, especially in the raid category.
Our main impression, after this intense week, in which there was an exceptional atmosphere, is that expectations have been met and a tough event has been consolidated, putting everyone to the challenge and not allowing them to let their guard down until the very end. Our final impressions of the event are very positive.
With the support of the Tunisian Automobile Federation and the National Tourist Office, which have contributed once again to make the Tunisie Challenge a great experience, this third edition began with a spectacular stretch on Hammamet beach and had stage finishes in Tozeur, Douz, Tembaine (where the now usual bivouac night was located), Matmata and Djerba, where it ended with another 30 km. beach stretch. 45 of the 60 vehicles that started were able to complete the event.
CLASSIFICATIONS:
As for the winners in each category of this third edition of the Tunisie Challenge, it should be noted that the Croatian team JURA SE FURA (Fiat Panda) won the Adventure C3 category with 150 points, the Italian SIMILIS LEONIS ADVENTURE (Jeep Renegade) with 530 points won the Adventure SUV, the Swiss TEAM OFF ROAD (Suzuki Jimny) won the Adventure TT1 with 855 points and the Italian FUN-COOL (Opel Frontera) the Adventure TT2 with 730 points.
The winner of the Adventure TT3, the category with the largest participation, was the French team SMAP 1 (Toyota Land Cruiser 90) with 410 points. The Italian OVERLAND 3000 4WD (Toyota Land Cruiser HDJ 80) won the Raid category with 1,645 points and, finally, the Italian RAITEC RACING (IVECO Rally) won the new Proto Rally category. The first classified among the many Pandas in the C3 category, the Most Classic Vehicle (Land Rover 88) and the Most Veteran Team (Stefano Fazzini) also received a special prize at the closing ceremony of this third edition of the Tunisie Challenge.
