... in Dubai

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

With the pre-start formalities now behind them, every one of the crews entered by Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart for the 2007 UAE Desert Challenge is looking forward to a week of challenging desert motorsport action

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) and its motorsport unit MMSP are present with three Pajero/Montero Evolution MPR13s for 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). All three crews see the six-day event as a first class chance to prepare for the 2008 Dakar and an opportunity to size up the competition they can expect on next January's African marathon.

Stéphane Peterhansel and Nani Roma, who haven't driven competitively since their one-two finish on the Baja Espana in July, are especially keen to get started, while Luc Alphand will be hoping to make it two wins in a row after his success less than two months ago on the Por Las Pampas Rally. Victory would also spell two consecutive Desert Challenge wins after his first place in Dubai in 2006.

"It's great to be back here, even though it's very hot, about 36°C I would say," said Alphand after posing with his team-mates and rival teams for the organisers' official photo in front of the Dubai Marina. "There is a very strong entry for this year's event and everyone will be looking to win. That said, this event forms an important part of our build-up to the Dakar, too. For us, it will be a chance to evaluate the fruit of the busy development work the team has carried out on the Pajero/Montero Evolution MPR13. We will also be able to see how we compare with the rivals we will face in Africa following the changes to the regulations that have affected the petrol and diesel cars differently"

Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart Team Director Dominique Serieys (France) confirmed that yesterday's shakedown session some 30km to the southeast of Dubai had gone smoothly. "It was basically a chance to do a systems check on all three cars, allow the crews to settle in and also fine-tune the set-ups for the sandy stages that await us this week," he reported.

Stéphane Peterhansel has already won the UAE Desert Challenge three times for Mitsubishi and was runner-up to team-mate Alphand last season. "It's a unique event inasmuch as it runs almost entirely on sand and over dunes," observed the 2007 Dakar winner. "That means you can choose a set-up without having to think in terms of making comprises for different types of terrain. The important thing here is to run much harder suspension than you would on a mixed surface event. If you run too soft, you risk compounding the lack of precision that goes hand in hand with competing on sand. We won't have to keep stopping to adjust our tyre pressures either as we would do on terrain that also includes rocks and stones"

Nani Roma's 2007 record so far includes second-place finishes in Portugal (Transiberico) and Spain (Baja) and he would obviously like to go one better this week to join his team-mates in the Dubai-based event's record books: "Tomorrow's super-special is very short but we cannot afford to take it lightly. Compared to the Dakar, the UAE Desert Challenge is a sprint, so it will be important to be as close as possible to the leaders when the real competition begins with Monday's 272.50km stage.'

The 2,210km event includes just over 1,507km of competitive action. Following Sunday's super-special, the official start will be given in Abu Dhabi on Monday morning and the rally is scheduled to finish at 1pm local time next Friday in Dubai.

Team 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 Luc Alphand and Gilles Picard are just six points short of the Drivers' and Co-Drivers' crowns with 15 points up for grabs for the winner in both categories in Dubai.