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 Medit ...

between 1982 and 2015.

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

was both the starting and finishing point at the foot of the

pyramids of Giza The Giza pyramid complex ( ar, مجمع أهرامات الجيزة), also called the Giza necropolis, is the site on the Giza Plateau in Greater Cairo, Egypt that includes the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Men ...

, and the rally covered roughly around . It was similar in format to the

Dakar Rally The Dakar Rally (or simply "The Dakar"; formerly known as the "Paris–Dakar Rally") is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation. Most events since the inception in 1978 were staged from Paris, France, to Dakar, Senegal ...

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 The FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies was a rally raid series organised by the FIA, culminating with a champion driver, co-driver, and team; with additional trophies awarded to T2 and T3 drivers & teams. Starting with the 2011 season, the p ...

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 The Paris-Dakar rally in 1999, 2000 and 2003. Biography His other notable achievements include winning the Tunis ...

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 FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backs ...

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