Pre-Event Release Leg 1 Leg 2 Leg 3 Leg 4

K. SHINOZUKA 3RD, J-P. FONETENAY 4TH OVERALL AFTER THE FINAL LEG

Mitsubishi Pajero / Montero 3rd overall K. Shinozuka (right) F. Gallagher (left) The 2000 Marlboro UAE Desert Challenge that took place in the vast and inhospitable sandy deserts and dunes around Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates again saw a pitched battle between the prototype buggies and the improved production vehicle based Mitsubishi Pajeros for places in the event and the overall championship. The five day event (November 7th to 11th, 2000), which is the 9th Round of 2000 FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies, covered a 1700km course on its way to the finish in Dubai, and was seen by many as a good opportunity to test the people and machinery that will take part in the 2001 Paris-Dakar Rally that is to be held from January 1st to 21st, 2001. The end of the first leg saw the top three Pajeros/Monteros mounted competitors Fontenay, Kleinschmidt and Shinozuka in 4th, 5th and 7th place respectively in conditions that favored the lighter and more powerful prototype buggies. Needless to say, the T2 class was totally dominated by the Pajeros/Monteros and they were all waiting for the sections of the course that would be more advantageous to them in the following legs of the event. Shinozuka made up three place on the following leg to end the day in 4th place, but Kleinschmidt had the bad luck to crash her Pajero end-over-end, badly damaging the roof and completely smashing the front windscreen. Fontenay stopped to assist his team mate and they managed to get to the end of the day's leg in 5th and 7th place. Mitsubishi Pajero / Montero 4th overall J-P. Fontenay / G. Picard The weather on the third day, November 10th, took a turn for the worse, but this just played into the hands of the Mitsubishi Pajeros/Monteros and this was reflected in the results. Fontenay covered the course in the fastest time, over three minutes faster than the prototype buggy of last year's champion Jean-Louis Schlesser who described the conditions on the day's leg as 'Hellish.' Leader for the first few days, two-wheel and four-wheel cross country veteran Peterhansel, retired with engine trouble and the leader board that evening saw Shinozuka in 3rd, with Fontenay 4th and Kleinschmidt 6th. The last day was again on a course that favored the buggies and there were no changes in the major placings. The fact that this event had been the final round of the World Cup meant that J-L Schlesser repeated as World Champion, and Jutta Kleinschmidt became runner-up, with Fontenay fourth and Shinozuka 6th in the points rankings for the year. Commented Shinozuka at the end of the rally, 'I'm very happy to have finished in third place because the course suited the buggies better. Now my team mates and I are looking forward to the Dakar with a very positive attitude.'

OVERALL CLASSIFICATION AFTER LEG4 (Final Leg) Pos. Driver Nat. Vehicle Time* Gr. 1 J-L. SCHLESSER F SCHLESSER DSC 8 16:44'50 T3 2 J-M. SERVIA E SCHLESSER DSC8 19'07 T3 3 K. SHINOZUKA J MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO 31'55 T2 4 J-P. FONETENAY F MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO 1:02'16 T2 5 L. ALPHAND F SCHLESSER RENAULT KANGOO 1:08'28 T3 6 J. KLEINSCHMIDT D MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO 1:56'45 T2 *The time, under 2nd position is the Difference to the top.