• First triumph of the Portuguese woman driver in Morocco• Podium whith Cyril Despres and two former motards (Peterhansel and Elisabete)

The Rallye Oilibya du Maroc 2010 has finished, and Elisabete Jacinto added another brilliant victory to her remarkable prize-list. The Team Oleoban MAN Portugal driver, who entered the African competition with Belgian navigator Charly Gotlib and the mechanic Marco Cochinho, climbed this afternoon to the highest place on the podium set at Zagora, podium which was also occupied by Cyril Despres and Stéphane Peterhansel.

Today, at the Desert GP, a 40km circuit with four laps, Elisabete Jacinto,  driving her MAN TGS, registered 2h17m04s, 7m18s less than the Hungarian Kovacs, in a Scania, who was second. This result put Elisabete Jacinto in 11th place on the joint Car/Truck classification and enabled her to gain a position on the final general classification, where she obtained the same result.

“Today we had a very cute streak. On open country, but also with some passages through dunes, not very high, but some cars stayed there. We were better from lap to lap, and it was an excellent special to finish the rally”, explains Elisabete Jacinto, who adds: “I liked this rally very much. The trajectory was very well chosen, the variety of trails, remarkable. On our part, the team worked very well, as always. The truck was at its best level, and that allowed me to conquer places, streak after streak. We lost some time during the first streak, with the eagerness to drive very fast, but it served us as a lesson. It was an excellent rally.”

The Rallye Oilibya du Maroc 2010 was the last great competition of the 2010 season, and it was useful to prepare for Africa Eco Race, where Elisabete Jacinto bets on achieving a good result and, who knows?, perhaps she’ll bring one more victory to Portugal.