EVs cover new ground in desert debut
Electric class of competitors rolls out for first time at all-female Moroccan off-road race
The stiff wind whips a thin film of sand across the barren, rock-strewn landscape of eastern Morocco, spreading fine silica into the clear blue sky. The red flag, denoting a checkpoint for the Rallye Aicha des Gazelles — the Gazelles Rally — flaps noisily in the stiff breeze, its attendant sitting languidly under it in the warm sand. And then a glint on the horizon: an oncoming rally car, ready to break the silence of the desert.
Only, it doesn’t.
Even as it comes to a stop at the checkpoint, there is no loud rattle or roar from the exhaust, only the eerily quiet sound of the tires rolling over rocks. That’s because it’s an electric vehicle. For the first time in the 28-year history of the all-female Moroccan off-road rally, there is an EV class of competitors. In fact, it’s the first time any desert rally in the world has electric cars competing.
“This is the first rally in the world with ISO certification for environmental management,” says Dominique Serra. “So having electric cars is in line with that. It’s a continuation with the whole environmental approach and process that has been undertaken by the rally from the beginning.”
Serra, from Paris, is the founder, chief organizer and driving force behind the Gazelles Rally. After testing an electric car last year, Serra and her organizers have now included them in the eight-day competition.
“There is an increasing interest and demand from participants,” she says. “There are a couple of teams this year that are only doing it because there is an electric vehicle element. They were interested in doing this event but they didn’t want the environmental burden associated with rallying.
“So when the E category came up, they came on board.”
The electric category consists of five nearly identical vehicles, tiny city cars such as the BlueSummer and the Citröen E-Mahari, which are not available in North America.
To help with the off-road terrain, the cars have been raised slightly and had other modifications for the rugged travel, but there’s no getting around the fact that these are still front-wheel-drive cars not entirely suited to tall dunes or rocky passes. Because of this, the E-Gazelles category has shorter routes through less difficult terrain than the rest of the 4x4 classes, though it will still prove daunting for these little cars.
Having electric cars in the desert poses the question: how do you charge them?
In behind the mechanics’ tents at the vast bivouac campsite sits an array of solar panels facing the eastern sky.
There are 18 in all, cabled to a large battery in a van just off to the side, which fully charges by around 2 p.m. each day and will be used for charging EVs overnight. Cut that’s only enough to charge one car. Four other cars are fed on a diesel generator that is also supplying power to the mechanics.