07 Dakar Leg 13 Report

TEAM REPSOL MITSUBISHI RALLIART EASE THROUGH FIRST SENEGALESE STAGE AND MAINTAIN FIRST AND SECOND OVERALL IN 2007 DAKAR RALLY

19 January 2007
Kayes - Tambacounda
Liaison 198kms / SS 260kms
Total 458kms

The Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart crew of Stéphane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret began the 13th special stage of the 2007 Dakar Rally between Kayes in Mali and Tambacounda in Sénégal, 6m 29s ahead of team mates Luc Alphand and Gilles Picard, on Friday.


Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret

But the twice former winners of the event extended their overall lead to 11m 15s after setting the second fastest time, behind stage winner Carlos Sainz, on the twisty and narrow special through eastern Sénégal. The two crews are now under instruction from team management to bring the two Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolutions to Dakar without any undue risks over the final two special stages at the weekend.

The organisers had warned that navigation would be tricky on the day’s stage and there would be several carefully monitored speed restriction zones through villages and heavily populated areas. The fact that bike race leader Marc Coma got lost and then crashed was a case in point. It was not a stage to be taken lightly.

"There was some very difficult navigation in the early part of the stage and then a wide track," said Peterhansel. "The end of the stage was very fast. It is much easier to race at higher speeds in the car. Jean-Paul did a great job on the navigation and that was so important. We beat the bikes by around 30 minutes today. This race is never finished until you see the podium. The leader of the motorbikes today was a harsh example of that. It was good to finish the stage.

"Tomorrow is not too long, but I remember the stage was difficult last year and several crews lost a lot of time. We have a good position behind Carlos Sainz on the road. He is fast so we should be okay."


Luc Alphand/Gilles Picard

Luc Alphand and Gilles Picard began the special stage in third position and set the sixth fastest time to conserve second place.

"It is always quite an easy stage when you have the right track," said Alphand. "It was easier for the cars with a co-driver than it was for the bikes. We decided this morning to stay behind Carlos Sainz and Carlos Sousa and behave. Both mirrors and both wings are intact on our car, so that proves we drove very sensibly."


Joan ’Nani’ Roma/Lucas Cruz

Joan ’Nani’ Roma and Lucas Cruz were fifth into the stage in the third Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution and eventually set the eighth fastest time to retain 13th overall.

"Near the end of the stage I hit a small tree, under braking, and we damaged the front right wing of the car, but it was just panel damage," said Roma. "After that I had one right-hand puncture and that’s where we lost the time. Today was a case of being careful."


Hiroshi Masuoka/Pascal Maimon

Hiroshi Masuoka and Pascal Maimon were forced to start the stage in 19th place this morning and lost several minutes trailing in Stéphane Henrard’s dust. They set the 15th fastest time.

"For 150km we followed in the dust of the Buggy," said Masuoka. "We tried to get passed but it was not possible. The stage was very difficult. It was narrow and twisty. We passed a Nissan, which had crashed, and we were careful to the finish."

"It was a great shame for Marc Coma in the bike category, but this proves that this race is never finished until you reach the final stage in Dakar," said MMSP’s Managing and Sporting Director Dominique Serieys. "We will stay quiet and very humble. All our drivers are safely through the stage. Our drivers are professional and know that in the interest of Mitsubishi Motors we should try all we can to reach Dakar in the same positions as we are in now."

China’s Lui Bin and Thai Pornsiriched hold 47th and 66th places in Tambacounda


Lui Bin/Serge Henninot

China’s Lui Bin and French co-driver Serge Henninot were classified 49th at the start of the 13th special stage and set the 31st fastest time into Tambacounda. The pair gained two places in the overall classification to 47th.

"We learned from the stage yesterday that these last stages are tiring and it is easy to make a mistake," said Bin. "Now I have one large stage to go and I am beginning to think that we can make it to the finish."

Frenchman Dominique Housieaux and co-driver Jean-Michel Polato began the day in 19th place in the overall standings and set the 19th fastest time.


Mana Pornsiriched/Jean Brucy

Thailand’s Mana Pornsiriched and French co-driver Jean Brucy held 68th overall on the run out of Kayes and finished the stage in a fine 22nd overall. The Thai moved up to 66th place.

"The stage was very narrow," said Pornsiriched. "There were many small trees and it was easy to lose the way. Jean did a good job. He has experience of these stages from his days on a motorcycle."

Russian Leonid Novitskiy finished the special in 18th position and holds 20th overall, while Brazilian Klever Kolberg held 59th overall at the start of the day and finished the stage into Tambacounda in a superb 16th place, just over a minute behind Hiroshi Masuoka. He now holds 57th in the overall standings.

"I just wish that I could have had good stages like this one last week and during the first days on the Dakar," said Kolberg. "Then we would have been looking at a very good result. The object now is just to reach the finish."

Yaroslav Soloviev held 52nd this morning and was 47th into Tambacounda to remain in 52nd place.

"It was a very good day for the entire team," admitted team spokesman Angelo das Sujit. "We had no punctures, no damaged cars, we hit no trees and we don’t have too much work to do on the cars for tomorrow. If only every day was like that on the Dakar!"

The last of the traditional African special stages – a 225km section between Tambacounda and Dakar in Sénégal – takes place tomorrow (Saturday). The route consists of a wide range of twisty and fast roads through villages and populated areas and starts 124km to the west of Tambacounda at the town of Koumpentoum. The route heads north towards Velingara and turns west to a finish near Mbake. A 227km liaison steers teams into Dakar.





-MMSP

07 Dakar Leg 12 Report

TEAM REPSOL MITSUBISHI RALLIART SAFELY THROUGH STAGE INTO KAYES TO MAINTAIN OVERALL LEAD

18 January 2007
Ayoun - Kayes
Liaison 227kms / SS 257kms
Total 484kms

Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart drivers Stéphane Peterhansel and Luc Alphand stayed in firm control of the 29th Dakar Rally, after the 257km special stage between Ayoûn-el-Atroûs in Mauritania and Kayes in north-western Mali on Thursday. But Alphand and co-driver Gilles Picard managed to reduce Peterhansel’s and Jean-Paul Cottret’s overall lead to just 6m 29s.

Peterhansel and Cottret began the day in fourth position and were a cautious eighth through the first passage control. They finished the stage in sixth place and maintained a reduced lead in the overall standings.

"The stage was very narrow in places between many small trees and we touched one tree on the right-hand side of the car," said Peterhansel. "But the car was perfect otherwise. The stage offered very tricky navigation. About 50km from the end we lost the track and a little time."


Alphand/Picard

Alphand and Picard were sixth into the stage this morning and the fourth fastest crew through PC1. Despite taking no risks, the defending champions set the third fastest time and managed to reduce their team mates’ overall lead to 6m 29s with three stages remaining.

"We started behind Carlos Sainz and he really pushed, so we had a clear track for much of the stage and were able to gain some time," said Alphand. "Now we have to be quiet and intelligent. We had a little navigation problem, about 600 metres the wrong way, but it was the same for several drivers."


Hiroshi Masuoka/Pascal Maimon

Hiroshi Masuoka and Pascal Maimon followed Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah into this morning’s stage in second position and were under team orders to slow down and wait for team mate Peterhansel and shadow him to the stage finish. Masuoka was 19th at PC1 and reached the stage finish in 19th position, although he duly slipped behind the American Marc Miller into sixth overall.

"I played the waiting game today to make sure that the other team drivers were okay," said Masuoka. "It was difficult to avoid the small trees. It will be very difficult for the trucks running behind us on the stage."


Joan ’Nani’ Roma/Lucas Cruz

Joan ’Nani’ Roma and Lucas Cruz started eighth on the road into Kayes, but were six seconds faster than Carlos Sainz at the first PC and the virtual leaders on the stage. Roma eventually finished fifth on the special, which was won by Sainz from Portugal’s Carlos Sousa.

"I was running very well to the first PC," said Roma. "But, after the water, I caught a Mitsubishi and thought it was Luc in the dust. I followed him, but it was Hiroshi. We both took the wrong route and both cars had to turn around. I lost a little time there, but more time following in Hiroshi’s dust. There are only about 500km of racing to go, but they will feel very long…"

"It was a good day for us," said MMSP’s Managing and Sporting Director Dominique Serieys. "We now have to be very careful over the next three days and keep our concentration. There is a great spirit within our team. I will have a chat tonight with Isao Torii and we will discuss a team strategy. Tomorrow’s stage through Black Africa is very narrow and technical and we don’t want a fight between our two drivers on the stages. They are professional and will fully understand the situation."

China’s Lui Bin and Thai Pornsiriched hold 49th and 68th places in Kayes


Lui Bin/Serge Henninot

China’s Lui Bin and French co-driver Serge Henninot began the stage in 46th overall and 28th position on the stage. They were 42nd fastest into Kayes and slipped to 49th place.

"It was okay today, but I think the stage was more tiring than the last two specials in Mauritania," said Bin. "It was more like a jungle. There were some low trees with no tops, just roots and stumps. It was easy to break the suspension. I broke a mirror on the tree, but nothing serious."

Frenchman Dominique Housieaux and co-driver Jean-Michel Polato were the 39th team into today’s stage in their Mitsubishi L200 Triton and finished 23rd. They remain the leading Mitsubishi privateers in 19th place.


Mana Pornsiriched/Jean Brucy

Thailand’s Mana Pornsiriched and French co-driver Jean Brucy were classified 24th at the finish of the day’s stage and now hold 68th overall.

"The stage today reminded me of a typical special in Thailand," said Pornsiriched. "It was not so difficult, but more of a test for my co-driver and his navigation skills. We hit three tiny trees today. There was no major damage, but just some scratches on the car."

Russian Leonid Novitskiy was 21st on the road this morning, while Brazilian Klever Kolberg began this morning’s stage 22nd on the road, behind the Russian. The Brazilian finished the stage in an excellent 20th position and now holds 59th, while the Russian is 21st overall after setting the 15th fastest time.

"The landscape and the scenery in Mali were very beautiful," said Novitskiy. "There were many small baobab trees on the stage and we were very careful. We grazed some gently, but nothing too serious. No problems with the car."

Yaroslav Soloviev was 43rd of the 111 starters to leave Ayoûn-el-Atroûs this morning and finished the stage in 35th place to hold 52nd position.

Tomorrow (Friday) is the penultimate of the longer Dakar Rally stages and begins with a 180km liaison across the border into Sénégal. Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart will then tackle a varied 260km special on stony terrain and across laterite piste to finish a mere 18km from the Sénégalese town of Tambacounda, a regular stopover on the Dakar Rally and the final bivouac on this year’s event.

There are now only around 1,127km for competitors to cross before they reach the finish in Dakar and a mere 501km are competitive.





-MMSP