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給熱愛技術的人:
Saturday 9 April - Etape 6 : El Borma-El Borma (255 km/ES6 : 233 km)
Schlesser wins, Alphand confirms
Shortened, after the organisers openers had failed to complete the initially intend route, the loop around El Borma nevertheless had its traditional impact on this the 6th stage of the Rallye Optic 2000 Tunisie. In the cars it was Jean-Louis Schlesser (Ford Buggy) who won his first special since last summer’s rallye in Turkey, the Frenchman coming home ahead of Luc Alphand (Mitsubishi MPR11), who increased his lead overall. In the bikes victory went to the Chilean De Gavardo, his factory KTM 450 beating off the KTM 660s of the American Grider and Cyril Despres, who remains the comfortable leader two days before the final finish in Djerba.
Nearly 250 kilometres in the erg of El Borma were not sufficient to increase the gap at the head of the car race. Taking advantage of the relatively fast going, Jean Louis Schlesser won a superb stage victory. Starting in fifth place, the powerful Ford Buggy once again got up amongst the front runners. Just ahead of him on the piste, the Mitsubishi MPR1 of Luc Alphand took advantage of the problems of his team mate Hiroshi Masuoka to slightly increase his overall lead. With his proto Pajero for a moment balanced on its nose at the bottom of a dune, and a twisted accelerator pedal, the Japanese driver gave away more than three minutes. Third on the stage, Jutta Kleinschmidt (VW Race Touareg), closed up on the other works Touareg of Bruno Saby, who lost time after getting stuck in the sand half way through the stage. With the four leading cars still within a quarter of an hour of each other the slightest puncture or navigation error could yet have a major impact on the final results.
Sixth on the stage, the VW TDI buggy of Jean-Francois Guinot reinforces his postion as lead privateer. The Parisian driver leads the Renault Megane proto of Thierry de Lavergne, who started last this morning after Friday’s rear axle problem and charged hard through the field. Maris Saukans and his impressive BMW engined OSCAR proto took the 8th place ahead of the Russian Shmakov and the Nissan Pathfinder of Isablle Patissier. 15th today, the Bowler of Locatelli once again showed off its reliability, finishing just ahead of the Mercedes ML of Pascal Thomasse, winner of the stage in T2 ahead of his team mate Jean-Pierre Strugo, comfortable leader overall of the category. Bad day on the other hand for the SMG team with all three buggies running into mechanical problems on the piste. Broken power steering for Gache who lost 50 minutes, gearbox problems for Errandonea and Vandromme. The first was blocked on the stage, while the second made it to the finish with its chassis cut in two!
« Thank you ! » On crossing the finishing line in Cyril Despres’ dust, the American Andy Grider didn’t forget to thank his team mate for another navigation lesson in the heart of the El Borma erg. Second on the stage, Grider just lost out to the ‘little’ KTM 450 of Carlo de Gavardo, who rode a faultless special in the wake of the big capacity KTMs. With the impressive crash of the other American Chris Blais (fortunately without serious consequences) the Chilean is almost certain to take the second place behind Despres on the final podium. Fourth on the stage, Christophe Meillat continues to develop his Honda 450 with a certain success. If there were few changes on two wheels, there was plenty of movement in the quads. Seventh on the stage, Hubert Deltrieu (Polaris) got the better of Caillet (Bombardier) and Declerck (Yamaha). Respectively 9th and 10th overall, Deltrieu and Declerck are less than 5 minutes apart.
QUOTES
CARS
Jean-Louis Schlesser (Fra/Buggy Ford) :“With the cancellation of today’s second loop we knew we might be able to pull something out of the bag. We started with the right tyre pressure. After struggling a little to pass Klienschmidt we were able to catch up with the three leading cars. A stage victory is good whatever the circumstances.”
Luc Alphand (Fra/Mitsubishi MPR11) : “We drove carefully today – while keeping up a good pace – and in the end it worked out well. But there are still two stages to go and anything can happen.”
Jutta Kleinschmidt (All/VW Race Touareg) : “We have showed that on this type of terrain our Touareg has made good progress compared to the competition. There is still however room for improvement. It is a pity that the second part of the stage had to be cancelled as I am sure we would have finished better.”
Hiroshi Masuoka (Jap/Mitsubishi MPR11) : “Just after CP2 we fell into a broken dune. The car was balancing on its nose – it was terryfing. Without knowing if we were going to tip over onto the roof I put the car in first gear and we landed on four wheels. Unfortunately the accelerator pedal was bent and I finished the stage with 80% power.”
Jean-Pierre Strugo (Fra/Mercedes ML) “Just before the dunes I couldn’t get the box in low ratio. After that, given our lead overall, we decided to take it gently so as not to take any risks.”
MOTORCYCLES
Carlo De Gavardo (Chi/KTM 450) : “ I wasn’t really expecting to win this El Borma stage on my 450. But today everything went fine, even if in the faster going at the end the 660s had a big advantage. I also benefited from Cyril Despres’ navigation, as it was he who opened the piste.”
Andy Grider (USA/KTM LC4) : “I followed Despres while trying to navigate on my own. But after several fruitless attempts I tried to understand why his route was better than mine. The dunes we had today don’t exist at home in the States. Once again I learnt a lot today.”
Cyril Despres (Fra/KTM LC4) “I did all the navigation today, while looking back from time to time to see if Andy Grider was managing to follow. They still follow the road book without choosing their route, but I see that my American team mates are improving day by day.”
Christophe Meillat (Fra/Honda 450) : “My GPS and my road book reader broke down before the start, so I rode hard at the beginning to catch Graziani who was navigating using Cyril Despres’ tracks. My Honda went well in the dunes. I think we have made good progress concerning reliability…”
Chris Blais (USA/KTM LC4) :“I crashed on a sand bar. It is the first time I have knocked myself out. My body is fine but my head arches a little and I am going to need a few stitches on my chin. No question of stopping though – I am going to finish this rallye.”
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Friday 8 April - Stage 5 : Sabria-El Borma (383 km/ES5 : 259 km)
Jean-Louis Schlesser up against it
The 24th Rallye Optic 2000 Tunisie continued it route south with a fifth stage shortened by 40 kms due to the recent sandstorms. Over the particularly rapid going it was Bruno Saby (VW Race Touareg) who went quickest, to take his second stage victory on the rallye. The leader of the FIA World Cup heads Masuoka and Alphand as well as his team mate Kleinschmidt. Leading for much of the stage, Jean-Louis Schlesser finally finished fifth after getting stuck against a signpost! No change overall, with Luc Alphand leading Masuoka by 4’45. On the bikes Cyril Despres once again won the stage, while behind him the American Andy Grider finished an impressive second. Compatriot and team mate Chris Blais finished fourth but maintains his third place overall.
The eve of the double loop around El Borma, the traditional ‘decider’ on the Rallye Optic 2000 Tunisie, saw the car drivers run a tactical race over the 260 kilometres of fast piste, cut by sand  s created by the recent sandstorms. At the finish it was Bruno Saby (VW Race Touareg) who proved the quickest, taking his second special, this time ahead of the Mitsubishi MPR11s of Hiroshi Masuoka and Luc Alphand, both suffering from a puncture a piece. Still the overall leader, the ex-world downhill skiing champion is, three days from the finish, increasingly under pressure, with the four factory cars within less than 15 minutes of each other. Virtual leader of the stage two thirds of the way through the special, after having overtaken Jutta Kleinschmidt, Jean-Louis Schlesser and his Ford Buggy saw his chances of victory disappear when he found himself stuck up against a signpost! He and a number of his colleagues however can console themselves with the thought that they won’t have to open the piste of the much anticipated El Borma loop. Behind the challengers for victory, the SMG buggy of Philippe Gache took an excellent 6th place, just ahead of the Russian Shmakov (Honda Buggy) and the Protruck of Eric Vigouroux. Despite two punctures for Philippe Vandromme (SMG Buggy) and a session with a shade for Jean Francois Guinot (VW TDI Buggy), both are still in with a shout of 2-wheel drive honours. A fine drive from Isabelle Patissier (Nissan Pathfinder) who came home in 9th position, to move up to 15th overall after Wednesday’s half roll.
In the T2 category for production cars, Jean-Pierre Strugo (Mercedes ML) took advantage of the exclusion from the race of Benoit Rousselot (Nissan Pathfinder) for missing too many CPs on the Sabria – Sabria stage and Sukhovenko’s mechanical problems to reinforce his lead ahead of the Frenchman Barbier and the Swiss Cuerel.
In the bike class Cyril Despres had a trouble free run aboard his KTM to win the special from the front and consolidate his overall lead. Behind him the American rookie and Baja 1000 winner Andy Grider posted an impressive second despite still discovering navigation, dunes and his big KTM LC4. His team mate Chris Blais was almost equally impressive finishing fourth to hold on to his 3rd place overall, behind the comfortable leader of the 450 class the Chilean Carlo De Gavardo. In the quads, Christophe Declerck (Yamaha) finished 9th among the bikes to take the overall lead from Hubert Deltrieu (Polaris).
QUOTES
CARS
Bruno Saby (Fra/VW Race Touareg) : “Tactically it was perhaps not such a good idea to win today and open tomorrow over the El Borma loop, which is always a bit of a lottery. I think the Mitsubishis which catch us and we will be forced to follow.”
Hiroshi Masuoka (Jap/Mitsubishi MPR11) : “Apart from a puncture we had a good stage today. It was extremely fast but I think it is better not to have to open tomorrow's loop around El Borma. I think that that is where the rallye will be decided.”
Luc Alphand (Fra/Mitsubishi MPR11): “Given how close the four leading cars are it is perhaps a good thing not to start first tomorrow – especially when you consider that getting stuck in the sand will cost at least 10 minutes.”
Jutta Kleinschmidt (All/VW Race Touareg): “Another day without problems for us. The important thing was to stay in touch with Bruno and the two Mitsubishis.”
Jean-Louis Schlesser (Fra/Buggy Ford): “It is frustrating to have lost the special by getting stuck against a signpost in the middle of the desert. Tomorrow we will go all out – starting behind Kleinschmidt and Alphand we might be able to pull something out of the bag.”
MOTORCYLES
Cyril Despres (Fra/KTM LC4): “After yesterday’s physical stage I woke up a little stiff and took time to get into the rythme today. In the end though I decided to attack and opened the piste alone.”
Andy Grider (USA/KTM LC4) “Today was my best stage so far on this rallye and I am delighted to be at the same level as the leaders. The special was similar to the sort of riding we have back home in the States. I think it will take one or two years before I can win a stage and four or five before I can dream of winning a rallye but I am here for the long term.”
Carlo De Gavardo (Chi/KTM 450)
“I got lost and gave away a few minutes just before refuelling. It is getting increasingly difficult to resist the temptation of fighting with the 660s. It is only human – I will continue to defend my second place overall.”
Chris Blais (USA/KTM LC4) “Everything is new for us here. I try not to look too closely at the results because just to get to the end will be an exploit. We are learning a lot everyday. That knowledge will be useful for the future even if at the moment we don’t have any plans to take part in any other rounds of the world championship.”
Matteo Graziani (Ita/KTM 450) “It was a fairly relaxed stage. But over these fast pistes the difference in cubic capacity makes itself felt. The stages without GPS allow the good navigators to show their talent and it is a bonus. But once we get lost it is really difficult to get back on the right piste.”
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L'Administrateur |
发表于 2006-1-20 23:21
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发表于 2006-1-21 01:33
