Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports (MMSP) team drivers Stephane Peterhansel and Hiroshi Masuoka completed the 13th special stage of the Telefonica Dakar rally between Bamako and Ayoun El Atrous in the southern extremities of the Mauritanian desert in eighth and seventh places yesterday. Both drivers retained first and second positions in the overall standings.
At the wheel of a pair of Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolutions, the pair had no need to take risks over the 478 kms special. Defending champion Masuoka held fifth position through the second passage control at the 286 kms point and reached the third passage control point in a similar position before easing his pace towards the end.
Peterhansel and co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret began the stage 2h 18m 16s ahead of third-placed Frenchman Jean-Louis Schlesser and the leading Mitsubishi duo arrived at the tiny bivouac 2h 29m 59s ahead of the twice former champion's Buggy after gaining over 11 minutes. Four special stages now stand between Peterhansel and his first Dakar victory on four wheels.
"It was not at all easy," said Peterhansel. "The stage was technical and we lost our way two or three times. I took no risks today. It was slippery and there were many trees on the exits of the corners. I was running level with Schlesser about 80 kms from the end. We lost the road and I found the correct track quite quickly and did not see Schlesser again." "It was a very difficult stage today," said Masuoka. "There was no room for one single mistake. The track was very narrow with a lot of trees. It was easy to slide into trouble, but I am very happy with the car. No problems at all."
Germany lady driver Andrea Mayer began the stage in sixth position with co- driver Andreas Schulz and finished 11th overall on the section into Mauritania to retain her top six position.
"It was an enjoyable stage today," said Mayer. "It was fast and flowing and quite easy to get into a good rhythm. But I kept telling myself to slow down, because I am here as support to my team mates."
"It was good news all round for us today," said Sven Quandt, MMSP's Head of Motorsport. "The next two days will be very tough, especially Friday to Nouakchott where there will be lots of dunes. We know what happened last year and we are keeping our fingers crossed. We have issued no team orders. We have just told our drivers that we expect the cars to reach the finish in one piece. That means that they can drive at their own sensible pace, but not take any risks."
Former World Rally Champion Colin McRae became only the second Scotsman in history to win a stage of the Dakar Rally by setting the fastest time today, 14 years after former Mitsubishi Ralliart Motorsport Director Andrew Cowan won a stage for the Mitsubishi team.
Today has all the makings of another treacherous special stage between Ayoun El Atrous and a return to Tidjikja. The stage heads out of the bivouac and crosses numerous small dunes en route for the settlement of Tamcheket.
The going becomes increasingly difficult, as teams tackle the giant dunes near the 200-meter Taskast cliffs and a further 130 kms fast section to the stage finish, four kilometers from Tidjikja.
Ralliart Teams : Kolberg and Lourival lead Mitsubishi Ralliart Team
Brazilians Klever Kolberg and Roldan Lourival set the 13th fastest time on the stage into Ayoun El Atrous to condolidate their ninth position in the overall classification. Frenchman Dominique Housieux and co-driver Loic Fagot were 15th and continue to hold 10th place.
Qatar's Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah was penalised five minutes in the Bamako bivouac for a minor speeding infringement and finished yesterday's stage in 13th position and slipped back to 12th in the overall standings behind South Africa's Giniel de Villiers.
Thai driver Siriwat Pornsawan enjoyed the return to the desert in his Mitsubishi L200 Strada. "The Black African stages were a little like racing in Thailand, but there was much more dust than we get at home," said the multiple Thai champion. "My car is running perfectly. I feel that we are on the home straight now and I can sense that Dakar is not far away!"
Poland's Lukasz Komornicki started the day in 20th place in the Team Orlen Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero after delays last week in Mauritania. They finished the stage in 10th overall yesterday.
Team Mitsubishi Ralliart China's Luo Ding and French co-driver Serge Henninot began yesterday's stage in 68th position, as the Chinese bids to complete the Dakar Rally for the first time at his second attempt. Ding's Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero suffered slight damage on Tuesday, when he clouted a tree on the liaison section into Bamako.
