LEG 8 - GUELB AGANTOUR/GUELB AGANTOUR
With a fifth win in a row in the 2011 Africa Eco Race, Jean-Louis Schlesser and his famous blue Buggy take the first place in the overall classification after a tough loop, 408km long in the heart of the most beautiful landscapes of Mauritania.
Some lakes in the dunes and black mountains with a little bit of grass, this eighth stage of the Africa Eco Race was amazing.
Those who are used to Africa know that these beautiful landscapes are difficult to conquere. From today, teams of the Africa Eco Race learnt it as well…
More than 400km of pure navigation, between rocky plateau, magnificent dunes and technical parts: one more time, René Metge made a beautiful stage.
Winner of the day, Jean-Louis Schlesser takes the first place in the overall classification, while the blue boys team signs a double victory with the crew Lethier-Zhiltsov, four minutes behind the “boss”. Another driver could have battled for the victory, the Belgian Stéphane Henrard (VW TDI Buggy). Stéphane was on his way to win, but had a puncture 15km before the finish line. But now the driver from Brussells is not so far from his first victory, as far as his VW TDI Buggy is really efficient. Neither so good a day for Pélichet-Decré (Wildcat Bowler). First in the overall since the second stage, the team lost more than half an hour in the dunes, but really wants to keep its second place until Dakar.
However, it was a bad day for the MD Rallye Sport team. Their two cars had to retire… Régis Delahaye and Alexandre Winocq broke their engine only twenty kilometers after the start. Same for Jean-Noël Julien and Arnaud Debron’s Mégane prototype, who did some mechanics all day long, but it was finally impossible to repair.
Fifth of the day, the SMG Buggy of Patrick Sireyjol and Patrick Antoniolli had a lot of problems as well during this more than tough day. First at the CP1, they had to reach the finish line on the opposite direction because of a slow puncture. Always consistent since the first stage, the Egyptian Mido Abouyoussef and Mahmoud Nour El Din (Desert Warriror) are sixth today, but they are still fifth in the overall classification, despite of a little problem of overheat today.
Very consistant since the beginning of the race, the Russian Sergey Savenko is eighth. Still on their way at the moment, we are waiting for the Frenchmen Jérome Bonfils and Jean-Luc Butez, who are supposed to arrive during the night.
In the trucks category, in this difficult stage, Tomas Tomecek (Tatra) and Elisabete Jacinto (MAN) had an intensive fight. The Czech still has the advantage, thanks to his more handle and lighter truck, which was really good in the dunes where the MAN, heavier and not really designed for this kind of track, lost hardly half an hour.
On two wheels, the victory of the day is for the young French rider, Thomas Bourgin (KTM), who feels better day after day after his big fall of the second stage. The rider from Saint-Etienne is behind the leader Willy Jobard, while Norbert Dubois (KTM) was a little bit lost today, indeed he made a lot of mistakes in navigation…
WHAT THEY SAID
BIKES
Willy Jobard (Fra/KTM) : « The sequence of stages is really punishing. I have to preserve my body and my bike as well... It is really tough. Well done to Thomas, who won the stage today despite of his injuries…”
CARS
Jean-Louis Schlesser (Fra/Buggy Monster): « A beautiful stage again. The countryside was gorgeous, but it was endlessly and the navigation had to be precise, especially a pass to find, which was not so easy. Tomorrow, I think that I will let my teammate to take the initiative…”
François Lethier (Fra/Buggy Original): «It was the evil. We passed some incredible dunes. In the last kilometers of the stage, Henrard was just behind me. Then, we didn’t see him anymore. I think that Mauritania still has some surprises for us…
Stéphane Henrard (Bel/Buggy VW TDI): « It becomes frustrating to miss the victory for hardly nothing, but when I had a puncture just fifteen kilometers before the finish line, it was impossible to reverse the situation. I’m not afraid of Lethier’s Buggy. I know that I can be faster than him.»
Jérôme Pélichet (Fra/Bowler Wildcat): «What a bad day for us. Stucked in the dunes, we lost a lot of time. Very tired, we decided to give up fighting with Jean-Louis to stay focused on the second position.”
Mido Abouyoussef (Egy/Desert Warrior): «A very beautiful, but lengthy stage today. Everything went well, but we had to stop a few times in the dunes to allow the engine to cool down…”
TRUCKS
Tomas Tomecek (Tch/Tatra): « The Africa Eco Race is not only some accelerations and breakings in Morocco. Mauritania is really different. We have to be able to pass the dunes, to find the good way…and to be lucky!”
Elisabete Jacinto (Por/MAN): «The fight with Tomecek was beautiful, but in the dunes, I have no chance to beat him. We still lose a lot of time in the soft sand with our production model truck…”
