2010 Dakar Report: Tonnie Van Deijne, the next step

The association between Tonnie Van Deijne and Wouter Roosegar has already been successful: Engaged together on the three latest editions, they completed each of them, reaching Buenos Aires in 27th position in spite of a mechanic problem which costed hours four days before the finish. This year the crew is even a bit more ambitious and gets ready for a good result. With Luc Alphand 2007 Pajero (2nd), Tonnie Van Deijne might even be the first Dutchman to finish the Dakar in the Top 10 from 1998.

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

All 3 Racing Lancers in Top 10 after Stage 3 of 09 Dakar

2009 DAKAR RALLY
5 JANUARY 2009
LEG 3

PUERTO MADRYN (Argentina) to JACOBACCI (Argentina)
Road section: 70km - SS3: 616km - Road section: 8km
Total Distance: 694km

MITSUBISHI DUO MAINTAIN THEIR COMPOSURE ON THIRD DAKAR STAGE ACROSS PATAGONIA STAGE CLASSIFICATION



Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart’s team director Dominique Serieys insists that he is not watching the leader board through the opening three or four days of the 2009 Dakar Rally.

But team crews Stéphane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret (both France) and Joan ’Nani’ Roma and Lucas Cruz Senra (both Spain) remain firmly in contention for the overall lead after the third leg of the event across the Patagonian wastelands between Puerto Madryn and Ingeniero Jacobacci on Monday.

They set the fifth and sixth fastest times in a pair of turbo-diesel ’Racing Lancers’ and now hold fourth and fifth in the overall classification. Luc Alphand and Gilles Picard (both France) were delayed for around 30 minutes before the first passage control with a minor fuel leak and slipped to 10th overall. The stage win fell to Nasser Al-Attiyah (Qatar), although Carlos Sainz (Spain) maintained the overall lead in the general classification.

The stage was shortened from 616km to 550km and meandered its way through the Patagonian lowlands, crossing scrub and grasslands along twisty and sometimes technical trails, before beginning a gradual climb towards the overnight halt at around 900 metres above sea level.

Monday evening’s bivouac at Ingeniero Jacobacci was a far cry from the sunny conditions at Puerto Madryn on the Atlantic coast 24 hours’ before. The town was formerly known as Nahuel Niyeo, but was renamed in 1926 after the engineer who built the railway that now links the town with the outside world and was also the location for the overnight halt on the Dakar.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) is the fourth leg of the 2009 Dakar Rally between Ingeneiro Jacobacci and Neuquén, the 459km special starting just four kilometers from the bivouac and featuring numerous rocky and sandy sections and several wadis. The route passes through the Sierra Mesanlyes and meanders to the north-east of the Negro river to finish near the renowned Valley of the Dinosaurs in a protected geological area dating back to the Cretaceous Period.

The final 25km liaison takes teams to the overnight halt near the confluence of the Limay and Neuquén rivers. Neuquén has a strong agricultural background, is the capital city of the province of the same name and is the largest city in Patagonia.

What they said?

Dominique Serieys, Team Director
"We will really see what develops over the coming days and then we will get a better indication of the overall situation in this rally."

Luc Alphand
"We had a fuel leak and had to stop and take everything out from the rear to see where the problem was. Everything else was fine today, but a fuel seal was not working and it cost me over 30 minutes trying to sort it all out. That was very frustrating."

Stéphane Peterhansel
"If the route is like the organisers said, then the first three stages were very fast and then it becomes more difficult. I hope that is true because we could be in a better position. Since the start I had no problems with the car but I struggled to follow Carlos Sainz this morning. He was too fast. I look forward to the more technical stages."

Joan ’Nani’ Roma
"I don’t feel too bad about our position heading into the next group of stages. I had a puncture near the end, but we are still in the chasing pack and I am quite happy with my position on the road for tomorrow."

MITSUBISHI’S SPINELLI FROM BRAZIL HOLDS 11TH POSITION IN HIS PAJERO/MONTERO EVOLUTION

Privately-run Mitsubishis completed the second special stage of the 2009 Dakar Rally between Santa Rosa de la Pampa and the Patagonian coastal resort of Puerto Madryn without major problems on Sunday.

Guilherme Spinelli and Marcelo Vivolo (both Brazil) were running just outside the top 10 in an excellent 11th place in their ex-factory Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution. The pair were a mere 1m 11s behind the powerful Hummer of 10th-placed Robbie Gordon (USA), but Spinelli lost a little time on the third special stage between Puerto Madryn and Ingeniero Jacobacci on Monday morning, although he recovered quickly to set the 13th fastest time and maintained 11th place.

"Everything is going very well so far and we are extremely happy with the position we have," said Spinelli’s team manager and former Bike and Mitsubishi Pajero driver Klever Kolberg.

Mitsubishi Thailand-backed Mana Pornsiricherd (Thailand) was tackling the Dakar once again in a Mitsubishi Pajero sport this time and held 96th place with co-driver Thierry Lacambre (France) after the stage into Puerto Madryn. But he lost time when he was stuck in the sand and a rival competitor collided with the rear of his car.

This delay forced him to start further down the field on the long stage across Patagonia into Ingeniero Jacobacci and Mana held 83rd position on the stage at PC1 on Monday evening.

SS3 CLASSIFICATION
Pos	Driver Co-Driver	Nat	Vehicle	Cat	Total Time	Diff Leader
1	Nasser AL ATTIYAH Tina THORNER	QAT S	BMW X3 CC	T1.2	4:29:27	**:**
2	Carlos SAINZ Michel PERIN	E F	VOLKSWAGEN RACE TOUAREG	T1.2	4:30:02	+0:35
3	Dieter DEPPING Timo GOTTSCHALK	D D	VOLKSWAGEN RACE TOUAREG	T1.2	4:31:07	+1:40
4	Giniel DE VILLIERS Dirk VON ZITZEWITZ	AFS D	VOLKSWAGEN RACE TOUAREG	T1.2	4:33:28	+4:01
5	Stephane PETERHANSEL Jean-Paul COTTRET	F F	MITSUBISHI RACING LANCER	T1.2	4:34:58	+5:31
6	Mark MILLER Ralph PITCHFORD	USA AFS	VOLKSWAGEN RACE TOUAREG	T1.2	4:37:27	+8:00
7	Orlando TERRANOVA Alain GUEHENNEC	RA F	BMW X3 CC	T1.2	4:38:31	+9:04
8	Joan ROMA Lucas CRUZ	E E	MITSUBISHI RACING LANCER	T1.2	4:38:42	+9:15
9	Guerlain CHICHERIT Matthieu BAUMEL	F F	BMW X3 CC	T1.2	4:41:15	+11:48
10	Robby GORDON Andy GRIDER	USA USA	HUMMER H3	OP1	4:43:02	+13:35
11	Krzysztof HOLOWCZYC Jean-Marc FORTIN	POL B	NISSAN NAVARA	T1.1	4:53:14	+23:47
12	Peter VAN MERKSTEIJN Eddy CHEVAILLIER	NL B	BMW X3 CC	T1.2	4:55:37	+26:10

OVERALL CLASSIFICATION AFTER SS3
Pos	Driver Co-Driver	Nat	Vehicle	Cat	Total Time	Diff Leader
1	Carlos SAINZ Michel PERIN	E F	VOLKSWAGEN RACE TOUAREG	T1.2	9:04:48	**:**
2	Nasser AL ATTIYAH Tina THORNER	QAT S	BMW X3 CC	T1.2	9:08:28	+3:40
3	Giniel DE VILLIERS Dirk VON ZITZEWITZ	AFS D	VOLKSWAGEN RACE TOUAREG	T1.2	9:10:33	+5:45
4	Stephane PETERHANSEL Jean-Paul COTTRET	F F	MITSUBISHI RACING LANCER	T1.2	9:13:35	+8:47
5	Joan ROMA Lucas CRUZ	E E	MITSUBISHI RACING LANCER	T1.2	9:19:10	+14:22
6	Mark MILLER Ralph PITCHFORD	USA AFS	VOLKSWAGEN RACE TOUAREG	T1.2	9:20:33	+15:45
7	Orlando TERRANOVA Alain GUEHENNEC	RA F	BMW X3 CC	T1.2	9:22:29	+17:41
8	Krzysztof HOLOWCZYC Jean-Marc FORTIN	POL B	NISSAN NAVARA	T1.1	9:39:13	+34:25
9	Robby GORDON Andy GRIDER	USA USA	HUMMER H3	OP1	9:39:20	+34:32
10	Luc ALPHAND Gilles PICARD	F F	MITSUBISHI RACING LANCER	T1.2	9:43:35	+38:47
11	Guilherme SPINELLI Marcelo VIVOLO	BRA BRA	MITSUBISHI PAJERO	T1.1	9:54:15	+49:27
12	Peter VAN MERKSTEIJN Eddy CHEVAILLIER	NL B	BMW X3 CC	T1.2	9:55:51	+51:03

e

L. ALPHAND/G. PICARD (RACING LANCER MRX09)


J. ROMA/L. CRUZ (RACING LANCER MRX09)


S. PETERHANSEL/J. COTTRET (RACING LANCER MRX09)


G. SPINELLI/M. VIVOLO (PAJERO EVOLUTION MPR13)


M. PORNSIRICHERD/T. LACAMBRE (PAJERO SPORT EVOLUTION)