Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports News
2005 Dakar Rally
Leg 4: Rabat – Agadir
Liaison : 122 km – Sp?ciale : 123 km ? Liaison : 421 km
Weather conditions: cool and foggy in Rabat – warm and sunny in Agadir – 14-22C
For immediate release
Monday, January 3rd, 2005
MITSUBISHI MOTORS REPSOL ATS STUDIOS TEAM
HOLDS SECOND POSITION IN DAKAR RALLY IN AGADIR
Mitsubishi’s Peterhansel second fastest through first African stage
Pole Holowczyc leads Mitsubishi Ralliart customers into Agadir
AGADIR, Morocco – The Mitsubishi Motors Repsol ATS Studios Team completed the first African special stage of the 2005 Dakar Rally between Rabat and Agadir in Morocco in second and fourth positions. Team drivers St?phane Peterhansel and Luc Alphand now hold similar places in the overall classification. The stage was cancelled for the bikes because of dense early morning fog on the route.
Peterhansel and co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret shadowed stage winner and overnight leader Robby Gordon to the finish of the 123 kms competitive section and will start Tuesday’s run south a mere 59 seconds behind the American.
French team mate Alphand and co-driver Gilles Picard completed the stage 31 seconds behind their team mates and hold fourth overall behind Frenchman Bruno Saby. Twice former champion Hiroshi Masouka lost seven minutes with a flat tire and slipped from seventh position to 14th overall.
Joan Roma and Andorra-based co-driver Henri Magne completed the stage in 14th position in their Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero MPR10 and German team mate Andrea Mayer – who celebrated her birthday in Rabat on Sunday evening – was 17th.
~I told our drivers not to push and drive in a restrained and sensible manner over the first two African stages,~ admitted Team Director Dominique Serieys. ~There is more to lose than to gain by pushing too hard. We learned from the Rally of Morocco in June that it is easy to get a flat tire on these stages. Admittedly, the temperatures were much higher in the summer, but the rocks are very sharp and we had a catalogue of punctures on the rally last summer.
~I have been pleased with the performance of all the team so far. I have spoken to each driver in turn and they have a strategy. Nani Roma has begun very well. I told him that if he feels confident then he can push harder after Smara, but I want him to feel completely comfortable behind the wheel first.~
Tomorrow (Tuesday) will be the most difficult stage of the Dakar Rally so far, with a testing 381 kms special stage following a 240 kms run south from Agadir. The stage is scheduled to finish 33 kms north of Smara in the deep south of Morocco and features a mixture of high-speed gravel and stony sections from Goulimine, via a remote route to the east of Tan Tan.
Positions on SS3:
1. Robby Gordon (USA)/Dirk Von Zitzwitz (D) Volkswagen Touareg 1h 14m 01s
2. St?phane Peterhansel (F)/Jean-Paul Cottret (F) Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution 1h 14m 54s
3. Bruno Saby (F)/Michel P?rin (F) Volkswagen Touareg 1h 15m 09s
4. Luc Alphand (F)/Gilles Picard (F) Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution 1h 15m 25s
14. Joan Roma (E)/Henri Magne (F) Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution 1h 20m 33s
16. Hiroshi Masuoka (J)/Andreas Schulz (D) Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution 1h 21m 06s
17. Andrea Mayer (D)/Jean-Michel Polato (F) Mitsubishi L200 Pick-Up 1h 21m 08s
Overall classification after SS3:
1. Robby Gordon (USA)/Dirk Von Zitzwitz (D) Volkswagen Touareg 1h 26m 24s
2. St?phane Peterhansel (F)/Jean-Paul Cottret (F) Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution 1h 27m 23s
3. Bruno Saby (F)/Michel P?rin (F) Volkswagen Touareg 1h 27m 38s
4. Luc Alphand (F)/Gilles Picard (F) Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution 1h 27m 56s
5. Jutta Kleinschmidt (D)/Fabrizia Pons (I) Volkswagen Touareg 1h 28m 56s
14. Hiroshi Masuoka (J)/Andreas Schulz (D) Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution 1h 33m 37s
15. Joan Roma (E)/Henri Magne (F) Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution 1h 34m 18s
17. Andrea Mayer (D)/Jean-Michel Polato (F) Mitsubishi L200 Pick-Up 1h 34m 37s
Ralliart Teams
Pole Holowczyc leads Mitsubishi Ralliart customers into Agadir
Multiple Polish rally champion Krzysztof Holowczyc and his Belgian co-driver Jean-Marc Fortin finished the Rabat to Agadir stage in 19th position in their Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero and led the eight Mitsubishi Ralliart customer teams into Agadir. They leapt 10 places to 19th overall.
Team mates Dominique Housieaux and Loic Fagot were classified 23rd through the stage and hold 22nd place. Brazilians Klever Kolberg and Rouldan Lourival hold 27th position.
Chinese driver Guan Yuang Men completed the day’s timed section in 54th place and slipped down the overall rankings to 46th overall.
~The logistics of the first three days meant that there was little competition, but a lot of road distance for the teams and the mechanics,~ said Ralliart team manager J?rgen Masal. ~Our last car arrived in the Rabat bivouac at 03.15 hrs on Monday morning and, to ensure that we gave the cars a full service, our mechanics worked through the night.
~The important thing for us is to make sure that the cars are serviced efficiently, but I want to make sure that the team do not get too tired early in the race, because there are some very difficult sections to come.~
The Ralliart team suffered a set-back on the road section between Rabat and Agadir when a support truck was involved in an accident. Crew members were uninjured, but the Ralliart team will continue on the Dakar without a crucial assistance vehicle.
Overall positions after SS3:
19. Krzysztof Holowczyc(PL)/Jean-Marc Fortin (B) Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero 1h 35m 54s
22. Dominique Housieaux (F)/Loic Fagot (F) Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero 1h 36m 45s
27. Klever Kolberg (BR)/Roldan Lourival (BR) Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero 1h 38m 51s
29. Alexey Berkut (RUS)/Anton Nikolaev (RUS) Mitsubishi L200 Pick-Up 1h 40m 53s
46. Guan Yuang Men (CN)/Serge Henninot (F) Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero 1h 48m 19s
47. Toni van Deijne (NL)/Francisco Zutven (NL) Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero 1h 48m 21s
52. Siriwattanakun Pornsawan(TH)/Sukahuta Pornthep (TH) Mitsubishi Truck Evolution 1h 48m 35s
70. Arnold Meier (CH)/Sarah Meier (CH) Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero 1h 53m 35s
Ends
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