COMMUNIQUE 12 13 January 2001 Nouakchott - Tidjikja Liaison 74 km - SS 580 km - Total 654 km

Mitsubishi Pajero / Montero Evolution Team Nisseki Mitsubishi Ralliart H. Masuoka / P. Maimon

Mitsubishis still fill the top three places in the Paris-Dakar 2001 Rally as the event delves deep into the Sahara desert in Mauritania. After the 12th stage between the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott and the desert outpost of Tidjikja, Japanese driver Hiroshi Masuoka was still in front in his Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero, but his lead was cut to just 3m 28s from Mitsubishi L200 Driver Carlos Sousa of Portugal in second place. Germany’s Jutta Kleinschmidt was only 8m 49s behind the leader in her Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero. Mitsubishi Pajero / Montero Team Mitsubishi Germany J. Kleinschmidt / A. Schulz Masuoka, co-driven by Frenchman Pascal Maimon was happy to be in the lead, but admitted that he twice became stuck in deep sand among the dunes on today’s difficult 580km stage. He reported: "After the first time we got stuck, I should have let some air out the tyres, but that’s easy to say with hindsight. But I was pleased today that my car’s engine ran perfectly - the mechanics did a fantastic job last night because yesterday we had problems". The leg between Nouakchott and Tidjikja was made particularly difficult today by strong winds which whipped up a sandstorm in the desert, reducing visibility drastically. The thunderstorm at the start was an ominous sign of things to come for many competitors. There were many difficult dune crossings, and deep sand made the going very hard indeed. Third placed Jutta Kleinschmidt, who is co-driven by fellow German Andreas Schulz, commented: "It was very difficult. I think a lot of people have got stuck and will be sleeping in the dunes tonight". Mitsubishi L200 Team Mitsubishi Portugal C. Sousa (right) & J.M. Polato The Mitsubishis are being chased hard by the buggies, with Jean-Louis Schlesser in fourth place and Jose Maria Servia in fifth. Schlesser was on a charge today, but failed to catch the Mitsubishis. Servia had problems with a puncture at the second checkpoint, and then lost further time when a tyre flew off at the third. The competition is intensely close, with just 47 minutes covering the top five after over 7,000 km of hard competitive driving in Africa. Tomorrow may see further changes, with few in the top cars willing to ease off in the heat of competition. And everyone is agreed that Leg 13 may be one of the toughest ever seen on the Dakar. The stage loops from Tidjikja and back, and is the second of the Marathon legs in which no assistance from chase trucks is permitted. For 513 km the competitors must navigate their way through a pass over cliff, run along the base of the cliff, and climb back up on the plateau through the infamous Nega Pass. In between, they will face everything that the desert has to offer, including rutted tracks, fast winding tracks, and steep, soft dunes.

Leg 12 - Nouakchott - Tidjikja SS 12 - 580.00 km - Saturday 13 January

Times on SS 12 1 J.L.SCHLESSER H.MAGNE SCHLESSER BUGGY RENAULT MEGANE 7.01.47.0 2 C.SOUSA J.M.POLATO MITSUBISHI L200 STRAKAR 7.13.46.0 +11.59.0 3 J.P.FONTENAY G.PICARD MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO 7.15.53.0 +14.06.0 4 J.M.SERVIA J.M.LURQUIN SCHLESSER BUGGY RENAULT MEGANE 7.20.04.0 +18.17.0 5 J.KLEINSCHMIDT A.SCHULZ MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO 7.20.11.0 +18.24.0 6 H.MASUOKA P.MAIMON MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO 7.23.31.0 +21.44.0 7 B.SABY T.DELLI ZOTI FORD RANGER PROTRUCK 7.43.29.0 +41.42.0 8 G.DE MEVIUS A.GUEHENNEC NISSAN TERRANO 7.51.15.0 +49.28.0 9 K.SHINOZUKA F.GALLAGHER MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO 7.59.26.0 +57.39.0 10 T.DELAVERGNE J.DUBOIS NISSAN TERRANO 8.04.07.0 +1.02.20.0 11 S.HENRARD J.M.MARTINEZ VOLKSWAGEN BUGGY 8.11.45.0 +1.09.58.0 17 L.BOURGNON G.LENEVEU NISSAN TERRANO 9.06.18.0 +2.04.31.0 18 K.KOLBERG B.CATTARELLI MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO 9.07.26.0 +2.05.39.0 19 S.PETERHANSEL W.ALCARAZ NISSAN TERRANO 9.08.32.0 +2.06.45.0 36 J.F.GUINOT M.KROISS NISSAN TERRANO 10.31.43.0 +3.29.56.0

Overall after SS 12 1 H.MASUOKA P.MAIMON MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO 41.46.55.0 2 C.SOUSA J.M.POLATO MITSUBISHI L200 STRAKAR 41.50.23.0 +3.28.0 3 J.KLEINSCHMIDT A.SCHULZ MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO 41.55.44.0 +8.49.0 4 J.L.SCHLESSER H.MAGNE SCHLESSER BUGGY RENAULT MEGANE 42.04.31.0 +17.36.0 5 J.M.SERVIA J.M.LURQUIN SCHLESSER BUGGY RENAULT MEGANE 42.34.18.0 +47.23.0 6 J.P.FONTENAY G.PICARD MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO 43.24.38.0 +1.37.43.0 7 T.DELAVERGNE J.DUBOIS NISSAN TERRANO 44.33.10.0 +2.46.15.0 8 S.HENRARD J.M.MARTINEZ VOLKSWAGEN BUGGY 45.06.46.0 +3.19.51.0 9 G.DE MEVIUS A.GUEHENNEC NISSAN TERRANO 45.55.14.0 +4.08.19.0 10 B.SABY T.DELLI ZOTI FORD RANGER PROTRUCK 46.48.50.0 +5.01.55.0 11 S.PETERHANSEL W.ALCARAZ NISSAN TERRANO 49.19.57.0 +7.33.02.0 12 K.KOLBERG B.CATTARELLI MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO 50.22.15.0 +8.35.20.0 13 L.BOURGNON G.LENEVEU NISSAN TERRANO 50.42.19.0 +8.55.24.0 14 J.F.GUINOT M.KROISS NISSAN TERRANO 51.34.02.0 +9.47.07.0 31 K.SHINOZUKA F.GALLAGHER MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO 75.53.49.0 +34.06.54.0