Stage 4: Merzouga – Merzouga
303 km to cover today for the fourth stage of the Pionniers Classic Rally, rally in Morocco.
Patrice AUZET, driver of the 504 #201, co-driver François Xavier Bourgois
The first part was a rough and winding section, but very enjoyable for the 504—it was quite technical. Then, we crossed vast, green plains filled with camels, with relatively tall grass where it was easy to get lost. It was also tricky because there were quite a few stones and sand hidden in the grass.
We passed through the Taga Pass again, a magnificent place with lots of sand, and then moved on to a technical off-road section. After that, we encountered Fesh-Fesh (fine desert dust), where we got stuck. The competitor in the Audi helped pull us out—we were completely stuck on our belly. The terrain then became smoother, leading to large plateaus, and to finish, we tackled the dunes.
For 7 or 8 km, we got stuck once because we were slightly off track. We spent 40 minutes digging ourselves out. It was still enjoyable. Towards the end of the dunes, we drove with just 400g of pressure in the tires.
Can you tell us about your experience in this rally?
My co-driver, François Xavier, is a car enthusiast. He owns the car, and we have a kind of partnership—I handle the cars. We already did the 2024 Dakar in the 504 and the 2025 Dakar in a Renault 30 4×4, one of four prototypes from Renault, driven by Gabreau in 1981 and 1987.
We met Philippe during the 2024 Dakar while competing with our 504 (we finished 2nd in the H3 category, where we were the only two-wheel-drive, 1st among authentic co-drivers without a pace note system, and 22nd overall). We decided to do a minimal revision of the car and just showed up here.
Our week didn’t go very smoothly. Because of our minimal preparation, we should have done more—oil change, brakes, differential lock, filters, and a better overall preparation. This rally is quite tough; we came in a bit too carefree. I thought it would be smoother, but there are many rough sections that really shake up the car. However, it remains an amazing rally with a mix of landscapes and terrains—sand, soft ground, long stretches, winding areas—but the rough parts are really rough.
We had a loose ball joint, tore off the right side, broke the engine mounts on the second day, and a hose cracked, leading to a small fire. Yesterday, no issues, and today, we just got stuck in the sand five times—but we made it back.
We messed up—we got lost and ended up in the middle of big dunes, which was not on the planned route. We also had our radiator clogged with small bush leaves because we were practically mowing the grass in the tall vegetation.
This rally is very interesting because it’s a speed rally, with diverse tracks and a true physical challenge, with special stages of over 300 km. You have to stay focused for more than four hours, with fast sections where we hit 150 km/h.
We’re not here to win with a 1973 car—it’s the bivouac atmosphere and the team spirit that make us want to come back. The biggest challenge for me in this type of rally is finding the right pace. I’ve competed in the French Rally Championship on dirt, which is a sprint format with 20 km special stages—this is a whole different challenge!
