Optic 2000 Rally of Tunisia
2006 FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup, round two
Leg 3: Nekrif ? El Borma
Liaison: 14.40 km; Special 325 km; Liaison 11.88 km ? Total 351.28 km
Weather conditions: cold, overcast, windy and occasional drizzle ? 13-15C
For immediate release
Thursday, April 13th 2006
PETERHANSEL EXTENDS HIS LEAD FOR REPSOL
MITSUBISHI RALLIART TEAM INTO EL BORMA
Navigational mistake costs Alphand potential stage win;
Japan?s Masuoka maintains sixth overall into El Borma
EL BORMA (Tunisia) ? Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart Team driver St?phane Peterhansel and co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret extended their overall advantage in the Optic 2000 Rally of Tunisia to 4m 31s, after the longest special stage of the rally – a punishing 325 km section from Nekrif to the remote oil terminal at El Borma – today (Thursday).
Mitsubishi team mates Luc Alphand and Gilles Picard gained a place in the overall standings to hold third position, despite a puncture and navigational problems, and Hiroshi Masuoka and Pascal Maimon maintained sixth overall.
Peterhansel started the stage in third position on the road with a 4m 04s overall advantage over Frenchman Jean-Louis Schlesser and was the first driver to reach the stage finish, after a tricky section of sand dunes caught out his closest rivals. The twice former winner of this second round of the FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup eventually set the second fastest time behind the stage-winning South African Giniel de Villiers.
~We passed Luc near the start when he had a puncture and then we drove together,~ said Peterhansel. ~Jean-Louis opened the road and we followed, but then Luc took to the front before the third passage control and then lost his way. Then we found ourselves leading the way to the finish. It was not part of my strategy to be the first car into the stage tomorrow morning in the sand dunes, so I did not want to win this stage.~
Alphand and Picard began the day running behind Jean-Louis Schlesser?s Buggy in second position on the stage. They lost some time with a puncture early on, but were quickly back into a competitive pace and passed three of their rivals before losing precious minutes with a navigational mistake after a series of tricky sand dunes near the finish. This year?s Dakar Rally winner was disgruntled to only set the third fastest time, although he moved up from fourth to third place in the overall standings.
~I had a flat tire at the start, but then we settled into a really good pace and I made up the time,~ said a disgruntled Alphand at the stage finish. ~I passed De Villiers, St?phane and Schlesser in the dunes. Then I threw it all away. One stupid mistake and all that hard work was wasted. We were 40 km away from the finish. We crossed the pipeline and there was no GPS point. We took the decision to turn right and everyone else went left. We drove for four kilometres in the wrong direction and then had to turn around. I feel very disappointed.~
Today?s 325 km special began 14.40 km from the Nekrif bivouac and headed south-west towards the marshes at Borj Jenein and onwards in a southerly direction towards the border with Libya and the Tiaret oil well. The route then swept west through a tricky dune complex to the finish near the overnight bivouac in El Borma.
The Nekrif bivouac had been affected by rain and thunderstorms during the night ? a stark contrast to the punishing heat and gusting southerly-winds of the opening leg ? and drizzle persisted throughout the day en route to El Borma.
Japan?s Hiroshi Masuoka and French co-driver Pascal Maimon began the day in eighth place on the road behind their Mitsubishi team mates, the factory Volkswagens, Schlesser?s Buggy, the Nissan of Krzysztof Holowczyc and the Buggy of Frenchman Phillipe Gache. A damaged brake disc was repaired in Nekrif and Masuoka set about making up lost time on his main rivals.
But the twice Dakar winner was delayed before the third passage control today and had dropped 13 minutes to his team mate before the final section through a series of sand dunes, driven in damp, drizzly conditions.
~We had to stop after the second passage control with an electrical problem,~ said Masuoka. ~We were stopped for around five minutes checking sensors and connectors. I think it may have been a spark plug problem, because it was okay after that and we were able to finish the stage and maintain our position.~
~The race really started today with the first of the dunes and the difficult off-road sections,~ said MMSP?s Team Director Dominique Serieys. ~Now the next three days will be very important. We are in a good position. I told St?phane this morning and last night not to worry about a strategy, just to race each day in turn. Our team are all in a positive state of mind and we just want to continue our progress and maintain our form.~
Tomorrow (Friday) the route will feature a 268 km loop stage around El Borma. This section consists of two laps ? a longer 234 km section and a shorter 34 km stretch of sand dunes. The entire stage crosses sandy surfaces and treacherous dunes and is predicted to be the most difficult of the entire event. The event draws to a conclusion on the island of Djerba, Tunisia, on Monday, April 17th.
Positions on Nekrif ? El Borma stage (unofficial):
1. Giniel de Villiers (ZA)/Dirk von Zitzewitz (D) Volkswagen Race Touareg 2h 52m 47s
2. St?phane Peterhansel (F)/Jean-Paul Cottret Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution 2h 53m 53s 3. Luc Alphand (F)/Gilles Picard (F) Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution 2h 59m 33s
4. Jean-Louis Schlesser (F)/Francois Borsotto (F) Schlesser-Ford Buggy 3h 03m 33s
5. Hiroshi Masuoka (J)/Pascal Maimon (F) Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution 3h 11m 54s
etc
Positions after leg three (unofficial):
1. St?phane Peterhansel (F)/Jean-Paul Cottret Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution 8h 07m 10s
2. Giniel de Villiers (ZA)/Dirk von Zitzewitz (D) Volkswagen Race Touareg 8h 11m 41s
3. Luc Alphand (F)/Gilles Picard (F) Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution 8h 18m 17s
4. Jean-Louis Schlesser (F)/Francois Borsotto (F) Schlesser-Ford Buggy 8h 20m 54s
5. Carlos Sainz (E)/Michel P?rin (F) Volkswagen Race Touareg 8h 36m 12s
6. Hiroshi Masuoka (J)/Pascal Maimon (F) Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution 8h 44m 27s
etc
Ends
Copyright free photographs, driver profiles and pre-event driver interviews for editorial media only can be downloaded from www.mmsp-media.com
For further information please contact Florian Moser, MMSP?s Communications Department:
MMSP GmbH, Adam-Opel-Str. 4
D 65468 Trebur-Astheim
Florian Moser
Telephone +49 (0) 172 6697 578
E-mail f.moser@mitsubishi-motor-sports.com