João Ferreira had a nightmare start to the Rallye du Maroc when his ERTF navigation and GPS devices malfunctioned during Stage #1 on Monday. Fortunately, the FIA heard his pleas on Tuesday and corrected his time, reducing it from 3:27:16 to 2:19:52.
The first GPS unit suddenly stopped working 76.62 kilometres into the opening stage, as did the secondary unit at KM 88.36. Unable to figure out where they were going, Ferreira and co-driver Filipe Palmeiro stopped to contact Race Control to inform them of the issue. They were advised to follow other competitors in the meantime, but this proved difficult with the Sentinel system, which warns them of nearby dangers, offline.
“In some places it was really dangerous because of the dust and without the Sentinel they couldn’t overtake us,” Palmeiro explained to Cross-Country Rally News after Stage #1. “It was really tough, but we finished.
“I think some work needs to be done on this GPS issue, but that’s racing. Anyway, we did a very good job in these conditions. It wasn’t easy because of the rocks and dunes, but Joao drove very well.
“Unfortunately, we couldn’t push in this situation and we’re no longer in contention for a good result. I think that the FIA, the ERTF and everyone involved will have to rethink what’s happening, because it’s not normal.”
The issue proved so substantial that it warranted an FIA investigation, where the drivers and X-raid Team presented video footage from the on-board surveillance camera as well as a report from ERTF. Upon review, the stewards agreed that “fighting for a result with both NAV-GPS units inoperative would not only be impossible in a sporting sense, it would also be very unsafe.”
With over an hour slashed from his time, his Stage #1 finish jumps from thirty-third in Ultimate to fifth. Coupled with his nineteenth in Stage #2, his overall ranking also improves from twenty-fifth to twelfth.
Navigation problems also befell other competitors during the stage like Ferreira’s team-mate Guerlain Chicherit, who revealed he “did the whole stage with no GPS or no Sentinel for overtaking.” The 2023 Rallye du Maroc also saw a rash of electronics malfunctions on the FIM side, resulting in a statement from race director David Castéra reassuring everyone that they would be fine for the 2024 World Rally-Raid Championship.
Ferreira will be the nineteenth car to start Stage #3 on Wednesday.
