TEAM REPSOL MITSUBISHI RALLIART - UAE DESERT CHALLENGE 2007

2007 FIA CROSS-COUNTRY RALLY WORLD CUP - Round 5 - UAE DESERT CHALLENGE (OCTOBER 27-NOVEMBER 2)

REPSOL MITSUBISHI RALLIART TARGETS A 6TH CONSECUTIVE WIN IN DUBAI WITH A THREE-CAR ENTRY

The fifth and final round of the 2007 FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup takes crews to Dubai for the UAE Desert Challenge which will give the Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart team and its drivers a final chance to prepare competitively for the 2008 Dakar. Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) and its motorsport unit MMSP have entered three Pajero/Montero Evolution MPR13s for the six-day, 2,210km event. These cars will be crewed by last year's winners Luc Alphand/Gilles Picard (France), the 2006 runners-up Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret (France) and Joan 'Nani' Roma/Lucas Cruz (Spain).

The Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart squad faces a menu of six special stages ranging in length from 123 to 339 kilometres and totalling just over 1,505km, plus a short 2km super-special in Dubai on the Sunday before the start (Oct 28). The action will begin in earnest after the following morning's official start ceremony in front of Abu Dhabi's Emirates Palace. Competitors will then spend four nights at the Moreeb desert bivouac before returning to Dubai for the finish at the International Marine Club on the afternoon of Friday November 2nd.

Mitsubishi has contested the UAE Desert Challenge every year since 1992 and the team has gone undefeated since 2002 thanks to a score of three wins for Stéphane Peterhansel (2002, 2003 and 2005) and a win each for Hiroshi Masuoka (2004) and Luc Alphand (2006). It is also here that the Pajero/Montero Evolution MPR13 made its debut last November before going on to claim the 2007 Dakar.

"The Middle East is a big market for Mitsubishi and the timing of the UAE Desert Challenge makes it a key fixture in the countdown to the Dakar," points out Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart Team Sporting Director Dominique Serieys who won this event himself as co-driver alongside Bruno Saby in 1996. "For three-quarters of our Dakar line-up, it will be a great opportunity to stay match fit. Luc, Nani and Stéphane will all be competing and Hiroshi Masuoka is also scheduled to take part in a busy three-day test programme on site immediately after the finish. At the same time, the varied desert terrain will enable us to validate the lessons learned with the MPR13 in testing earlier in the year in Morocco, as well as on the summer's Por Las Pampas Rally. Last but not least, it will be a valuable chance to measure the effect that the changes to the technical regulations governing petrol-engined have had on the car on an event for which we benefit from good benchmarks."

Stéphane Peterhansel has significant experience of the UAE Desert Challenge. In addition to his early participations on two wheels, he has won it three times for Mitsubishi and was runner-up to team-mate Alphand last season. "This rally tends to be similar in style from year to year," he acknowledges, "but you can never be entirely sure what a dune is going to do, and that's where the experience factor comes in. As usual, this year's event will be a great way to prepare for the Dakar, especially since the 2008 route features plenty of sand and dunes. On a personal note, it will also be nice to be competing again. Apart from the Dakar, I've only contested the Baja Espana so far this year, although I've done a great deal of testing. I was also in Brazil recently doing some development work for a private Mitsubishi team. In addition I stepped up my fitness programme, not only for the Dakar but also for the Desert Challenge where the heat can take its toll if you're not in tip-top shape."

Nani Roma is the only member of this year's Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart line-up not to have won the UAE Desert Challenge. After two second-place finishes so far this year in Portugal (Transiberico) and Spain (Baja), he will be keen to join his team-mates in the event's record books. "The Desert Challenge marks the third anniversary of my debut on four wheels and I hopefully now have sufficient experience of this type of terrain to make a real contribution to the team's overall effort," observes the Spaniard. "However, at least as important perhaps as the final result is the fact that we will be able to evaluate the recent changes that have been made to the car. For me, it will be a chance to get some more competitive action under my belt before the busy build-up to the Dakar really begins. I haven't competed since July, so I'm very much looking forward to this rally."

Last year's UAE Desert Challenge winner Luc Alphand will not only be looking for a repeat success in Dubai this time round but he would also love to follow up his victory last month in Chile with another top result on the last round of the 2007 FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup. "I'm looking forward to a good fight and I think that all the work put in by the technical team on the MPR13 has produced positive results. I drove the car competitively in South America for the first time since our summer testing and I was impressed by its performance over the wide variety of conditions we encountered, including lots of sand and dunes. We've also got a few ideas to explore, so it's going to be a very important event with the prospect of a difficult Dakar coming so soon afterwards. Like my team-mates, I've been working on my fitness for the final part of the year and I feel extremely motivated."

Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart and Luc Alphand are still both in contention for their respective Cross-Country Rally World Cups. The Japanese carmaker is only four points behind the leader in the provisional Manufacturers' standings, while the Frenchman is just six points short of the Drivers' crown with 15 points up for grabs for the winner in both categories in Dubai.