The Rallye des Pharaons (French for "Pharaohs Rally") was a
rally-raid
Rally raid, also known as cross-country rallying, is a form of long distance off-road racing that takes place over several days. The length of the event can be as short as 2–3 days for a cross-country baja to as long as 15 days with marathon ra ...
event that took place in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
between 1982 and 2015.
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
was both the starting and finishing point at the foot of the
pyramids of Giza, and the rally covered roughly around . It was similar in format to the
Dakar Rally in that it took place in desert conditions and cars, trucks, and motorcycles were all permitted to compete.
History
The first Pharaohs Rally was held in 1982 from an idea of
Jean-Claude Morellet. In 1998 the organization was taken over by JVD, a company managed by
Jacky Ickx
Jacques Bernard "Jacky" Ickx (; born 1 January 1945) is a Belgian former racing driver who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans six times (second-highest of all time) and achieved eight wins and 25 podium finishes in Formula One. He greatly contributed ...
, Vincenzo Lancia and Daniele Cotto, and the name was changed to Pharaons International Cross Country Rally.
The competition is valid for the
FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship
The FIM Cross-Country Rallies World Championship was the premier championship of Rally raid racing, organized by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), from 1999 to 2021 (from 1999 and 2002 as World Cup).
Asides the main championsh ...
since 2000 and for the
FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup since 2005.
Tragedy struck on September 29, 2004, when three-time Dakar Rally winner
Richard Sainct
Richard Sainct (14 April 1970 – 29 September 2004) was a French rally raid motorcycle rider, best known for his three victories on Dakar Rally, The Paris-Dakar rally in 1999, 2000 and 2003.
Biography
His other notable achievements include winni ...
was killed when his motorcycle ran off the course.
KTM
KTM AG (Kraftfahrzeug Trunkenpolz Mattighofen, formerly KTM Sportmotorcycle AG) is an Austrian motorcycle, bicycle and sports car manufacturer owned by Pierer Mobility AG and the Indian manufacturer Bajaj Auto. It was formed in 1992 but traces ...
, who Sainct rode for, pulled all other factory racers from the rest of the rally in respect for Sainct.
2015 marked the last year that the event was run due to difficulties in receiving support from the
FIA and the Egyptian government.
Rally des Pharaons restarted in 1998 after it wasn't held for 1 year in 1997 under the name of Rally of Egypt with joint organisation of Siag Travel with JVD and has stayed with this name in 1998-1999-2001-2002, and then JVD changed the name to Rally des Pharaons crosscountry.
Winners
References
{{reflist
External links
Rallye des Pharaons Website
Rally raid races
Motorsport in Egypt
Cross Country Rally World Cup races