Dakar Rally news

MITSUBISHI FIRMED THEIR LEAD

Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart maintained firm control of the 29th Dakar Rally. All four Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolutions reached the bivouac without any problems.

Alphand attempted to reduce Peterhansel’s 7m 50s overall lead. But Peterhansel had extended his advantage at the 186km point. "We caught Luc after about 150km and we stayed behind him in the dust," said Peterhansel. "Then, in an off-road section, we passed him about 10km from the end.”

Alphand was unable to claw back any time: "We had orders to preserve our cars this morning and, when we passed Schlesser, it was not easy to be the first car on the road. It is not easy to find a good pace.

"It was an enjoyable stage, driving in between the small trees," said Masuoka. "It was difficult to overtake the bikes, because the riders were not able to leave the main track. For that reason we needed to be extra careful. When I caught Stéphane and Luc, I followed them and stayed behind to the stage finish without taking any risks."

"It was not necessary to create a big fight by pushing. We have a cushion now and around 850km of special stages still to run”, said Dominique Serieys. “There is still some way to go. Hiroshi and ’Nani’ are now working to support our two lead drivers."