Team Gstaad detained by Mauritanian army

Saturday November 11 2006

09h41 cet

Nouadhibou, Mauritania

GstaadLife.com has just received word by satellite phone from Stan de Sadeleer that Team GAC and 11 other competitiors in the Transafricaine Classic Rally have been detained by the Mauritanian army minutes after crossing over the border from Morocco-annexed Western Sahara (see map; click to enlarge). Following the cancellation of yesterday's stage involving another Morocco-Mauritania border crossing, and a resulting 1,200 km detour, event organizers had been confident that the Transafrican racers would be able to skirt the geopolitical tensions by finding another way to link up to the legendary Chemin de Fer section of the Paris-Dakar route. But it seems that the Mauritanian military had other ideas, and are now threatening to throw the rally into chaos. The drivers themselves are safe and did not seem to be in any immediate danger, but we don't know any details about the situation at the current time. We'll bring you more as soon as we hear it.

Click here for a background on Mauritania and its the conflict with Morocco (English and German).

Click here to view the Team GAC moving map (to view map click the link "Accès au tracking de l'équipage N° 54"). The map currently shows de Sadeleer and Brand stuck in Nouadhibou. When the car moves, that means they've been released. Check back at this link regularly for their real-time position.

Gstaader Team von mauretanischen Armee aufgehalten

Es war nur eine Frage von Minuten bis die mauretanische Armee das Gstaader Team und elf andere Fahrzeuge nach der Grenzüberquerung von der West Sahara nach Mauretanien stoppte und festhielt. Nach der Absage der gestrigen Strecke und einer 1'200 km langen Umfahrung waren die Organisatoren überzeugt, dass sie die geopolitischen Gefahren gemieden und einen anderen Weg gefunden hätten, um wieder an den legendären Chemin de Fer Abschnitt der Rallye anzuschliessen. Doch leider hat ihnen die mauretanische Armee einen Strich durch die Rechnung gemacht, was die Rallye noch ins Chaos stürzen könnte. Die Fahrer befinden sich zum Glück nicht in Gefahr, doch wir können noch nichts Weiteres über die Situation sagen.

Previously:

• Military tensions force cancellation of Transafricaine Rally stage
• Transafricans damage Land Rover in rough terrain
• Dust, dust and more dust for Gstaad Transafricans
• A wild day in the Saharan dunes for Team Gstaad
• Tranafricans come in 5th in first African stage
• Team GAC makes landfall in Africa
• Smooth sailing into Spain
• Transafricans arrive safely in Narbonne
• Trouble for Transafricans after 100 meters
• Ominous words from Team GAC
• Transafricans begin voyage to Dakar
• Transafricans stop by Geneva
• Bon voyage aux Transafricains!
• Transafricaine rally apéro draws a crowd
• The real way to see the Sahara