Mitsubishi Motors Motor Sports News
2006 Dakar Rally
Weather conditions: sunny intervals and scattered showers – 12-15C
Lisbon – Portimao
Leg 1: Liaison; 186 kms; Special 83 kms; Liaison 101 kms
For immediate release
Saturday, December 31st, 2005
MITSUBISHI TEAM HOLDS 6th, 7th, 12th AND 13th PLACES
AFTER OPENING DAKAR RALLY STAGE IN PORTUGAL
Spaniard Joan Roma leads the way for Mitsubishi Motors team
Punctures delay both Mitsubishi’s Peterhansel and Masuoka
PORTIMAO, Portugal – The Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart Team held sixth, seventh, 12th and 13th positions after the opening timed 83 kms special stage in the Alentejo region between Lisbon and Portimao today (Saturday).
Leading the way for the defending champions and winners of the grueling African classic for the last five years were Spaniard Joan ‘Nani’ Roma and Andorra-based co-driver Henri Magne in their Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution. The pair held sixth position at the end of the opening stage, ahead of team mates Luc Alphand and Gilles Picard, but some way behind the stage-winning Spaniard Carlos Sainz.
~I have mixed feelings about these long European stages,~ said Luc Alphand, winner of this year’s Baja Portalegre, across similar terrain in the east of Portugal. ~Unlike some of our rivals we had no problems with the windscreen misting over when it rained in October. But I think the problems could arise tomorrow if it rains. If it is really muddy on the second stage it could be dangerous. If you slide or lose traction, that is where the problems begin.~
Frenchman St?phane Peterhansel and co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret had the disadvantage of running first on the road this morning and paid the price by collecting a flat tire near the start. They were forced to stop and change the wheel and lost over two minutes, slipping down a highly-competitive leaderboard to 12th position.
~Today’s stage was quite varied,~ said Peterhansel. ~There were places where you needed to be very careful. It was muddy in parts and some puddles of water stood in sheltered areas. Other places were much faster across rural farmland and you could push a little, but after the puncture we had no chance of setting a fast time.~
Twice former winner Hiroshi Masuoka and French co-driver Pascal Maimon were running in third position in the stage until they also sustained a flat tire a mere eight kilometers from the finish. The delay dropped the Japanese star down to 13th place.
~We were a little unlucky today,~ said Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart Team Director Dominique Serieys. ~It is never easy to open the stage and St?phane paid the price by getting a puncture. He lost time there and then Hiroshi also had to stop near the finish to change a tire. It is very early days. We will be patient, take no risks and wait until we reach Africa.~
After the entire field had completed pre-event technical checks in Lisbon, a record number of 475 vehicles were permitted to start from the Portuguese capital this morning. The final number included 232 bikes, 174 cars and 69 trucks with 108 assistance cars and 129 assistance trucks registered to lend support. The Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart Team has 59 staff on hand for the entire duration of the event, with a further 11 scheduled to arrive for the rest day in Nouakchott on January 8th.
Tomorrow (Sunday) the Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart Team heads out of Portimao on a 65 kms road liaison section to the start of a 115 kms timed special stage across the hilly ridges of the Algarve. This tricky stage along mountaineous and winding tracks will be followed by a 387 kms road section to the city of Malaga. Teams will then embark upon a seven-hour overnight Mediterranean sea crossing to Morocco, where the African section of the event will commence on Monday morning.
Positions on SS1 (unofficial @ 13.40 hrs):
1. Carlos Sainz (E)/Andreas Schulz (D) Volkswagen Touareg 56m 20s
2. Carlos Sousa (P)/Jean-Marie Lurquin (B) Nissan Pick-Up 57m 50s
3. Bruno Saby (F)/Michel P?rin (F) Volkswagen Touareg 58m 11s
4. Jutta Kleinschmidt (D)/Fabrizia Pons (I) Volkswagen Touareg 58m 44s
5. Guerlain Chicherit (F)/Matthieu Baumel (F) BMW X3 CC 59m 22s
6. Joan Roma (E)/Henri Magne (AND) Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution 59m 32s
7. Luc Alphand (F)/Gilles Picard (F) Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution 59m 40s
8. Giniel de Villiers (ZA)/Tina Th?rner (S) Volkswagen Touareg 59m 48s
9. Thierry Magnaldi (F)/Arnaud Debron (F) Schlesser-Buggy 59m 50s
10. Mark Miller (USA)/Dirk Von Zitzewitz (D) Volkswagen Touareg 1h 00m 00s
11. Jean-Louis Schlesser (F)/Francois Borsotto (F) Schlesser-Buggy 1h 00m 06s
12. St?phane Peterhansel (F)/Jean-Paul Cottret (F) Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution 1h 00m 42s
13. Hiroshi Masuoka (J)/Pascal Maimon (F) Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution 1h 00m 54s
Ends
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Florian Moser
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