FIA Women in Motorsport Commission President, Michèle Mouton, also arrived at Sealine and was really impressed by the organisation of the event and how the programme was progressing. “I am very impressed by the organisation,” she said. “Today we have been in the dunes watching the girls doing the parcours and all of them are very happy and for me, to have this good possibility and to have the support from Mr. Nasser and QMMF is really very important. I am really thankful for that because I know what it means behind all this organisation, it is a lot of work, people devoted for this experience and without a big support like this, it is impossible to have five days training, with the cars and technical equipment. It is all very good and I am very pleased.

“This first women’s cross country selection is a very important programme as I think the girls will discover the experience of cross country. It is something completely different to what they are used to and I think in motorsport it is very good to have a new experience where you have to start like new, from zero, so it is very good for them. They will learn from the mistakes they are doing. This discipline needs to be supported and I am very happy because also driving in the desert you have to think a lot and I think that women are very good at that. For me it is a discipline where I see a lot of potential and future for women and I am very pleased.”

Tomorrow is the longest stage, Stage 5, and for the final examination. In the evening, there will be a press conference at Radisson Blu at 19:00 hrs followed by the prize giving ceremony to award the driver and co-driver who will have the opportunity to participate in the 2016 Sealine Cross Country Rally.

Participants

Yara Shalaby, Egypt – Driver
“I am racing for three years in cross country rally only, but I didn’t really listen to the experience of professionals, learning by my own experience and to be here is a great advantage learning this from Jutta. Overall I am so happy and so lucky that I can be here and learn about everything, driving and co-piloting, and how to communicate as we have different co-pilots every day. As I didn’t have too much exposure with different co-pilots, each has their own way and the communication is very important, as well as driving a different car; each car has its own technic, how to be out when stuck and different ways of handling.”

Melanie Schulz, Germany – Driver
“This is my first time in the desert and to drive above the dunes and on the sand is not easy for me because in Germany we drive not this type of rally. We can watch the road out of the stages, here we drive really at the first time on the really fast stages and it is not easy because you must hear what your co-driver is telling you and you must watch everything, if you drive left, right, above the dunes. It is not easy but I enjoyed it, I have fun and overall it is a really big experience for me and really cool that Jutta is here, she is a big support for us as drivers.”

Molly Taylor, Australia – Driver
“Up to this point it has been an absolutely incredible experience, nothing like I have ever done in my life before. It is a great opportunity to be here and learn how to drive in sand dunes. It is my first time in the dunes, I have done normal rally but not cross country; here you start from the basics. It is so much fun, I really enjoyed it and we have a lot more to learn but it is amazing when you are outside alone in the desert, how much you learn, and how much quicker you learn. When you get out it is just you and your co-driver that have to get back and you do this for your fist time but you learn so much in that way.”

Natalie Solbach-Schmidt, Germany - Co-driver
“For me to be here is a great chance to get better in a normal rally, I have learnt so much until now, here it goes all very well. You have to decide with your driver and talk with her because every day is another driver, but this is good. It is really great that I can be here, learning so much. This is my first experience in the sand dunes, I am driving in the normal rallies so all is new for me. When you get stuck in the sand, you have to learn a lot things but all is perfect.”

Lisette Bakker, Netherlands – Co-driver
“All has been until now a really great experience, we all really learnt a lot from Jutta and Fabrizia. It is great to go out with them and find out how it really is, you cannot imagine by just reading a road book, or seeing a picture on TV. It is so different when you are really out there and you don’t know where you are going except from using your GPS and road book and you try to find the right direction, but when it is working you feel really great. For me it is my first time in the sand dunes and I am really enjoying it a lot.”

Veronica Engan, Norway - Co-driver
“Until now it has been quite difficult, it is a lot of new things and hard to learn this navigation, but in the last stage I felt like I can really manage so I feel better, it is more fun when I manage to do it. This is my first time in the desert, this morning in the dunes was really difficult, as there are no landmarks to follow, you just follow the cap so it is difficult but it’s fun.”