As rally arrives in SenegaThe Mitsubishi Motors Repsol ATS Studios Team consolidated its overall advantage in the 27th Dakar Rally, after the penultimate long special stage between Kayes in Mali and Tambacounda in Senegal yesterday
Stéphane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret opened the stage for the cars this morning in their Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution, but eventually finished the section in eighth position after erring on the side of caution and deliberately dropping behind their rivals.
"I am happy to be here," said Peterhansel. "We made the necessary precautions with the snorkel for the river crossing and controlled the stage today. The Nissans passed us and we drove slowly to the end of the stage. Tomorrow is not a long day. I know the stage well and hopefully it will not be a problem."
French team mates Luc Alphand and co-driver Gilles Picard were second on the road out of Kayes this morning and completed the stage in seventh position.
"We feel confident," said Alphand. "We changed the pace and took it easy today. On the sports side I cannot take 25 minutes out of Stéphane, so we have to manage both cars to reach the finish for Mitsubishi. Today was like a Tour de France stage. We were protecting the leader in the 'yellow jersey' and the others were playing around. Vatanen and De Villiers passed us early, but we managed the car well without problems.
"River crossings are always a worry. We stopped to use the snorkel. Stéphane went first, very slowly, but the water level was okay - only about 60 cm. The ground was hard and then we stopped to check the wheel nuts. The rest of the stage was like a dusty train…"
Spaniard Joan Roma and Andorra-based co-driver Henri Magne began the stage across the border into Senegal in sixth position in their Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution. But they were on the pace from the start this morning and were fourth quickest into Tambacounda to maintain sixth place in the overall classification.
"I am very happy with today's result," said Roma. "I drove 'cool' with no risks. I stopped before the river to use the snorkel and then to check the wheel nuts the other side, because the change of temperature can loosen the wheels. Then we followed Jutta (Kleinschmidt) slowly. Tomorrow is an important day. It will not be easy and it is important that we make no mistakes. For sure, I will wait for Luc and Stéphane and follow them to the finish."
"I asked both Stéphane and Luc to be careful over the final 700 kms," said MMSP's Team Director Dominique Serieys. "With the same cars and a similar driving level, I asked them to keep the difference between them and not to push.
"Mitsubishi Motors needs them to reach the finish in first and second positions and they respected that decision to drive carefully."
Today (Saturday) is the penultimate day of the Dakar Rally and the last of the long stages into Dakar. After a 108 kms liaison section, the special stage takes place over 225 kms and a nail-biting 236 kms road section takes teams into the arrival PC in Dakar. The event finishes on Sunday.
