The Toyota ALDO Racing rally truck (on the left) and the GMC Crew Cab camper truck are ready to be loaded aboard the two 40-foot containers that will take them by ship to the French port of Le Havre.
(Photo-ALDO Racing).
Packing and Shipping to France
Montreal, Quebec - Two 40-foot containers loaded with all the ALDO Racing Team rally gear, are onboard the MCS Sandra cargo ship which has been sailing towards Le Havre in France since October 19. Why send the equipment from Montréal to Europe instead of shipping it directly to the port of Buenos Aires in Argentina, the starting point of the upcoming 2015 Dakar Rally?
Because the Amaury Sport Organization (ASO), the organizing body of major sporting events such as the Dakar Rally, takes charge of all the teams registered in the greatest rally raid in the world, and the point of departure of the event is Le Havre, France. Costs of shipping to South America are included in the Dakar registration fees, and the ASO takes care of the hassle of going through the Argentinean customs as well as containers storage and supervision in the Capital City of Argentina until the start of the 14-day Dakar on January 4, 2015.
Because the ALDO Team will be driving the Toyota Tacoma Overdrive for the first time at the Dakar, they had to custom-build wooden crates to store essential spare parts such as radiators, windshields, steering racks, damper units and axles, and several sets of oversize Michelin tires.
Packing and shipping the two 40-foot containers was done at the OEC Group facilities located in Ville Saint-Laurent, Québec on October 14-15. The OEC Group, one of ALDO Racing partners in the Dakar adventure, provides worldwide custom-tailored and fully integrated logistics services and solutions for the industry in air, ocean and ground freight transportation. The container of the Toyota rally truck weighs 2,850 kg including 600 kilos of spare parts and tools. The second one is much heavier with 5,110 kg on board. It contains the ALDO GMC four-door Crew Cab truck, the camper cabin, which was removed from the GMC in order to fit in the container, equipment and more spare parts.
The MSC Sandra cargo ship will reach Le Havre on November 4. The containers will be stored by the ASO prior their departure for South America on November 20. Patrick Beaulé, team director and co-pilot for driver David Bensadoun, will be in France to supervise the ALDO operation.
Media and fans, who seek more information and access a series of photos on the departure for France, can view it on Facebook at: ALDO Racing, (https://www.facebook.com/pages/ALDO-Racing/1420010304880026) or on Twitter at @aldoracingdakar (https://twitter.com/aldoracingdakar)