Stephane Peterhansel wins PAX Rally Portugal!!

Stephane Peterhansel wins PAX Rally Portugal!!
Newflash: Stephane Peterhansel [Mitsubishi] maintained a steady push to exert pressure on rally leader Carlos Sainz [Volkswagen] until the very final kilometers of the PAX Rally Portugal. Stephane's victory is also the Mitsubishi Montero MPR13's final victory, as the vehicle will be retired after this rally.Carlos Sainz who was leading by a wide margin, making it almost impossible for Peterhansel to catch up. However the Mitsubishi team pushed hard to maintain pressure on the Volkswagen driver, and pressure finally caught up with Carlos, who rolled his Racing Touareg 2, handing over the victory to Peterhansel.

The PAX Rally Portugal has seen it's purpose being fulfilled. The rally promising intense action from start to finish, which is what exactly happened. The stages being few, the entire rally was fought until the very end. Mitsubishi wins the part 2 of the 2008 Dakar Series, while Volkswagen claimed victory in part 1.

The victory for Mitsubishi is sweeter as they retire a trusted and reliable rally machine, the MPR13. It will be succeeded by the MRX09 Racing Lancer in all future Cross Country Rallies and in the 2009 Dakar in South America.

Pictures and Full press release to follow later.

-= UPDATE =-
Official Press Release from MMSP

DAKAR SERIES
PAX RALLY EM
14 SEPTEMBER 2008
LEG 5

STEPHANE PETERHANSEL TAKES VICTORY IN PORTUGAL FOR REPSOL MITSUBISHI RALLIART TEAM

Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart Team’s Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret (France) profited from the shortened final stage of the inaugural PAX Rally to clinch a dramatic win this afternoon in Portimao, Portugal. The French crew were fastest on two of the five-day event's six stages and stole victory from the grasp of former WRC champion Carlos Sainz by a margin of 16 seconds after almost 800km of against-the-clock action.

There was further cause for celebration in the Mitsubishi camp thanks to Luc Alphand/Gilles Picard (France) who came third to round off the Dakar Series event and mark the Montero/Pajero Evolution's last competitive outing with a double podium.

A time-consuming roll on Saturday afternoon put team-mates Joan 'Nani' Roma/Lucas Cruz (Spain) out of contention for a top finish, but the Spanish pair's run was rewarded with sixth place overall.

After more than 10 hours of competitive driving through central and southern Portugal since Wednesday morning's start, Peterhansel and Sainz were split by just 31 seconds in the Spaniard's favour going into this morning's stage. When the first half of this test was neutralised because of a nearby forest fire, it looked practically certain that the Frenchman would have to settle for second place, but Sainz went on to make a mistake after the re-start and the Mitsubishi driver pounced on the opportunity to steal first place in a breathtaking finale!

"I know it's a cliché, but an event is never over until the finish line has been crossed, and today's result has shown yet again that nobody should never forget that," beamed Peterhansel after the rally. "Although Carlos made an error, we were in a position to profit from it because we refused to give up trying. We pushed hard all the way and tried to keep the pressure on him as much as possible... It's obviously nice to have won, but I am actually happier with the fact that this victory is an ideal way to mark the end of the career of the Pajero/Montero Evolution. It's been a super car to drive over the years and I owe it so much. This is the best possible way to say thank you for all that!"

"It hasn't been an easy week," added Peterhansel's co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret. "The conditions were very slippery throughout, especially when we were running first on the road. It was vital to stay totally concentrated from start to finish and not make any mistakes"

Osamu Nakayama (Japan), the President of MMSP SAS, was also pleased to see the Pajero/Montero Evolution take its score to 20 cross-country rally wins since its maiden appearance on the 2002 UAE Desert Challenge, a record which includes five straight Dakar wins between 2003 and 2007: "It's the perfect way to send this great car into retirement and hand over to the brand new Racing Lancer’ which is due to makes its official debut in October," he said. "I am very pleased to have included this rally in our programme. It was very well organised and gave Stéphane, Luc and Nani a chance to showcase their ability and commitment with the 2009 Dakar fast approaching. That was the aim of coming here and everyone has fulfilled their mission to the letter."

Luc Alphand/Gilles Picard (France) join Peterhansel in the top-three after hitting the ground running on Day 1 (Wednesday) to give Mitsubishi an early lead following the opening stage in the mountains near Castelo Branco, northeast of Lisbon. The second leg saw the French crew maintain their advantage from the threat of Carlos Sainz and the two drivers completed Thursday's action exactly level at the top of the provisional leaderboard. The switch to sandier terrain on Friday enabled the former WRC champion to go clear in front, while Peterhansel eased into second spot, but Alphand successfully defended his footing on the podium all the way to the finish, helped on his way by an assertive second quickest time on Saturday's SS5.

"This is a great result for the whole team, and Stéphane did a fantastic job," acknowledged the French driver. "The pace was incredibly fast all week and I am pleased with my performance. We didn't make any mistakes, our Pajero/Montero Evolution ran like clockwork and our reward is a podium finish and three top-three times from six, including victory on Wednesday's stage. I would like to say a big thank you to everyone in the team. They have done a remarkable job."

Despite an eloquent second fastest time on SS2 (Thursday), Joan 'Nani' Roma and Lucas Cruz (Spain) were forced to settle for sixth place following a roll on Saturday afternoon. Their car was undamaged but the incident saw the Spanish pair drop almost 10 minutes which ended their challenge for fourth place. "We pushed as hard as we could all week and I am quite pleased with our performance, although I would obviously have preferred to finish higher up the order," remarked Roma after the finish in Portimao. "We end the event strongly but this is above all a great result for the team and a tremendous morale booster as we put the finishing touches to our preparations for January's Dakar"

The final event on Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart Team’s 2008 competition programme takes the squad back to Portugal for the Baja Portalegre (Thursday, October 30 - Sunday, November 2). The sixth round of the FIA Cross-Country Baja International Cup will mark the debut of the brand new diesel-powered Racing Lancer’ which is due to spearhead Mitsubishi's assault on the 2009 Dakar in South America. A single car has been entered for Stéphane Peterhansel and his co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret.

"We've won today, and I couldn't have wished for a better way to say 'adieu' to the Montero/Pajero Evolution which has enjoyed an exceptional career," concluded Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart Team Director Dominique Serieys (France). "I think the main lesson to come out of this rally is the fact that our drivers are as mentally and physically strong as ever, and clearly extremely competitive, too. The priority for us now is to use the coming weeks and months to prepare thoroughly for the 2009 Dakar, and our programme includes an important test session with the new Racing Lancer in October before the Baja Portalegre."

Gallery of PAX Rally Portugal Final Leg and Awarding Ceremonies




Podium Positions
1. Stephane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cotrett [Mitsubishi] -Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution MPR13
2. Carlos Sainz/Michel Perin [Volkswagen] -Volkswagen Race Touareg 2
3. Luc Alphand/Gilles Picard [Mitsubishi] -Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution MPR13

Volkswagen clinched 10 of 14 possible stage win in 2007 Dakar

In the 2007 Dakar Rally Volkswagen – having clinched ten of 14 possible stage victories and leading the event for eight days – was the dominant team in the field, but in the overall classification the factory team headed by Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen was not rewarded for its performance.



After 8,000 kilometres factory driver Mark Miller (USA) and his co-driver Ralph Pitchford (South Africa) in the Race Touareg 2, as the make’s best pairing, finished in fourth place overall. Prior to this, a defect on a cam follower in the valve train of the diesel engine, which had never occurred before in countless kilometres of testing and competition, had robbed the German automotive manufacturer that had been successfully defending its lead up to this point of all chances for victory.



On all the competition days and in highly varied terrain the Race Touareg powered by a 285-hp 2.5-litre TDI turbodiesel engine had been proving its strengths: From the first to the eighth stage the Volkswagen drivers were leading the 29th running of the desert classic. In the final analysis, this shows a significant improvement over the prior year when the squad finished with five days of leading the rally and five stage victories. On the ninth stage both of the best-placed Race Touareg prototypes were struck by an identical engine defect that caused them to suffer an unrecoverable set-back: Giniel de Villiers (South Africa), runner-up in last year’s ‘Dakar’, with co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz (Germany), who had been leading with a half-hour advantage up to that point, and Carlos Sainz (Spain) with co-driver Michel Périn (France), who had been running in second place up to the eighth stage.



In the following chase to make up ground the factory team and the drivers gave proof of their unbroken sporting spirit: In a fantastic showing Carlos Sainz – in his second "Dakar” the front runner from the third to the sixth day of the competition and two-time stage winner up to that point – delivered a series of three further stage victories, starting with the twelfth leg. In the end, the Spaniard finished in ninth position overall. Giniel de Villiers, who clinched four stage wins, including two of the three most difficult stages in Mauritania, and was leading the field on the seventh and eighth stages, ultimately improved from 13th to eleventh position.


Carlos Sousa/Andy Schulz

The Portuguese Carlos Sousa and his German co-driver Andy Schulz proved that in a customer-run Race Touareg 2 excellent showings are possible as well. The duo from the Portugese Lagos Team, for whose fielding the German squad of Phoenix Sport headed by Team Director Ernst Moser was responsible, won the first stage, had the overall lead on the rally’s first two days and defended third place up to the sixth stage. On the seventh stage the duo got stuck in the sand but was able to free itself. In the heavy sandstorm, though, the driver and co-driver unfortunately lost sight of each other and a lot of time in the process of looking for one another. Sousa/Schulz finished the rally at the famous Lac Rose in seventh place overall.

The four-time Dakar Rally winner Ari Vatanen from Finland in the fourth Race Touareg, navigated by his Italian co-driver Fabrizia Pons, on the second stage dropped back to 113th place after a driving mistake while passing through water. On the seventh day a fire of the vehicle put a premature end to the duo’s running.

-Volkswagen Motorsports