2010 Dakar - Stage 1 [SAT 02-JAN-2010]

Stage 1 - Buenos Aires > Cordoba Friday 1 and Saturday 2 January




Bikes / Quads
* Liaison : 349 km
* Spéciale : 219 km
* Liaison : 84 km
* Total : 652 km

Cars / Trucks
* Liaison : 349 km
* Spéciale : 251 km
* Liaison : 84 km
* Total : 684 km

Going through Calamuchita

In the first days of the rally, overtaking is sometimes tricky. To make things easier between the bikers and the car and truck crews, a doubled course has been designed with just a few kilometres less for the riders. While the course will be separated, the program remains similar with tracks that will seduce the sliding specialists. In the car class, experts will have noticed a tribute to the Argentinean leg of WRC that usually goes through the Calamuchita Valley. The steering wheel virtuosos will be able to express themselves.

Results for the day:

BIKES

Pos.	N°	Name	Make	Time	Variation	Penalty
1	003	CASTEU (FRA)	SHERCO	01:50:42	00:00:00
2	002	DESPRES (FRA)	KTM	01:50:45	00:00:03
3	001	COMA (ESP)	KTM	01:50:54	00:00:12
4	006	VILADOMS (ESP)	KTM	01:52:27	00:01:45
5	009	LOPEZ CONTARDO (CHL)	APRILIA	01:53:24	00:02:42
6	012	FRETIGNE (FRA)	YAMAHA	01:53:39	00:02:57
7	011	PRZYGONSKI (POL)	KTM	01:53:52	00:03:10
8	010	GONÇALVES (PRT)	BMW	01:54:11	00:03:29
9	019	FARIA (PRT)	KTM	01:54:45	00:04:03
10	005	RODRIGUES (PRT)	YAMAHA	01:55:12	00:04:30

CARS

Pos.	N°	Name	Make	Time	Variation	Penalty
1	304	ROMA (ESP) PERIN (FRA)	BMW	02:11:15	00:00:00
2	303	SAINZ (ESP) CRUZ (ESP)	VOLKSWAGEN	02:13:22	00:02:07
3	301	PETERHANSEL (FRA) COTTRET (FRA)	BMW	02:14:05	00:02:50
4	306	AL-ATTIYAH (QAT) GOTTSCHALK (DEU)	VOLKSWAGEN	02:14:44	00:03:29
5	300	DE VILLIERS (ZAF) VON ZITZEWITZ (DEU)	VOLKSWAGEN	02:15:46	00:04:31
6	302	GORDON (USA) GRIDER (USA)	HUMMER	02:16:03	00:04:48
7	308	HOLOWCZYC (POL) FORTIN (BEL)	Nissan Overdrive	02:17:22	00:06:07
8	305	MILLER (USA) PITCHFORD (ZAF)	VOLKSWAGEN	02:17:28	00:06:13
9	310	NOVITSKIY (RUS) SCHULZ (DEU)	BMW	02:18:17	00:07:02
10	312	NEVES (BRA) MAESTRELLI (BRA)	VOLKSWAGEN	02:18:23	00:07:08

QUADS

Pos.	N°	Name	Make	Time	Variation	Penalty
1	251	PATRONELLI (ARG)	YAMAHA	02:10:44	00:00:00
2	250	MACHACEK (CZE)	YAMAHA	02:11:23	00:00:39
3	277	PATRONELLI (ARG)	YAMAHA	02:13:18	00:02:34

TRUCKS

Pos.	N°	Name	Make	Time	Variation	Penalty
1	501	CHAGIN (RUS) SAVOSTIN (RUS) NIKOLAEV (RUS)	KAMAZ	02:35:47	00:00:00
2	502	LOPRAIS (CZE) HOLAN (CZE) JAROSLAV (SVK)	TATRA	02:36:14	00:00:27
3	500	KABIROV (RUS) BELYAEV (RUS) MOKEEV (RUS)	KAMAZ	02:39:47	00:04:00
4	505	MARDEEV (RUS) MIZYUKAEV (RUS) KARGINOV (RUS)	KAMAZ	02:45:37	00:09:50
5	506	MACIK (CZE) KALINA (CZE) BERVIC (CZE)	LIAZ	02:46:46	00:10:59

09 Dakar is turning out to be the worst so far for Mitsubishi, Peterhansel stopped with broken engine in Stage 7

10:41 - Car
300 - Peterhansel on fire!

Due to a fire in the engine of his Mitsubihsi Racing Lancer, Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel, the title holder, has stopped after 57 km of the day’s special. The driver and co-pilot have managed to put the fire out, but do not know if they will be able to set off again.

11:15 - Car
300 - “Peter” still having problems

After a fire in the engine of his Mitsubishi after 57 km, Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel reached the 91-km mark on the day’s special 10.40 behind the provisional leader, Spaniard Carlos Sainz. The title holder had to stop again after 80 km due to his engine overheating.

13:00 - Car
300 - Breakdown for “Peter”!

After a fire in his engine at the beginning of the day, then overheating problems, the title holder, Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel (Mitsubihsi) is currently halted on the special stage, due to a broken engine and is waiting to have his car towed out of the timed section. This could be the second abandon due to mechanical problems for the Frenchman, 9 times winner of the event and who is taking part in the Dakar for the 20th time.

-ASO

At this point, the frenchman's hope is dashed and retirement is imminent. In stage 5 he flipped his car, but that's a lucky escape because the guys at at the bivouac was able to fix the vehicle in time and Peterhansel is only awarded a 15min penalty for missing a check point.

As it things unravel in Stage 7, it is highly unlikely that Stephane is going to restart tomorrow. If he ever does, he is going to incur a heavy penalty. Engine overheating has caused some big name retirements for the 09 Dakar. Nasser Al-Attiyah retired yesterday from overheating problems too. Looking at the stage profile for today, it's easy to see why. Towards the end of the stage the elevation just keeps rising, from 500m above sea level to 3100m towards the end of the stage.



Nani Roma and Lucas Cruz have had a relatively good run so far. Hopefully they will finish the race. If all goes well for Nani, a 13th victory for Mitsubishi is still possible. It is just so unusual for the defending champion team to lose 3 of 4 cars even before the Rest Day tomorrow. Until then, we wait for the official press release from Mitsubishi.

-rcpax

Luc Alphand retires from 09 Dakar in Stage 6, Peterhansel and Roma are the only hopes for victory

2009 DAKAR RALLY
8 JANUARY 2009
LEG 6

SAN RAFAEL (Argentina) to MENDOZA (Argentina)
Road section: 76km - SS6: 178km - Road section: 371km
Total Distance: 625km

MITSUBISHI’S CHALLENGE DOWN TO TWO ’RACING LANCERS’ AFTER SHORTENED STAGE INTO MENDOZA



The sixth stage of the 2009 Dakar Rally between San Rafaël and Mendoza marked a day that Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart would rather forget, after team co-driver Gilles Picard (France) was taken ill on the special stage and forced the immediate retirement of his driver Luc Alphand (France) from the race.

Team mates Stephane Peterhansel (France) and Joan ’Nani’ Roma (Spain) finished the stage with the fifth and sixth fastest times, but now hold fifth and fourth in the overall standings, following the withdrawal of Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (Qatar). Both drivers now face an uphill struggle to regain the lost time to outright leader Giniel de Villiers (South Africa) over the coming days.

Today’s special stage was originally shortened from 394km to 232km and then to 178km because of the risk of standing water caused by recent rainfall. Event officials sent a route vehicle into the stage on Wednesday to monitor a river crossing which was already 80cm high and the decision was taken to skip the section on safety grounds.

Mitsubishi’s mechanics finally completed the work on Peterhansel’s and Jean-Paul Cottret’s (France) ’Racing Lancer’ just before the pair were scheduled to leave the bivouac and head into the liaison section to the sixth stage to Mendoza.

Peterhansel had incurred a 15-minute penalty in San Rafaël on Wednesday evening for missing a time control. He eventually set the fifth fastest time.

Luc Alphand (France) was forced to withdraw from the Dakar Rally 12km after the start of the stage this morning, when co-driver Gilles Picard (France) was taken ill assisting Alphand in putting plates under a wheel when they were stuck in a deep mud hole. As a precaution he was airlifted to the bivouac in San Rafaël for medical checks, but Alphand was unable to continue. Picard then underwent an electro-cardiogram test and everything was normal.

Joan ’Nani’ Roma and Lucas Cruz Senra (both Spain) held sixth position through the opening passage control and maintained his position to the stage finish.

Tomorrow (Friday) marks the crossing into Chile and the most varied of the days in this year’s Dakar Rally timetable. Teams leave Mendoza and head into an 80km liaison section, before embarking upon a punishing 419km special stage over twisty mountain tracks in the Andes.

The stage starts near Nueva Californi and winds its way in a north-westerly direction towards the first and second passage controls, before heading south to PC3 and on to a finish at the tourist town of Uspallata in the Andes foothills.

Service vehicles, rally cars and support trucks will cross the border on a sealed surface road at a height of 3,275 metres above sea level between Punta de Vacas and Puenta del Inca, before making the steep descent on to the coastal plain into Chile. The towering peak of Aconcagua, rising to 6959 metres, will be a spectacular sight to the right and is the highest peak in South America.

The entire Dakar caravan will arrive at the overnight halt in Valparaiso on Chile’s Pacific Coast after a further 317km liaison section.

What they said?

Dominique Serieys, Team Director
"The rally has really begun over the last 48 hours and the classification is beginning to move. I must say congratulations to Nasser and BMW for their performance over the last few days. They did a great job, fighting and leading. For us, we have now lost Luc and will concentrate more strongly to apply the pressure on Volkswagen and not leave them alone. Now we have to react and change our strategy. We will see next week."

Luc Alphand
"Of course we are disappointed, but some things are more important than racing. I must admit I was very scared when I saw Gilles fall down. The mud hole was so deep. It was impossible for us to get out. Even the T4 truck had problems getting us out. We were very close to the road book, maybe only a few meters from the track, but it was our mistake that we were slightly wrong and that is racing."

Jean-Paul Cottret
"The last two stages have been hard. The dunes have not been easy. There were trees, grass and other vegetation and it was not easy to find a good path. Today, after the start, we passed through some terrain with a lot of vegetation and it was difficult. Tomorrow is another difficult stage. There is a large section of fesh-fesh, a row of dunes and then we head into the mountains."


Stephane and Jean Paul navigating through the dunes. Tough driving on today's technical and lengthy stage.

Stéphane Peterhansel
"The mechanics did a fantastic job to get my car ready for this morning. I really thought the rally was over yesterday after the accident. We are now in fifth position, but ’Nani’ and I are some way behind the leaders. It will not be easy at all to catch them. There are some long and difficult stages to come, but it is a case of finding where we can, perhaps, make up some of the time."

Joan ’Nani’ Roma
"Every day is difficult. Today we lost another car, but the main thing is the health of Gilles. I know when I have lost a race after an accident your head spins a lot, but the most important thing is the safety of our team. I try every day to go for the win, but 30 minutes is a long time. I will try and push a little, but we will have to see over the next few days."


Nani and Lucas made it through the day, and still in contention for a possible victory.

MITSUBISHI’S SPINELLI RETIRED FROM DAKAR RALLY

Guilherme Spinelli and Marcelo Vivolo (both Brazil) began the sixth special stage of the 2009 Dakar Rally between San Rafaël and Mendoza in Argentina in 10th overall. But the driver’s superb start to the event hit a major set-back when he rolled near the start of the special stage on Thursday morning.


Spinelli and Vivolo had a great run, until today. Hope we see them again next year.

According to team manager Klever Kolberg, the car was removed from the desert and taken back to the bivouac in San Rafael. Spinelli had been the 17th driver into the special on Thursday morning.

Mitsubishi Thailand-backed Mana Pornsiricherd (Thailand) and co-driver Thierry Lacambre (France) were classified 96th overall through the first passage control on the fifth stage into San Rafaël on Wednesday, but Mana became bogged down in the sand dunes in his Mitsubishi Pajero Sports.


Tibau Team Ralliart Thailand and their new Pajero Sport Evolution are believed to have retired today also.

A 4x4 vehicle was unable to tow him out of the sandy trap and he was forced to wait for an assistance truck to remove him from the dunes before he could continue on to the bivouac.

When the leading cars left for the sixth stage into Mendoza on Thursday morning, the Mitsubishi driver was still making his way to San Rafaël and was reliant on event officials permitting him to restart when he arrived at the camp. He had not restarted at 17.00hrs on Thursday afternoon and was believed to be out of the rally.

SS6 CLASSIFICATION
Pos	Driver Co-Driver	Nat	Vehicle	Cat	Total Time	Diff Leader
1	Giniel DE VILLIERS Dirk VON ZITZEWITZ	AFS D	VOLKSWAGEN RACE TOUAREG	T1.2	2:12:33	**:**
2	Mark MILLER Ralph PITCHFORD	USA AFS	VOLKSWAGEN RACE TOUAREG	T1.2	2:12:53	+0:20
3	Carlos SAINZ Michel PERIN	E F	VOLKSWAGEN RACE TOUAREG	T1.2	2:16:03	+3:30
4	Stephane PETERHANSEL Jean-Paul COTTRET	F F	MITSUBISHI RACING LANCER	T1.2	2:20:40	+8:07
5	Joan ROMA Lucas CRUZ	E E	MITSUBISHI RACING LANCER	T1.2	2:21:46	+9:13
6	Krzysztof HOLOWCZYC Jean-Marc FORTIN	POL B	NISSAN NAVARA	T1.1	2:27:25	+14:52
7	Ivar Erik TOLLEFSEN Quin EVANS	N GB	NISSAN NAVARA	T1.1	2:44:40	+32:07
8	Robby GORDON Andy GRIDER	USA USA	HUMMER H3	OP1	2:44:56	+32:23
9	Matthias KAHLE Thomas SCHUENEMANN	D D	HONDA BUGGY	T1.3	2:45:20	+32:47
10	Thierry MAGNALDI Guy LENEVEU	F F	SMG PORSCHE BUGGY	T1.3	2:53:39	+41:06

OVERALL CLASSIFICATION AFTER SS6
Pos	Driver Co-Driver	Nat	Vehicle	Cat	Total Time	Diff Leader
1	Giniel DE VILLIERS Dirk VON ZITZEWITZ	AFS D	VOLKSWAGEN RACE TOUAREG	T1.2	20:59:34	**:**
2	Carlos SAINZ Michel PERIN	E F	VOLKSWAGEN RACE TOUAREG	T1.2	21:07:13	+7:39
3	Mark MILLER Ralph PITCHFORD	USA AFS	VOLKSWAGEN RACE TOUAREG	T1.2	21:17:25	+17:51
4	Joan ROMA Lucas CRUZ	E E	MITSUBISHI RACING LANCER	T1.2	21:30:52	+31:18
5	Stephane PETERHANSEL Jean-Paul COTTRET	F F	MITSUBISHI RACING LANCER	T1.2	21:34:01	+34:27
6	Robby GORDON Andy GRIDER	USA USA	HUMMER H3	OP1	22:11:21	+1:11:47
7	Krzysztof HOLOWCZYC Jean-Marc FORTIN	POL B	NISSAN NAVARA	T1.1	23:32:49	+2:33:15
8	Ivar Erik TOLLEFSEN Quin EVANS	N GB	NISSAN NAVARA	T1.1	23:49:31	+2:49:57
9	Orlando TERRANOVA Alain GUEHENNEC	RA F	BMW X3 CC	T1.2	23:50:09	+2:50:35
10	Rene KUIPERS Filipe PALMEIRO	NL P	BMW X3 CC	T1.2	25:19:13	+4:19:39

Team Ralliart Assistance truck. The team's "service department" and "towing service" on wheels.


Nani Roma and Lucas Cruz with their Racing Lancer trying to climb up a big dune of fine powder sand

-Press Release and Media by MMSP, Team Thailand Ralliart, photo captions by rcpax

All 3 Racing Lancers continue to hang on top 10 in Leg 5, Peterhansel flips over near the end of stage

2009 DAKAR RALLY
7 JANUARY 2009
LEG 5

NEUQUEN (Argentina) to SAN RAFAEL (Argentina)
Road section: 173km - SS5: 506km - Road section: 84km
Total Distance: 763km

MITSUBISHI’S THREE ’RACING LANCERS’ HOLD FOURTH SIXTH AND EIGHTH PLACES AFTER FIRST DUNE CROSSINGS STAGE CLASSIFICATION



Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart was unable to make in-roads into the overall leader’s advantage after the fifth and most demanding special stage of the event so far between Neuquén and San Rafaël in Argentina on Wednesday.

The three turbo-diesel ’Racing Lancers arrived at the bivouac within the confines of the race circuit at San Rafaël, having set the fifth, seventh and eighth fastest times on the stage. The result meant that the three Mitsubishi crews held fourth, sixth and eighth in the overall classification, but there was a late scare for defending champion, Stéphane Peterhansel (France).

He and co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret (France) had moved into contention for a stage win in the early part of the special and were the virtual leaders at the 102km point, despite starting from eighth position on the road.

They maintained their pace through the 230km point and had opened up a 1m 42s lead heading into the second section of the special, although Dieter Depping (Germany) pipped them to the fastest time at the 230km.

Peterhansel was a mere 10 seconds behind heading into a sea of sand dunes at the end of the stage. Giniel de Villiers (South Africa) eventually set the fastest time and Peterhansel crossed the finish line in fourth position, but drama had unfolded 15km before the end of the stage for the defending champion.

He descended a sand dune and was heading for the foot of a second dune, when the Mitsubishi hit a patch of camel grass and flipped over. The impact damaged the car’s bodywork and radiator.

Luc Alphand and Gilles Picard (both France) started the stage in third position behind the two overall leaders, Carlos Sainz (Spain) and Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (Qatar) and were running in seventh position through the opening passage control at 230km. Alphand slipped to 10th through PC2 and finished the stage in seventh, a puncture not helping his cause.

Crews covered a technical and twisty opening section of the stage, before beginning a climb into a range of small mountains to a height of 2,300 meters. This guided them into the first real complex of sand dunes for around 60km towards the end of the stage.

Joan ’Nani’ Roma and Lucas Cruz Senra (both Spain) were fifth on the road this morning and were classified in ninth position through the opening two passage controls. They finished the grueling stage in eighth in their ’Racing Lancer’, despite two slow punctures in the course of the stage.

Four hundred and twenty vehicles were classified at the end of the fourth leg, but an unofficial 23 cars, bikes and trucks failed to restart this morning, as the original entry of 530 vehicles was further reduced.

Tomorrow (Thursday) is the last of the special stages on the event’s first of two visits to Argentina and consists of a 76km liaison into a 395km special stage to Argentina’s fourth city, Mendoza, overlooked on the western horizon by the Andes mountains.

The city stands 824 metres above sea level in a region famous for its wine industry and is a popular stop-off for tourists interested in climbing, skiing, rafting and hiking pursuits.

The stage heads through the northern Patagonian lakeland and turns north to a finish south of Pareditas. A 154km liaison then takes crews into the overnight halt in Mendoza, with the towering volcanic peak of Tupungatito rising to 6,550 metres in the distance.

WHAT THEY SAID...

Dominique Serieys, Team Director
"I thought that today would be the start of the real Dakar and I was right but, unfortunately, we did not have lady luck on our side this afternoon. Stéphane had a roll in the camel grass between the dunes and damaged the car. We will work all the night if necessary to repair it so that he can start again tomorrow. Luc and ’Nani’ had flat tires, but are still in good positions."

Luc Alphand

"Very, very difficult today. Many competitors will have big problems. It was so long. There was a lot of time off piste in wadis and river beds. To the first PC was okay, but the way back was a nightmare. We nearly got stuck. It is grass in between sand, quite different and very difficult. The bottom of the dunes are very square, so you need a good technique to drive them."

Stéphane Peterhansel

"We descended a sand dune and were heading for the foot of a second dune, when the Mitsubishi hit a patch of camel grass and flipped over. The impact damaged the bodywork and the radiator and this affected the temperature of the engine, causing it to rise. Now I hope that the mechanics can repair the car here at the service park."

Joan ’Nani’ Roma
"It was not easy. At the end it was difficult. The main thing is that we are here and still okay."


MITSUBISHI’S SPINELLI ENTERS THE OVERALL TOP 10
Guilherme Spinelli and Marcelo Vivolo (both Brazil) began the fifth special stages of the 2009 Dakar Rally between Neuquén and San Rafaël in 15th position and held 19th at the opening passage control at 230km.

But drama unfolded right across the leader board and the Mitsubishi driver benefited from problems that befell several of his rivals to take the 13th fastest time and move up to 10th in the overall standings.

"We only took delivery of the car and the parts at the last minute and Guilherme is not going to push too hard at this stage," said team manager Klever Kolberg. "He is in a good position, just slotted in nicely behind the factory cars."

Mitsubishi Thailand-backed Mana Pornsiricherd (Thailand) and co-driver Thierry Lacambre (France) were delighted with their performance on the fourth special stage across western Patagonia. They set the 57th fastest time of 5h 31m 55s in their Mitsubishi Pajero Sport and moved up to 91st overall, but were delayed after the first passage control on leg five into San Rafaël.


Mendoza Landscape

SS5 CLASSIFICATION
Pos	Driver Co-Driver	Nat	Vehicle	Cat	Total Time	Diff Leader
1	Giniel DE VILLIERS Dirk VON ZITZEWITZ	AFS D	VOLKSWAGEN RACE TOUAREG	T1.2	5:47:43	**:**
2	Dieter DEPPING Timo GOTTSCHALK	D D	VOLKSWAGEN RACE TOUAREG	T1.2	5:50:01	+2:18
3	Robby GORDON Andy GRIDER	USA USA	HUMMER H3	OP1	5:51:55	+4:12
4	Nasser AL ATTIYAH Tina THORNER	QAT S	BMW X3 CC	T1.2	5:53:06	+5:23
5	Stephane PETERHANSEL Jean-Paul COTTRET	F F	MITSUBISHI RACING LANCER	T1.2	5:54:55	+7:12
6	Mark MILLER Ralph PITCHFORD	USA AFS	VOLKSWAGEN RACE TOUAREG	T1.2	5:56:42	+8:59
7	Luc ALPHAND Gilles PICARD	F F	MITSUBISHI RACING LANCER	T1.2	5:57:45	+10:02
8	Joan ROMA Lucas CRUZ	E E	MITSUBISHI RACING LANCER	T1.2	6:01:21	+13:38
9	Carlos SAINZ Michel PERIN	E F	VOLKSWAGEN RACE TOUAREG	T1.2	6:03:25	+15:42
10	Guerlain CHICHERIT Matthieu BAUMEL	F F	BMW X3 CC	T1.2	6:26:10	+38:27
11	Guilherme SPINELLI Marcelo VIVOLO	BRA BRA	MITSUBISHI PAJERO	T1.1	6:27:58	+40:15

OVERALL CLASSIFICATION AFTER SS5
Pos	Driver Co-Driver	Nat	Vehicle	Cat	Total Time	Diff Leader
1	Nasser AL ATTIYAH Tina THORNER	QAT S	BMW X3 CC	T1.2	18:44:37	**:**
2	Giniel DE VILLIERS Dirk VON ZITZEWITZ	AFS D	VOLKSWAGEN RACE TOUAREG	T1.2	18:47:01	+2:24
3	Carlos SAINZ Michel PERIN	E F	VOLKSWAGEN RACE TOUAREG	T1.2	18:51:10	+6:33
4	Mark MILLER Ralph PITCHFORD	USA AFS	VOLKSWAGEN RACE TOUAREG	T1.2	19:04:32	+19:55
5	Joan ROMA Lucas CRUZ	E E	MITSUBISHI RACING LANCER	T1.2	19:09:06	+24:29
6	Stephane PETERHANSEL Jean-Paul COTTRET	F F	MITSUBISHI RACING LANCER	T1.2	19:13:21	+28:44
7	Robby GORDON Andy GRIDER	USA USA	HUMMER H3	OP1	19:26:25	+41:48
8	Luc ALPHAND Gilles PICARD	F F	MITSUBISHI RACING LANCER	T1.2	19:26:41	+42:04
9	Dieter DEPPING Timo GOTTSCHALK	D D	VOLKSWAGEN RACE TOUAREG	T1.2	20:01:17	+1:16:40
10	Guilherme SPINELLI Marcelo VIVOLO	BRA BRA	MITSUBISHI PAJERO	T1.1	20:24:03	+1:39:26

Luc Alphand leads 3 Racing Lancers Solid Performance on Leg 4 of 09 Dakar

2009 DAKAR RALLY
6 JANUARY 2009
LEG 4

JACOBACCI (Argentina) to NEUQUEN (Argentina)
Road section: 4km - SS4: 459km - Road section: 25km
Total Distance: 488km

ALPHAND STARS FOR MITSUBISHI AFTER A SOLID PERFORMANCE BY ALL THREE ’RACING LANCERS’



Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart’s three turbo-diesel ’Racing Lancers’ claimed third, fifth and eighth positions on the shortened 389km fourth special stage between Ingeniero Jacobacci and Neuquén in western Patagonia on Tuesday.

Luc Alphand and Gilles Picard (both France) started from 15th position on the stage, but clawed their way through the field in the first of three turbo-diesel ’Racing Lancers’ to clinch an excellent third fastest time.

Stéphane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret (both France) began the day in fourth overall and fifth on the road in their BFGoodrich-backed car. The defending champions finished the stage in eighth place, 1m 16s behind fifth-placed team mates Joan ’Nani’ Roma and Lucas Cruz Senra (both Spain).

Today’s special stage was modified at the request of a local landowner and the first 79km were converted into a liaison section, although the special retained its varied and demanding character on the run north to Neuquén through a region renowned for its palaeontology. Fifty-six of the original 531 cars, bikes, quads and trucks had already retired from the event at the restart this morning.

Mitsubishis held fourth, eighth and 10th positions through an amended PC1, with Alphand leading the way for Mitsubishi, a mere 26 seconds behind Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (Qatar), although Carlos Sainz (Spain) began to pull away from his rivals as the stage progressed. Alphand, Roma and Peterhansel eventually completed the timed section in third, fifth and eighth places.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) the route continues its steady climb north from the harsh hinterlands of Patagonia into less hostile and more sandy terrain en route to San Rafaël close to the Argentinean foothills of the mighty Andes mountain range.

The day begins with a 173km liaison section through Barda del Medilo to the start of a 506km special stage, which has an opening passage control near Tres Chorros and a second checkpoint after a run through the mountaineous Sierra del Nevado. A short 84km liaison takes team to the overnight halt, which is a city on the Diamante River in the southern region of the Mendoza Province, 650 metres above sea level.

WHAT THEY SAID...

Dominique Serieys, Team Director
"I am happy for Luc because, for the first three days, he was not able to be on the pace he was today. Both our other cars had two punctures, but we intend to stay quiet. The front two (Sainz and Al-Attiyah) are pushing like hell, so let’s see what happens over the next two or three days."

Thierry Viardot, Technical Director
"We are still learning every day and need more and more days to continue the learning process. We hope that the rally gets harder and harder over the coming days. We know from the past that we are not the quickest team when the stages are very fast, so we will see what happens in the coming days..."

Luc Alphand



"I was worried this morning, because I lost so much time yesterday and I knew that I had to try and make up some of that time today. The wind was okay and was blowing at an angle where the dust was not a problem. I can say a big thank you to all the other drivers. They all moved out of the way with no problems.

"I was thinking last night about my position. On the Dakar Rally in the past, being 30 minutes’ behind so early on is nothing, but I was wondering whether this could be different. Maybe it will be this close in the top 10 all the way. We have some dunes tomorrow and I am quite happy for that. We will see..."

Stéphane Peterhansel



"Today was not easy. I was running well and had a good pace, but I got two flat tires and that cost me the time."

Joan ’Nani’ Roma



"It was not easy in the dust with the bikes. But this is not like Africa. There has been no piste so far, just flat tracks. It is a bit like WRC so far, but it was okay until I got one puncture on the back right side about 20km from the end of the stage and I lost about three minutes. At least I have stayed in contact and the next three days will be difficult. It is important to stay quiet and not make a big mistake."

MITSUBISHI BRAZIL’S SPINELLI CLIMBS TO 11TH PLACE INTO NEUQUÉN

Guilherme Spinelli and Marcelo Vivolo (both Brazil) finished 15th overall on the fourth special stage of the 2009 Dakar Rally between Ingeniero Jacobacci and Neuquen in Patagonia on Tuesday.

The pair had been lying in a similar position through the first passage control and carefully avoided trouble in the treacherous wadis and tricky water crossings to hold an excellent 11th position in the overall classification, 65 seconds in front of the official X-raid entry of Peter van Merksteijn (Netherlands).

Mitsubishi Thailand-backed Mana Pornsiricherd (Thailand) and co-driver Thierry Lacambre (France) began the stage out of Puerto Madryn in 96th position, but lost further time into Ingeniero Jacobacci with a broken rear axle.

The pair were forced to drive no faster than 90km/h and eventually recorded the 107th fastest time, which put them in to 99th place in the overall rankings.

On today’s stage across western Patagonia into Neuquén, the pair held 52nd place on the special at the first passage control.

SS4 CLASSIFICATION
Pos	Driver Co-Driver	Nat	Vehicle	Cat	Total Time	Diff Leader
1	Carlos SAINZ Michel PERIN	E F	VOLKSWAGEN RACE TOUAREG	T1.2	3:42:57	**:**
2	Nasser AL ATTIYAH Tina THORNER	QAT S	BMW X3 CC	T1.2	3:43:03	+0:06
3	Luc ALPHAND Gilles PICARD	F F	MITSUBISHI RACING LANCER	T1.2	3:45:21	+2:24
4	Mark MILLER Ralph PITCHFORD	USA AFS	VOLKSWAGEN RACE TOUAREG	T1.2	3:47:17	+4:20
5	Joan ROMA Lucas CRUZ	E E	MITSUBISHI RACING LANCER	T1.2	3:48:35	+5:38
6	Giniel DE VILLIERS Dirk VON ZITZEWITZ	AFS D	VOLKSWAGEN RACE TOUAREG	T1.2	3:48:45	+5:48
7	Orlando TERRANOVA Alain GUEHENNEC	RA F	BMW X3 CC	T1.2	3:49:46	+6:49
8	Stephane PETERHANSEL Jean-Paul COTTRET	F F	MITSUBISHI RACING LANCER	T1.2	3:49:51	+6:54
9	Guerlain CHICHERIT Matthieu BAUMEL	F F	BMW X3 CC	T1.2	3:53:28	+10:31
10	Robby GORDON Andy GRIDER	USA USA	HUMMER H3	OP1	3:55:10	+12:13
15	Guilherme SPINELLI Marcelo VIVOLO	BRA BRA	MITSUBISHI PAJERO EVO MPR13	T1.1	4:01:50	+18:53
57	Krzysztof Mana PORNSIRICHERD Thierry LACAMBRE	THA F	MITSUBSIHI PAJERO SPORT EVO	T1.2	5:31:55	+1:48:58

OVERALL CLASSIFICATION AFTER SS4
Pos	Driver Co-Driver	Nat	Vehicle	Cat	Total Time	Diff Leader
1	Carlos SAINZ Michel PERIN	E F	VOLKSWAGEN RACE TOUAREG	T1.2	12:47:45	**:**
2	Nasser AL ATTIYAH Tina THORNER	QAT S	BMW X3 CC	T1.2	12:51:31	+3:46
3	Giniel DE VILLIERS Dirk VON ZITZEWITZ	AFS D	VOLKSWAGEN RACE TOUAREG	T1.2	12:59:18	+11:33
4	Stephane PETERHANSEL Jean-Paul COTTRET	F F	MITSUBISHI RACING LANCER	T1.2	13:03:26	+15:41
5	Joan ROMA Lucas CRUZ	E E	MITSUBISHI RACING LANCER	T1.2	13:07:45	+20:00
6	Mark MILLER Ralph PITCHFORD	USA AFS	VOLKSWAGEN RACE TOUAREG	T1.2	13:07:50	+20:05
7	Orlando TERRANOVA Alain GUEHENNEC	RA F	BMW X3 CC	T1.2	13:12:15	+24:30
8	Luc ALPHAND Gilles PICARD	F F	MITSUBISHI RACING LANCER	T1.2	13:28:56	+41:11
9	Robby GORDON Andy GRIDER	USA USA	HUMMER H3	OP1	13:34:30	+46:45
10	Krzysztof HOLOWCZYC Jean-Marc FORTIN	POL B	NISSAN NAVARA	T1.1	13:35:24	+47:39
11	Guilherme SPINELLI Marcelo VIVOLO	BRA BRA	MITSUBISHI PAJERO	T1.1	13:56:05	+1:08:20

Team Mitsubishi Repsol Ralliart Service Park