UPS AND DOWNS IN SECOND MOROCCAN STAGE
Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart maintained the pressure on their main rivals after a punishing 405km special stage.
Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret began the stage behind rivals Sainz and Giniel de Villiers, but were in sparkling form. They looked set for a top stage finish, until they got stuck in soft sand. Then they experienced clutch problems and were forced to make emergency repairs.
"The design of our clutch is so important. I remember last year, when Carlos Sainz burned his clutch, it took three or four hours to change it and it only took Jean-Paul and me 25 minutes today. Things like this make a major difference on an event like the Dakar."
"Two punctures today, one about 90km from the start and one near the finish," said Masuoka. " There were two moments when I had big landings over jumps. I needed to be careful. We stopped to change the first tire and ’Nani’ and Schlesser passed us. Then they lost their way and we passed them again. It was quite funny."
"We had some ups and downs today, but that is the nature of the Dakar," said Dominique Serieys. "We have three cars in close contention and we will continue the same way. This is a long race."
