Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports (MMSP) team mates Stephane Peterhansel and Hiroshi Masuoka retained their first and second places in the overall standings of the Telefonica Dakar Rally after the 548 kms Marathon stage into Tidjikja today (Thursday).
Peterhansel held second position through PC2 today and maintained his pace to the finish to move within three days of recording his maiden Dakar triumph on four wheels. Partnered by Jean-Paul Cottret, the Frenchman takes a 1h 05m 04s advantage over team mate Hiroshi Masuoka into the last of the long desert sections to Nouakchott on Friday.
"The stage started very fast this morning, but we lost the correct track after 150 kms," said Peterhansel, who has a 2h 31m 44s lead over third-placed Jean-Louis Schlesser's Buggy. "We drove with Hiroshi and (Gregoire) De Mevius for a time until we regained the track. It was a technical stage, with camel grass and some dunes. We had no problems, but I will not even think about the win until we see the Pink Lake in Dakar. I remember the pain I felt last year when I had the problem near the end. There are three stages to go. On Saturday there are sections of chott and these could be very difficult."
Masuoka and co-driver Gilles Picard were fifth through today's stage, despite a flat tyre just before the first passage control.
"I had my first flat tyre on the entire rally today," said Masuoka. "It was a right front flat. We lost our way with Stephane, but then I drove steadily. Tomorrow is my last chance to pass him, but I know it is not possible. Even if I drove maximum it would be impossible to catch him, so I will be sensible."
German lady support driver Andrea Mayer and co-driver Andreas Schulz were classified eighth through today's stage and improves to fifth position overall. "It was a good day for me with easy navigation and the stage was not difficult to drive," said Mayer.
"It was a long day again, but we had no major problems," said MMSP's Team Director Dominique Serieys. "We will wait for the racing trucks and then check the cars this evening. Both Hiroshi and Stephane have a measure of the competition and drove slowly today. It may get slightly easier after tomorrow, but we will not even think about Sunday until we are in Dakar."
The 548 kms section began adjacent to the Ayoun El Atrous bivouac and headed across the desert to a finish four kilometers from Tidjikja. Weather conditions deteriorated late on Wednesday in Ayoun El Atrous, as a sandstorm prevailed for much of the night. Rain greeted organisation staff and members of the media to the Tidjikja bivouac, but the inclement weather had cleared by mid-afternoon when the competitors arrived.
Tomorrow (Friday) is the last of the classic African desert stages before surviving teams head south towards the Senegalese border and on to Dakar. The day promises to be a sting in the tail: a mere two kilometers after the restart teams head into a 579 kms special, which features a vast 200 kms section of notorious camel grass. "Camel grass can throw up all sorts of problems," said Peterhansel's co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret.
Before arriving in the Mauritania coastal town of Nouakchott ('Place of the Winds'), teams must also cross the Amoukrouz dune field and drive a 71 kms liaison to the bivouac.
