Round 3 - POR LAS PAMPAS RALLY
WINTRY WEATHER FOR REPSOL MITSUBISHI RALLIART AND LUC ALPHAND / GILLES PICARD IN SOUTH AMERICA WITH PAJERO / MONTERO EVOLUTION
The Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart squad has arrived in Argentina for the third round of the 2007 FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup and faces a snowy start to the South American marathon today..
Last year's Por Las Pampas Rally winner and former World Cup skiing champion Luc Alphand (France) is revelling in the conditions he found on his arrival in the Argentine winter sports resort, San Carlos de Bariloche, the event's official start venue. "The peaks and slopes around us are all white and the 3,000-metre altitude mountain pass we will cross in the Andes tomorrow on the run-out to the first competitive section in southern Chile is under many metres of snow," he reports.
Thermometers in the start venue, which is currently bathed in crisp winter sunshine, barely exceed the 0°C mark. However, once the Andes Mountains are behind them, competitors can expect milder temperatures for the opening 182km test which runs closer to the Pacific Ocean before the first overnight halt in Valdivia.
"I am expecting the first forest stages to be muddy and very narrow in places," continues Luc, "but I can't wait to get started; it's great to be back here. Our shakedown test went very well and today (Monday) we've got scrutineering before serious business gets underway tomorrow."
At the wheel of their Pajero/Montero Evolution MPR13, Luc and his co-driver Gilles Picard (France) will be targeting a second consecutive success with Mitsubishi on the Latin American marathon which this year takes them on a 4,116km route from southern Argentina to Iquique at the northern tip of Chile.
"With the exception of the Dakar, which is only four months away, we mustn't forget that the Por Las Pampas Rally is the longest event on the cross-country rally calendar and we don't underestimate the challenge that awaits us," underlines Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart Team Director Dominique Serieys (France). "There is no question of treating this event as a stroll. For one thing, it will be good preparation for the Dakar for Luc and Gilles, and we will also be looking to gather valuable information about the car over a cross-section of conditions we rarely get to compete in elsewhere."
The nine-day rally features a total competitive distance of 2,315km divided into nine special stages ranging in length from 31 to 503 kilometres, plus a short 3km spectator showpiece on the beach at Vina del Mar, near the Chilean capital, Santiago. Action starts on Tuesday 28th August with a 279km road section from San Carlos de Bariloche, across the Andes and over the border into Chile before the difficult and varied 182km opening stage and the first overnight halt in Valdivia, on the Pacific coast, 842km south of Santiago.
ENTRY LISTNo. Driver / Co-Driver / Vehicle101 Luc Alphand (F) / Gilles Picard (F) / Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution102 Pablo Nobre (BR) / Flipe Palmeiro (P) / BMW X3103 Philippe Vandromme (F) / Frederic Vivier (F) / Bat Buggy104 Alain De Mevius (BR) / Emmanuel Eggermont (B) / Bat Buggy105 Jose Luis Monterde (E) / Jean-Marie Lurquin (B) / Nissan Navara106 Orlando Terranova (RA) / Lee Palmer (AUS) / BMW X3107 Juan Llobet (E) / Oscar Montano (E) / Mitsubishi Montero108 Marcos De Moraes (BR) / Chevrolet 109 Andres Merri (RA) / Daniel Trippar (RA) / Mitsubishi L200 Sport110 Eduardo Blanco (RA) / Marco Ferran (E) / Toyota Hilux 3.0111 Andres De Carcer (RCH) / Mitsubishi L200 RS112 Francisco Requnaschi (RA) / Angel Blazquez (RA) / Toyota Hilux113 Claudio Sampieri (RCH) / Macarena Tondreau (RCH) / Nissan Pathfinder114 Jorge Latrach (RCH) / Americo Aliaga (RCH) / Toyota Prado115 Guillermo Arrieta (ROU) / Fernando Arrieta (ROU) / Kia Sorento EX116 Pablo Valdes (RCH)/ Enrique Munoz (RCH) / Toyota Hilux117 Gabriel Peschiera (I) / Juan Jeria (RCH) / Nissan Terrano
