Rally

Munich
Carthage
2000

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Washed-out river beds, soft sand dunes, fast mountain tracks and a flat pebble beach -

The Munich - Carthage Rally in its 2000 edition covers everything Tunisia has to offer in landscape diversity and challenging terrain.

The AfricanQueens Racing Team was there on four two-cylinder racers.

 

Rally
Munich
Carthage

2000





 

Munich-Carthage Rally 2000


21. - 26. October 2000


The desert called, and Fredrik of Sweden, Vincent of France, Stephan and Mike of Germany - united in this year's AQ Racing Team and with logistical and technical support by Thomas Czolder and his Munich Mud Racer team - followed the call heading for Tunisia, to compete in a desert race, on Africa Twins, of course. Contrary to what the name suggests, this year's rally weren’t launched at Munich but near Gafsa, in the south-west of Tunisia. Thus the journey - the pilots in a Landrover, the Twins on the back of an MAN truck - went first to Marseille, where technical inspection took place and later the crowd embarked on the ferry for Tunis. The crossing on the "Carthage" offered the participants one last time luxurious comfort before the hardships of the rally took their course ...

21 October 2000, 10 o'clock in the morning, mass start to the first stage, general nervousness, then the take-off shot and with roaring engines the field disappears in a dust cloud - we in the midst of it. The choice of terrain on this stage offers variety: Slowly through hills covered with camel grass in search of the next checkpoint, then with full throttle over the flat clay soil of dry riverbeds. At high speeds, the smallest carelessness demands its tribute, in the form of partly hard falls and in the evening bivouac the first bruises are to be treated on man and machine.

The next three days bring sand galore - whether under our wheels, in the air or finally in every drease of our clothes and even in the food. Inside the mostly narrowly set dunes of extremely soft sand, the more than 50 kg lighter single- cylinder bikes of course hold the advantage, but we counter with team spirit and the will to make it: "The main goal is to reach the finish!" The knowledge about the robust, reliable V2 engines of our Africa Twins is reassuring, especially when the first competitors have to give up with with technical problems.With the 5th stage, we left dunes and sand behind us, and ‘gravel pleasures‘ replaced the hardships of the last days. Over fast tracks, sometimes following dry river beds, through the mountains - here our Twins could play out their strengths. The generally high pace, however, was not without danger - as Vincent, in particular, had to find out the painful way: in a hard crash, he broke a thumb, and, as only was later discovered, a back vertebra. Fredrik had two punctures, which threw him far back in the ranking.

The 6th and last stage brought a salty mud bath for some and more challenges with the roadbook navigation for all participants. Nevertheless, our team won the second and third place in the day's ranking, as the crowning conclusion of the rally at the finish line on a beach near Gabes.

We made it, and besides the pride there was also some sadness because this adventure was over now. After dark, the participants and the organisation team gathered for the last time at the final awards ceremony. In addition to good placements in the middle of the overall results, our team collected the podium places in the two-cylinder ranking, as well as a third place in the teams category - so in the end, each of our four team members was awarded a cup to take home. Under applause, each individual rally participant was called forward, since, somehow, we’d all won after all...


 

Photo
Gallery

Photo Gallery
Carthago I

Photo Gallery
Carthago II


The Bike

 

AQ Racing Team entered this Munich-Carthage rally on Honda XRV750 Africa Twin Rallye conversions from African Queens.

The team of four won 2nd and 3rd place in the two-cylinder ranking as well as the 3rd place in the team ranking.

For further information, pictures and prices on our Africa Twin Rallye conversion and the parts used, please visit our website

Press
 

Adventure Rally
Munich - Carthage


 

Report
by AfricanQueens

Rally

Munich - Carthage

2000