Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart Team and three of its crews - Luc Alphand/Gilles Picard (France), Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret (France) and Joan 'Nani' Roma/Lucas Cruz (Spain) - gathered at Montlhéry, 20km south of Paris, yesterday to launch their bid to extend the team's record on the world's most famous cross country rally event, the Dakar, to 13 wins from 26 starts. The team's fourth driver/co-driver pairing, Hiroshi Masuoka/Pascal Maimon (Japan/France), was unable to attend the press conference because of final car set-up work in Tunisia this week.
Although the presentation's venue - a cold, foggy forest beside the historic French race track - was a far cry from the desert terrain the team will tackle when January's west African marathon starts in earnest, Team Director Dominique Serieys (France) confirmed that the final countdown to the 30th edition of the celebrated event had well and truly begun.
"Every Dakar represents at least 18 months of meticulous planning, and here we are with just a few weeks to go before the start of the 2008 event in Lisbon, Portugal, on January 3," he said. "Mitsubishi has a long and successful record on this rally but each year represents a fresh challenge. Our aim will be to win and hopefully extend our record to eight consecutive victories. We know it won't be simple, though: the Dakar is never easy and, once again, we will face stiff opposition from rival manufacturers. That said, we know we can count on several trump cards, including the experience of the team and our four crews, the proven record and reliability of the Pajero/Montero Evolution MPR13 and also the strong bond that has grown between the drivers, co-drivers and everyone in the team."
Given the punishing menu of long, hard days at the wheel and two weeks of fierce competition in what remains a uniquely hostile environment, Dominique Serieys places significant importance on the physical fitness of his crews. Indeed, building on a five-day hike round the Mont Blanc which all four crews attended last summer, Luc Alphand, Stéphane Peterhansel, Nani Roma and their respective co-drivers spent last week in the mountains of Catalonia, near Barcelona, for another week of cycling, walking and climbing. However, rather than focus on their fitness per se (the different members of the team work out on a regular basis all year round), the intention was to consolidate their already acute sense of team spirit which can be so vital on such a long and gruelling event as the Dakar.
"Last week's programme took place very near my house, in Berga, so it was a great pleasure for me to share my home region with all my team-mates," smiles Nani Roma. "I am the most recent recruit to the team and this approach was new to me when I joined Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart Team but it didn't take me long to fully understand its value. I think we are all quite fit, but taking time off to 'relax' together in this way before the final rush to the start of the Dakar is a great way to reinforce the bond that exists between us and that is definitely one of our strengths."
Dominique Serieys also profited from the team's presentation to underline the positive, long term relationships his squad enjoys with partners like Repsol, Valeo and BFGoodrich whose contribution on the technological front has played a major role in the team's success over the years. Indeed, today's media event ran concurrently with a special Valeo operation aimed at promoting the latter's latest automotive innovations, some of which already feature on the 2008 Dakar Pajero/Montero Evolution - including Xenon and LED lighting systems and flat-blade wiper technology - while the two parties are working closely together on future projects, too. "Valeo is a valued sponsor and a very valuable technical partner whose contribution plays a big part in our development and competition programmes," confirms Dominique Serieys.
The next event in the team's busy November/December diary will be the official presentation of the 2008 Dakar by the organisers ASO in Paris on Wednesday morning (November 21). Building of the four Dakar cars is currently being completed at the team's base in Pont de Vaux, France, and they will undergo a two-day shakedown test on December 17/18.
