Teryx Girls Sara Price, Erica Sacks set to race in Morocco

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Canyon Lakers Sara Price and Erica Sacks, aka “Teryx Girls,” are getting ready to take on the nine-day, 1,300 kilometer trek (more than 800 miles) across the harsh African Desert of Morocco. As co-pilots for Team Kawasaki IMG Motorsports, they will be the first ever U.S. team to compete in the Motorbike/SSV class In the 25th annual Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles.

Taking place from March 25 through April 4, this all-female race won’t reward speed; rather it will test each team’s skill at navigating the shortest distance from point to point without the aid of GPS.

Sara and Erica will be challenged with plotting their route using only maps, a plotter and a compass on an unmarked course that can take longer than sunrise to sunset to reach the goal checkpoints in the day. Each morning they will receive their map along with a coordinate or distance and heading to Checkpoint 1.

Once there, they will receive a “road book” containing geographic coordinates and/or headings and distance of the day’s checkpoints. The last checkpoint of the day will be their “bivouac,” where will they try to recover and prepare for the next day.

The Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles course is completely off-road and redesigned each year, making this rally not just physically exhausting, but also mentally taxing.

Pilot Sara Price will take the wheel of the Team Kawasaki IMG Motorsports Teryx with teammate Erica Sacks as navigator. They will work together to tackle the mental and physical demands of the race, thanks in part to weeks of training with highly experienced Gazelle Emily Miller, instructor and mentor for the USA Gazelles.

During their training, Sara and Erica combined learning navigating skills with tackling desert terrain, with the goal of making the straightest line possible to get to their goal. “Sara and Erica have truly impressed me throughout their preparation and training,” says Emily Miller. “Combined with a capable vehicle, superior driving and navigating skills and impressive composure, they are a formidable team and excellent representatives of the United States.”

Sara says, “We’re feeling very confident going into the rally, with the combination of our training with the USA Gazelles and the capabilities of our Kawasaki Teryx. In our training we pushed our Teryx to its boundaries and it came out ready to keep going.”

The durability of the Team Kawasaki IMG Motorsports Teryx is going to be critical during the rally, where a mechanical issue can easily sideline the team. Teams are not permitted to have support crews and, although there will be official technicians, they are limited by availability and also penalized if in need of assistance during competition.

Sara says, “We have to be able to do any repairs ourselves with parts that we carry with us on the car; that’s why we chose the Kawasaki Teryx. It’s a dependable side-by-side that can handle a lot of abuse from harsh environments.

Plus, maintenance is fairly easy with convenient access engine components. It’s a winning platform for us.”
Sara Price made history in 2010 as the first ever female factory Kawasaki supported racer in motocross. She also achieved over 16 Amateur Championships on a Kawasaki during her amateur racing career, as well as medaling in X-Games. She crossed over into the Side X Side racing in 2012, racing many different disciplines in a UTV.

Erica Sacks has more than 15 years of off-road racing experience. She has been all over the Baja Peninsula and has raced the longest race in the U.S., giving her the knowledge necessary to compete in this long race. She has raced in a variety of off-road cars from Trophy Karts to Class 1 cars, and has the experience of racing in the most prestigious off-road races held in world. She took 2nd place in UTV at the 2014 Lake Elsinore Grand Prix.

Follow Sara and Erica’s progress and receive daily updates from Morocco at www.facebook.com/TERYXGIRLS. For live tracking on Team 23 (Teryx Girls) and to send messages to the team during the competition, visit the Rallye’s Official website at www.RallyeAichaDesGazelles.com. Each night, the Teryx Girls will have access to a designated team e-mail where they can interact with their fans (#TeryxGirls).