MEDIA INFORMATION
China Silk Road Rally 2015
August 26-September 11, 2015
Stage 10: Zhangye – Jiayuguan, 421.04km
Liaison, 54.05km; stage 175.89km; liaison, 191.10km.
For immediate release
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
PEUGEOT’S PETERHANSEL PIPS HAVAL’S HAN WEI TO VICTORY
ON CHINA SILK ROAD RALLY STAGE INTO JIAYUGUAN
· Su Wen Min wins motorcycle special for Jincheng; Monleón leads overall
· Aussie Di Lallo plays ‘Good Samaritan’ role after useful stage performance
JIAYUGUAN (CHINA): Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel pipped Chinese driver Han Wei to the stage victory by just 19 seconds on the 10th selective section of the China Silk Road Rally between Zhangye and Jiayuguan on Tuesday.
The Peugeot 2008 DKR driver, partnered by Jean-Paul Cottret, clocked a time of 1hr 57min 40sec and that also enabled him to extend his outright lead over fellow Team Peugeot Total driver Cyril Despres by just under five minutes. Despres and navigator David Castera finished the stage in fourth after losing time through navigational errors.
“The tracks were very slippery in the beginning and we had to be careful, as we have a two-wheel drive,” said Peterhansel. “Then it was better when the track became sandy and we could pass the cars in front of us. We lost around five minutes after around 80km. It was difficult to find the way due to lots of tracks made by the motorcycles and the terrain was very bad in this place. There were many ditches and ruts. The end was easier for our car.”
The day’s special was delayed by one hour, while race officials used a helicopter to check that dry river beds would not be a problem after incessant overnight rainfall. The stage eventually started as planned from Pingshan Lake and finished in Gaotal, before crews to the bivouac near the Xuanbi Great Wall in Jiayuguan.
“As well as the risk with the river beds, the problem was that the first 48km were on a track designed for the WRC and made of earth, so it was very slippery when wet,” added clerk of the course Hubert Auriol.
Lui Kun continued his run of good form to set the third quickest time in the car category. “It was very slippery and we had some hesitation at km82. It was not easy,” said the Chinese.
Christian Lavieille was classified fifth and retains fourth in the overall rankings. “111 (Lui Kun) and 104 (Han Wei) were going crazy. Han Wei does not want to be behind, so it was ‘banzai’ all the time. I was behind, maximum attack, and finally I managed to pass 104 at the end, as he slowed his rhythm. It was quite hard because of the slippery road. It’s a bad day for me. I have lost my advantage.”
Jincheng rider Su Wen Ming battled through the mud and got the better of KTM’s Armand Monleón Hernandez to claim the motorcycle stage win by just 1min 23sec, but the Spaniard remains in cruise control with an overall lead of 36min 48sec heading into the final three stages of the 13-day event.
“It was very slippery,” said Su Wen Min. “He (Monleón) was choosing all the holes with water, rather than the muddy ones, as he knew they were less dangerous.”
Despite getting water inside his goggles, Zhao Hong Yei was third quickest on his KTM 450 Rally and remains in a similar overall position, but Hu Ai Dong was fourth and managed to claw another 10 minutes back from Zhou Tien’s hold on fourth in the general classification.
Adrian Di Lallo was pleased with his performance in the Red Earth Isuzu MU-X and also found time to assist two rivals who hit trouble. “Just when we thought we’d seen stages with everything, today was a ‘cop the lot burger,” he said. “It started out with really slick mud, before a long run up a not-so-dry river bed. We then went back onto a muddy track that was heavily broken away. The stage ended with a small dune crossing and a fast, sandy track through breakaway country.”
The Australian, who now holds 36th overall, also found time to play the ‘Good Samaritan’ role and helped to extricate Leonidas Marmolejo’s 4WD Jaton Racing Team Toyota Hilux from a tricky spot on the stage and then towed Jan Mooij’s stricken McRae Evolution towards the bivouac.
The rally is being organised by the China Silk Road Rally Auto Sports Management Company Limited, in association with CCTV Sports and Entertainment Company Ltd. and the Beijing Motorsports Development Company, with the full cooperation of the Federation of Automobile Sports of China (FASC) and the support of the sporting bureaux of several Chinese regions.
Tomorrow (Wednesday), the route of the China Silk Road Rally heads towards the city of Dunhuang, where officials will remain until the finish on Friday. A liaison of 82.61km from Jiayuguan takes teams to the start of a 244.10km at Shazaouyuan. The special finishes at Qiaowan and a liaison of 247.41km takes teams on to Dunhuang.
Dunhuang is a county-level city in the northwest of Gansu Province and was a major stop-off point on the ancient Silk Road. It is situated in a rich oasis containing Crescent Lake and Mingsha Shan mountain.
UNOFFICIAL @ 12.00hrs (CET)
2015 China Silk Road Rally – positions on SS10 (Cars):
1. Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA)/Jean-Paul Cottret (FRA) Peugeot 2008 DKR 1hr 57min 40sec
2. Han Wei (CHN)/Pan Hong Yu (CHN) Haval 1hr 57min 59sec
3. Lui Kun (CHN)/Liao Min (CHN) Mitsubishi Panda MPR11 1hr 59min 35sec
4. Cyril Despres (FRA)/David Castera (FRA) Peugeot 2008 DKR 2hr 02min 35sec
5. Christian Lavieille (FRA)/Jean-Pierre Garcin (FRA) Haval 2hr 03min 46sec
2015 China Silk Road Rally – positions on SS10 (Bikes):
1. Su Wen Min (CHN) Jincheng 450Y Rally 2hr 33min 44sec
2. Armand Monleón Hernandez (ESP) KTM 450 Rally 2hr 35min 07sec
3. Zhao Hong Yi (CHN) KTM 450 Rally 2hr 48min 11sec
4. Hu Ai Dong (CHN) Bombardier 1000 2hr 50min 37sec
5. Zhou Tien (CHN) Jincheng 450Y Rally 3hr 00min 04sec
2015 China Silk Road Rally – overall positions after SS10 (Cars):
1. Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA)/Jean-Paul Cottret (FRA) Peugeot 2008 DKR 16hr 58min 02sec
2. Cyril Despres (FRA)/David Castera (FRA) Peugeot 2008 DKR 17hr 25min 56sec
3. Han Wei (CHN)/Pan Hong Yu (CHN) Haval 17hr 40min 11sec
4. Christian Lavieille (FRA)/Jean-Pierre Garcin (FRA) Haval 17hr 47min 18sec
5. Lui Kun (CHN)/Liao Min (CHN) Mitsubishi Pajero MPR11 18hr 12min 58sec
6. Gong Liangliang (CHN)/Xu Duoduo (CHN) Mitsubishi MPR13 20hr 58min 06sec
2015 China Silk Road Rally – overall positions after SS10 (Bikes):
1. Armand Monleón Hernandez (ESP) KTM 450 Rally 20hr 44min 32sec
2. Su Wen Min (CHN) Jincheng 450Y Rally 21hr 21min 20sec
3. Zhao Hong Yi (CHN) KTM 450 Rally 23hr 34min 02sec
4. Zhou Tien (CHN) Jincheng 450Y Rally 24hr 00min 13sec
5. Hu Ai Dong (CHN) Bombardier 1000 24hr 24min 58sec
Ends
For further media information: Hubert Auriol, Email: presse@auriolconsulting.com or Neil Perkins, NDP Publicity Services, Tel: + 44 7831 123153 and Email: ndppublicity@gmail.com
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