Le Mille Maroc Rally 2019
Words by Knotty Nawadhinsukh
“Le Mille Maroc 2019” historic rally was held recently from the 4th to the 9th of November by Creaforyou. This Belgian company specialises in organising a number of these types of rallies over the course of the year, offering a challenging yet elegant motoring experience through the rugged terrains of Morocco.
Although 2019 is starting to wind down and the cold front is beginning to envelope much of Europe, there are still a number of classic car enthusiasts from the European continent who still wish to continue to sample some adventure of the “grand touring” sort in the warmer climes of the Western Sahara before Christmas approaches.
As the name of the rally implied, it was a one-thousand kilometers over 6 days’ worth of cross-country trekking along the routes that Creaforyou had designated, starting from and returning to Marrakech.
Plenty number of vintage cars, the types of which we assumed by this time of the year are stored, pampered and polished like prize-winning porcelain dolls (such as the Jaguar E-Types, Mercedes-Benz SLs and classic Porsche 911s, amongst others), were shipped from several European countries prior to the rally for some good old fashion proper thrashing through the Moroccan landscape for nearly a week.
It must be said however that speed and outright victory were not the essence of taking part in Le Mille Maroc. Since even though the entire journey was composed of driving mostly on some of the toughest and most desolate roads in the world where convenience stores and outlet shopping malls seldom exist, there were the more civilised check-points during and at the end of the rally each day. These included for example, a luncheon on the High Atlas Mountains, dinner at the Bedouin territory of Akka Ighane, while staying at various luxurious accommodations such as the Riad Ksar Ighnda or the Palmeraie Palace.
Having looked at the program of the Le Mille Maroc rally, it appeared that the entire event was not about the owners pampering their classic cars—but rather about the participants pampering themselves. And THAT is what the life of a grand tourer should all be about.
All Photos By: www.lemillemaroc.com
