It's the race that attracts only the toughest women in motorsport.
The Aicha des Gazelle is a women-only rally taking place across the Moroccan Sahara Dessert,
No Kiwi has taken up the challenge in the event's 30-year history until now, with Auckland's Sue Alemann to become the first New Zealander to line up, in March next year.
"I had a moment about three weeks ago thinking, 'what am I doing?'," says Alemann.
"It's definitely very physical. Just being in an off-road car over sand and over rocks, that in itself is actually quite exhausting."
The 57-year-old is in safe hands though. She’s teamed up with British driver Helen Tait Wright, who completed the race last year with their trusty Land Rover Priscilla.
"It is tough, it is. It's emotionally tough, it's physically tough. It's really difficult to explain until you've done it just how it affects you," says Tait Wright.
The duo both live in France and have spent this year preparing for the desert. Tait Wright will be at the wheel while the Kiwi is pointing the way.
"We have no GPS, no modern navigation aides, it’s just a compass, ruler and a map," says Alemann.
"It is a distance rally that is the key thing. It's not about speed it's about the shortest distance travelled."
The margin for error is huge, with one wrong move potentially turning fatal, Alemann added.
"If Helen attacks it too fast we could actually pitch pole down the side of the dune."
You may wonder why these two women in their 50s would take on such a grueling challenge but for them it's so much more than an all-women race.
There's also a humanitarian cause where they donate money and supplies to help the poorest communities in Morocco. They're also out to prove age is no barrier.
"I think age is just in your head it's about how you feel... my mind isn't saying, 'you can’t do this because you're 51'.
"I don't know how I’m supposed to feel when I’m 51."
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