Communique 1 - Tambacounda, Senegal
Thursday 6 January 2000
Leg 1 - Dakar - Tambacounda
Total distance: 594km - Special Stage: 284km

Mitsubishis Dominate First Day of Dakar 2000

Ralliart supported Mitsubishis held the top five places at Tambacounda after the first leg of the epic Dakar - Cairo trans-African Rally that started today, January 6, 2000, in Dakar, Senegal.

After a 284km tight, twisty course on the opening day of the 17-leg event, it was no surprise to find the Mitsubishis in front with their legendary handling and traction features, but the rally leader did come as a shock, with Portuguese driver Carlos Sousa leading home more experienced competitors to win a hotly contested leg in his Mitsubishi Strakar/L200. The result is all the more remarkable considering that Sousa’s navigator, Joao Manuel Luz, has never set foot in Africa before!

But less than 16 minutes separated the top 15 competitors in the car class after 284km of hard driving, first through twisting bush tracks before the route opened out into fast, laterite tracks, suggesting this will be a closely fought event.

Japanese rally legend Kenjiro Shinozuka finished the leg in second place, just 27 seconds behind the rally leader, co-driven by Dominique Serieys in his Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero. Hiroshi Masuoka, also from Japan, and his German navigator Andreas Schulz were third in a similar Mitsubishi, with French Stars Jean-Pierre Fontenay and Gilles Picard fourth, also in a Pajero/Montero. Spaniards Miguel Prieto and Pascal Maimon were fifth, also in a Pajero/Montero.

The only slight disappointment in the Mitsubishi camp was for top female crew Jutta Kleinschmidt and Tina Thorner, from Germany and Sweden respectively, who arrived in the dusty Senegalese town of Tambacounda in 12th place after getting lost and having to stop to clear camel grass from their Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero's radiator. But as Kleinschmidt pointed out: "Given the day we’ve had, I’m delighted to finish only 13 minutes behind the leader." And with 16 days of driving across six countries to Cairo still to come, she has every reason to remain optimistic.

Delighted rally leader Carlos Souza declared: "It is my first stage victory on the Dakar." A total of 138 cars entered the Dakar 2000, one of the biggest motor sport events ever with a total of over 400 competitors including trucks, cars and motorbikes. 135 cars made it to the start of the event but two retired on the first liaison section with 133 starting the stage.

One of the most interesting entries is from former motorbike star Stephane Peterhansel, who is driving a prototype Mega Desert machine, powered by Mitsubishi. On the first leg, the German finished in a promising seventh position.

Tomorrow, the Dakar 2000 restarts from Tambacounda in Senegal and crosses the first of six African borders as the surviving competitor head for Kayes in Mali. The total second leg route length is set at 359km, 212 km of which will be driven competitively.

OVERALL CLASSIFICATION AFTER LEG 1