NPO Rallye Tunisia 2011

[wrk2surf]

Just got a email from the NPO saying they had layed out the stages.. http://www.npo.fr/index.html

Reconnaissances of the OiLibya Rally of Tunisia 2011!

Friday 25th of February, the team joins Tunis and goes directly to the South of Tunisia to realize the 15 days of reconnaissance of the route of the OiLibya Rally of Tunisia 2011. "The city is quite and everything going well during the journey. Direction the dunes of El Faouar where we will stay for our first bivouac. The reconnaissances are based on two days of work per selective sector to create the route, check GPS points, and design the road-book. With the ISUZU, we open the road following by an other four wheels drive vehicle. Competitors will have to be attentive into this sea of sand but we manage to cross it so they will be able to do it too!...

Like every year, we are accompanying by a Tunisian Colonel of the army and an Tunisian specialist of the South who share their experience of the tunisian field with us.. Sunday the 27th of February, the first sandy special is done!... We start the second one which will be composed of less Dunes crossings. Monday the 28th of February, another bivouac in the middle of dunes after finishing the second stage. 1st of March, the night has been cold and windscreens are frosty! This morning around Ksar: sand, sand and sand...". When the 6 Stages will be designed and checked, the final order of the global route will be determinated.... When I will be back to France, I will give you more details. To be continue... Stéphane CLAIR

Whos going, Whos not, will it happen (see poll)







and finally some recent financial news of Tunisia...

LONDON — Fitch Ratings downgraded Tunisia’s credit grade to one notch above junk status on Wednesday, citing uncertainties over its stability and economic policy following the popular uprising that forced out President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January.
The agency said it has cut the North African country’s rating to BBB- — another downgrade would make the rating junk status, which means investing in the government bonds would be little more than speculation.

"Although the transition to democracy could well improve confidence in the long term, political upheaval has worsened the short-term outlook for the economy, public finances and financial system," said Charles Seville, director in Fitch’s sovereign ratings unit.
Though it said a deterioration in political stability or economic policy could warrant another downgrade, Fitch indicated that was unlikely over the next three months.
Fitch said that a successful election in July, resulting in a stable government, could help stabilize the rating, as could evidence that public finances and the economy are less affected than feared.
The agency warned that Tunisia’s first fully democratic elections could fail to produce a stable government with a strong mandate. It added that the overthrow of the former regime may have raised unrealistic expectations about what the government can do to meet the country’s economic challenges, in particular high unemployment among the young.
So far, Fitch said the Tunisian economy appears to be largely functioning normally, apart from the disruption caused by strikes, but that the public finances will likely deteriorate over the next two years partly due to fresh government spending following the departure of Ben Ali.


I am not bashing the area and would love to ride and compete with the EU stars but I will wait a few years before making plans to compete in the Africa region

[wrk2surf]

OK 68 views and 4 votes without ANY comments..

[Seth S]

depends on whether all this stuff has cleared up by the time the rally rolls around:

[wrk2surf]

THE OILIBYA RALLY OF TUNISIA WILL BE TAKE PLACE OR NOT?
THE SECURITY OF THE RALLY IS INSURED? These questions, you are hundreds to ask us for several weeks, legitimately troubled by recent events that shook Tunisia, and which propagated across the Arab world.
DON'T WORRY!
We returned this morning from a fortnight trip in Tunisia for reconnaissances of the route: the country has regained his quit and the legendary hospitality of Tunisians has not changed. Instead, first "travelers" in visit after the storm, we were thanked and applauded when we visited in all towns and villages.
The revolution of 14 January marked the spirits but leaves no visible trace: the country operates quite normally: the port, airports, shops, hotels, cafes and restaurants are open and you can walk day and night without worry. The atmosphere is simply more festive and more joyful.
We were also reassured by the support of sports and tourist authorities but also the Ministries of Interior and Defense in charge of ensuring the safety of the rally.
Finally, the title sponsor of the rally, Libya Oil Tunisia, has confirmed the long-term continuation of its cooperation.
"All indicators are green" for the celebration of the 30th edition of the rally in May!


ALL BEHIND TUNISIANS!
The Tunisian people rose up to install democracy. This fight was heroic, difficult and painful.
To help Tunisia to recover, we must encourage economic recovery and in particular the revival of tourism.
Tunisians are counting on us, on you. The OiLibya Rally of Tunisia 2011 should serve as an example and a showcase for a new and modern country!




http://mim.io/ae5ce?fe=1&pact=3089713065

[F650Dakar_Norway]

Next round up in World Championship is in Tunisia, April 30th to May 7th.
http://wp.npo.fr/rallyetunisie/en/le-rallye/


The route: http://www.npo.fr/Desert-trophy/2011...ursTUN2011.pdf

Humorous video from the organizers pre-race recon tour:
http://gallery.me.com/christophehanq...&bgcolor=black

Newsflash from NPO:
http://mim.io/8de9f?fe=1&pact=3259782934



"BIKE SIDE..
For applicants to first places on the podium, to note the presence of Helder RODRIGUES riding his 450cc Yamaha WRF who's involved into NPO Rallies in 2011 and promises a great battle to those who might wish to steal his title of Champion of the NPO DESERT TROPHY in 2011!
Also in 450cc, battle between several KTM teams with notably Pal Anders ULLEVALSETER, Jakub PRZYGONSKI, Jacek CZACHOR, Marek DABROWSKI and more to come...
To be continued..."

Remains to be seen if the KTM factory team are allowed to participate due to the recent public unrest.
Official communiques from NPO show apparently solid liaison and connections with national Tunisian authorities and ministries:
http://wp.npo.fr/rallyetunisie/en/communiques/

[wrk2surf]

maybe a merge??

[F650Dakar_Norway]

Originally Posted by wrk2surf

maybe a merge??

Yup. Let's merge.

[Sportakus]

Thanks for the info...

[Bluebull2007]

So who is going?

[italrally]

Originally Posted by F650Dakar_Norway

Next round up in World Championship is in Tunisia, April 30th to May 7th.
http://wp.npo.fr/rallyetunisie/en/le-rallye/


The route: http://www.npo.fr/Desert-trophy/2011...ursTUN2011.pdf

Humorous video from the organizers pre-race recon tour:
http://gallery.me.com/christophehanq...&bgcolor=black

Newsflash from NPO:
http://mim.io/8de9f?fe=1&pact=3259782934



"BIKE SIDE..
For applicants to first places on the podium, to note the presence of Helder RODRIGUES riding his 450cc Yamaha WRF who's involved into NPO Rallies in 2011 and promises a great battle to those who might wish to steal his title of Champion of the NPO DESERT TROPHY in 2011!
Also in 450cc, battle between several KTM teams with notably Pal Anders ULLEVALSETER, Jakub PRZYGONSKI, Jacek CZACHOR, Marek DABROWSKI and more to come...
To be continued..."

Remains to be seen if the KTM factory team are allowed to participate due to the recent public unrest.
Official communiques from NPO show apparently solid liaison and connections with national Tunisian authorities and ministries:
http://wp.npo.fr/rallyetunisie/en/communiques/

What i now from the KTM factory guys is that they are not participating at the Tunisia rally this year .

[Hayduke]

To keep all the info in one place I merged these threads. Thanks for the info guys!

[wrk2surf]

so... no inmates going to this thing.. hardly any votes if it will go or not.. what all you guys and girls live for Dakar?? entry list will not be released for a couple weeks?? KTM going??? Team Aprillia??? (money problems?)... come on Euro's fill us in on this side of the pond..

[Gian]

Originally Posted by wrk2surf

so... no inmates going to this thing.. hardly any votes if it will go or not.. what all you guys and girls live for Dakar?? entry list will not be released for a couple weeks?? KTM going??? Team Aprillia??? (money problems?)... come on Euro's fill us in on this side of the pond..

Still no official news about Aprilia-Giofil, Matteo Graziani was at the start of Italian Motorally Championship (2nd run) last week with Aprilai Giofil, while Alex Zanotti had to change bike (TM )


Let's see if it's just for the Italian races or not...

[tehdutchie]

Word is that the Aprilia factory still has a lot of interest in the Rally Championship but relations with Giofil are cracking...(hard rumor)

Meetings between parties have been planned for coming week.

Aprilia racing is still interested, but seems like they need to find their own sponsors...A plan has been shared what should be changed for Dakar 2012 (a review of 2011 and recommendations for 2012), meeting of the coming week will be to discuss these findings..

Chaleco to test new rear tank setup with 'south american' gas in coming weeks...

[tehdutchie]

2nd piece of info(rumor) was that the Rallye of Tunesia is moving to Oman!!