A SMOOTH SHAKEDOWN
The four cars, spearheading the Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart Team's 2008 Dakar bid, successfully completed the special shakedown session which took place approximately 60km from its headquarters in Pont de Vaux, France. The crews braved the freezing weather to give their Pajero/Montero Evolution MPR13s a final systems check before the vehicles are trucked to Lisbon. Just in time for scrutineering and the official start of the African marathon.
"Everything went perfectly smoothly," reported the team’s Technical Director, Thierry Viardot. "The intention of today's run wasn't to work on the set-up of the cars. Our objective was essentially to ensure there were no problems following the cars' build. The beauty of the test facilities we use is that they offer a wide variety of surface types and we are free to make any changes we wish if we want to reproduce certain conditions," concluded Viardot. "Another advantage is the fact that the tracks never get muddy, even if it rains. However, with temperatures ranging from -6°C to -3°C today, that wasn't a problem this time!"
The shakedown session took place just days after the crews had completed their final physical fitness course together. After their hike at ‘le Tour du Mont Blanc’ in July and a week of outdoor activities in Catalonia, Spain in November, this month's programme took them to the Thalasso Centre in Douarnenez, France, for a week of running, cycling, swimming, sauna and thalasso-therapy.
"It's always nice to get together off events but this sort of work is a vital part of our build-up to the Dakar," explained Gilles Picard. "The programme wasn't quite as intensive as it was the other two times, and the sauna and thalasso-therapy were quite relaxing. That said, it was still sufficiently taxing to ensure we slept soundly each night!"
