An adventurous duo tackle the desert

The adventurous Pauline Bocquet and Romane Spindler from MAN Truck & Bus France celebrated the 30-year anniversary of the Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles by conquering the dunes of the Moroccan desert in an MAN TGE.

The Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles is a rally that has taken place in Morocco’s hinterland since 1990 – and one in which only women may take part. Pauline tells us all about her first time taking part in the desert rally. “It’s hard to explain everything we experienced,” she begins. “Like everyone else, we had moments of doubt, moments of joy and moments of disappointment.”

But let’s start at the beginning. When Pauline heard that MAN Truck & Bus France was looking for people to take part in the Rallye in an MAN TGE 4×4, she was instantly captivated: “I wanted to do it straight away,” says Pauline, who is a digital project manager in MAN’s customer service management department. She applied for the place with one of her colleagues. And when the colleague dropped out, Romane entered the scene: “I didn’t know about the call for participants until MAN’s proposal. When I saw that the place was free, I told myself I wouldn’t let this opportunity pass me by,” reminisces Romane, who works in MAN DigitalServices.

And preparations had to be made as quickly as the decision to enter the desert rally. To prepare for it, the two drivers completed a navigation course one weekend, in which they learned how to read maps, enter geographic coordinates, and use a compass. On a second weekend, they underwent off-road training, practising how to drive the vehicle in areas similar to the conditions of the desert. In addition to driving and navigating, they both also learned how to change a tyre, and familiarised themselves with their MAN TGE’s equipment.

“The Rallye was postponed several times, so we did regular navigation practice. We also spent some time with the MAN TGE trainers to practise doing things together that we could do in the desert, like checking the fill levels or sealing up leaks.”

Overcoming doubts

“The thing that I worried about the most was being alone in the desert with a work colleague I hardly knew. I was nervous about being cut off from the outside world for eight days, with no contact with my loved ones,” says Romane, describing her concerns before the rally. In the end, the time passed so quickly that there was hardly any time to miss them, she adds. On the other hand, Pauline was more worried that they might not have thought of something, or have the required expertise when it came to the vehicle. But at no point in the rally did her fears come true.

And of course, alongside the nerves, both of them were also very excited about driving through the desert: “I was looking forward to seeing beautiful landscapes, and to getting out of my comfort zone,” says Romane. “After over a year of lockdowns and having to stay at home, I couldn’t wait to have a bit of freedom again.”

Her colleague Pauline was excited by the prospect of facing something completely new and extraordinary. And when the time finally came, the prospect became a reality: “Our vehicle got stuck several times, and had to be dug out. When night fell, we sometimes felt completely lost, sleeping alone in the Moroccan desert,” says Pauline. And most of all, she remembers the human side of the experience: “We had a lot of time to talk. First just the two of us, then with the other teams, too.”

And in addition to their personal experiences, Pauline and Romane also managed a more than respectable result. They finished fourth in their category, and first place among the newcomers. “We wanted to stick at it until the end,” says Romane. “At the end, we got through without ever needing to ask for technical help, and managed a very respectable position. We are more than happy!”

So was that it for their rally fever? “During the competition, we said we’d never do it again, because it was such hard work,” says Pauline. “But since we came back, we’ve been hoping that we’ll be able to do it again,” she says with a laugh. And her companion Romane adds something more:

“Having taken part in this one, I’d now like to do the Dakar Rally. I don’t have a truck driving licence, but it would be the dream!”

And in any case, Pauline would be right there with her again. “On the way back we promised each other that we would continue this experience by having more adventures together, in which we keep bettering ourselves. Dakar would be perfect for that!”