31ST DAKAR RALLY (January 3rd-January 18th, 2009)
Leg 10: Copiapó – Copiapó
Liaison, 20 km; special, 476 km; liaison, 0 km; total, 496 km.
Weather conditions: cool and foggy – 18 degrees Centigrade (am), rising to warm and sunny, 35 degrees Centigrade (pm).
For immediate release
Tuesday, January 13th, 2009
MITSUBISHI’S ROMA SURVIVES MARATHON ATACAMA
SPECIAL STAGE AND MAINTAINS FOURTH PLACE
· Fog causes slight delay on shortened Copiapó loop stage
COPIAPÓ (Chile): Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart’s Joan ‘Nani’ Roma and Lucas Cruz Senra (both Spain) survived what should have been the longest and potentially most difficult special stage of the entire 2009 Dakar Rally on Tuesday. They completed the 670km loop through the Atacama desert, that was shortened to 476km by event officials, in fifth place to maintain fourth in the overall classification.
The Mitsubishi mechanics left no stone unturned to find the fault that had caused Roma’s overheating woes on the ninth stage and the ventilator fan was eventually replaced to rectify the problem.
Roma held a virtual sixth at the first passage control and a similar position through PCs three, four and five, before reaching the finish, adjacent to the bivouac, where hundreds of service teams, media and spectators were watching the action unfold at the end of the special from an elevated position on a giant dune.
Robbie Gordon (USA) set the second fastest time on the special to reduce Roma’s hold on fourth position to 21m 25s, but Carlos Sainz (Spain) continued to head team mate Mark Miller (USA) by 27m 31s in the overall standings after setting the quickest time of the day.
The ASO permitted 312 teams to take part in today’s loop stage, with 142 bikes and quads, 109 cars and 61 trucks given permission to restart. Low-lying cloud and a sea mist again forced the delay of the special stage, which had been reduced from 670km to 476km the previous evening, on the grounds that some of the terrain was not challenging and the ASO preferred teams to have more time to tackle the tricky dunes en route.
But the fog persisted, meaning that the safety helicopters could not take off, and ASO officials were forced to delay the start of the stage by 2h 40m.
Tomorrow (Wednesday) is the 10th leg of the 2009 Dakar Rally and marks the return to Argentina across the mighty Andes mountain range. Event organisers have warned that the emphasis will be on accurate navigation, as a 20km liaison takes teams into a 215km special stage, finishing just after the village of Carrera Pinto.
Service trucks and assistance vehicles will reach 4,250 metres above sea level, before crossing the border at around 4,160 metres and head on towards the following night halt at La Rioja.
Competitors, meanwhile, will experience a 445km liaison section to their overnight halt at the spa town of Fiambalá, which is the first and only Marathon-type stage on this year’s Dakar. The sinuous passage will cross the Col San Francisco at an altitude of around 4,700 meters.
The liaison route climbs over winding tracks through the Claudio Gay mountain range and heads towards Hosteria Murray before reaching Las Grutas and descending through Cortaderos and Chaschuil to Fiambalá, which is in the Catamarca province and lies 1,520 metres above sea level.
Overall positions on leg 10 (unofficial @ 18.15hrs):
1. Carlos Sainz (E)/Michel Périn (F) Volkswagen Race Touareg (T1.2) 5h 32m 55s
2. Robbie Gordon (USA)/Andy Grider (USA) Hummer (Open 1) 5h 33m 16s
3. Mark Miller (USA)/Ralph Pitchford (ZA) Volkswagen Race Touareg (T1.2) 5h 40m 34s
4. Guerlain Chicherit (F)/Matthieu Baumel (F) BMW X3 CC (T1.2) 5h 45m 20s
5. Joan ‘Nani’ Roma (E)/Lucas Cruz Senra (E) Mitsubishi Racing Lancer (T1.2) 5h 47m 56s
6. Giniel de Villiers (ZA)/Dirk von Zitzevitz (D) Volkswagen Race Touareg (T1.2) 5h 51m 10s
Overall positions after leg 10:
1. Carlos Sainz (E)/Michel Périn (F) Volkswagen Race Touareg (T1.2) 38h 59m 02s
2. Mark Miller (USA)/Ralph Pitchford (ZA) Volkswagen Race Touareg (T1.2) 39h 26m 33s
3. Giniel de Villiers (ZA)/Dirk von Zitzevitz (D) Volkswagen Race Touareg (T1.2) 39h 40m 15s
4. Joan ‘Nani’ Roma (E)/Lucas Cruz Senra (E) Mitsubishi Racing Lancer (T1.2) 40h 12m 15s
5. Robbie Gordon (USA)/Andy Grider (USA) Hummer (Open 1) 40h 33m 40s
What they said?
Dominique Serieys, team director
‘Nani’ is driving very well and has made no mistakes. We had some troubles that have put him back, but we are getting more feedback about diesel technology every day. We are on a good pace now and will try and give him a better car each day. The target is still a podium. Robbie (Gordon) is still pushing and it is good for the rally that another private team is coming into the fight."
Joan ‘Nani’ Roma
"I am happy to be here. If they make the original road book about 670km, you know it is going to be tough. The engine mapping could have been better in the power stakes, but we never stopped and we made the kilometers to reach the finish. I am not watching the leader board now. If we cannot take a podium, then fourth or fifth is the same to me. It is just a case of doing our jobs and keeping going over the last few days."
Lucas Cruz Senra
"It was obviously a hard stage. There were a lot of areas of camel grass and that made it tough. We struggled a little. I stopped on one occasion to take some air out of the tires, because the sand is very soft. The road book was not so good today. One modification was totally opposite to the real direction we had to take and we lost one or two kilometers."
Live footage of the 2009 Dakar Rally can be seen on Eurosport at the following times:
Eurosport
18.05 hrs GMT – 18.30 hrs GMT
22.00 hrs GMT – 22.45 hrs GMT
Ends
Please visit:
http://www.ralliart.co.jp/motorsports/e/09dakar/index.html
and for further information, please contact:
LEDDERHOF Margaret: m.ledderhof@mitsubishi-motor-sports.com
TESHIMA Masatoshi: m.teshima@mitsubishi-motor-sports.com
Ends