2001 Paris-Dakar / Daily Report

Mitsubishi L200
Team Mitsubishi Portugal
C. Sousa / J.M. Polato

Japanese driver Hiroshi Masuoka held on to his lead in the Paris-Dakar Rally on the16th leg held in Mali today, despite misfortunes in his Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero. Starting the relatively short and easy 214 km special stage with a lead of more than half an hour, Masuoka and his navigator, Pascal Maimon of France, looked all but certain of victory until a problem with a rear left ball joint after 154 km caused them to stop for repairs, reducing their lead to just 6m 28s.

Jean-Louis Schlesser is still second in his buggy, and the race is now on again with just four days left to run. Just behind Schlesser in third place and snapping hard on his heels is today’s stage winner, Carlos Sousa of Portugal, who is just 26m 59s adrift in his Mitsubishi L200.

Mitsubishi Pajero / Montero
Team Mitsubishi Germany
J. Kleinschmidt / A. Schulz

Germans Jutta Kleinschmidt and Andreas Schulz are also within striking distance of the lead in their Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero, just 30m 50s down on the Masuoka, and a mere handful of minutes behind Sousa.

At the end of the leg at Bamako, Masuoka and Maimon were obviously disappointed but not disheartened. Although they will be under pressure over the next few days, they still have the lead.

Said Masuoka: "The rear left ball joint broke, but fortunately for us Jean-Pierre Fontenay gave us a spare fairly quickly. We lost half an hour - that’s a lot and I don’t know if that’s enough of a lead to take us to Dakar. It’s difficult to say - that its part of the race. We’ll need to drive hard now and it will be difficult to overtake on the specials coming up".

The stages in the Sahel are very different to the earlier legs held in the desert. The sandy tracks weaving between trees and bushes are often narrow, and overtaking is difficult. Getting caught in the dust of the cars in front is also a hazard. Masuoka was only 29th fastest on today’s leg, and therefore may have 28 cars to overtake tomorrow just to regain his position at the front of the field.

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

Masuoka’s co-driver Pascal Maimon commented: "It was very unlucky. But the same could happen to Schlesser tomorrow. Now everything has turned on its head and we’ll have to wait till Dakar to know the winner".

Masuoka can take heart at the performances of the other Mitsubishis on the current terrain. Sousa was fastest today in his L200 by just 3m25s to Kleinschmidt in her Pajero/Montero making it a Mitsubishi 1-2, with Schlesser losing over five minutes to his Mitsubishi rivals. And it has to be remembered that 1757 km of the rally remain - the fight is not over yet!

Tomorrow’s leg will be extremely long at 804km, but the competitive section will be 370km - quite long, but not the longest seen on this event. The terrain will be fast and rolling, skirting the southern edge of the Baoule National Park. The bad news for Masuoka is, however, that the tracks become narrower towards the end as they wind through the African bush. The finish will be in Kayes, just after the Tambaoura cliff crossing, before a long liaison section to the overnight camp at Bakel.

Leg 16 - Nema - Bamako
SS 16 - 214.00 km - Wednesday 17 January

Times on SS 16
1	C.SOUSA J.M.POLATO	MITSUBISHI L200	2.26.13.0
2	J.KLEINSCHMIDT A.SCHULZ	MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO	2.29.38.0	+3.25.0
3	J.M.SERVIA J.M.LURQUIN	SCHLESSER BUGGY RENAULT MEGANE	2.30.59.0	+4.46.0
4	J.L.SCHLESSER H.MAGNE	SCHLESSER BUGGY RENAULT MEGANE	2.31.58.0	+5.45.0
5	S.HENRARD J.M.MARTINEZ	VOLKSWAGEN BUGGY	2.34.22.0	+8.09.0
6	T.DELAVERGNE J.DUBOIS	NISSAN TERRANO	2.34.23.0	+8.10.0
7	C.LE DUC R.TORNABELL	KIA	2.36.21.0	+10.08.0
8	G.DE MEVIUS A.GUEHENNEC	NISSAN TERRANO	2.39.37.0	+13.24.0
9	J.RIVIERE P.FOURTICQ	NISSAN	2.45.19.0	+19.06.0
10	G.GOMEZ J.L.MARTIN	NISSAN PATROL GR	2.45.24.0	+19.11.0
13	S.PETERHANSEL W.ALCARAZ	NISSAN TERRANO	2.48.08.0	+21.55.0
17	J.P.SIBELLAS G.VIEILLY	MITSUBISHI L200	2.49.42.0	+23.29.0
18	V.RAKITIANSKY O.PYALIN	MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO	2.50.10.0	+23.57.0
20	H.PESCAROLO S.DE LIEDEKERKE	NISSAN TERRANO	2.50.29.0	+24.16.0
23	J.P.FONTENAY G.PICARD	MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO	2.56.33.0	+30.20.0
25	B.SABY T.DELLI ZOTI	FORD RANGER PROTRUCK	2.57.54.0	+31.41.0
29	H.MASUOKA P.MAIMON	MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO	3.03.50.0	+37.37.0
54	K.SHINOZUKA F.GALLAGHER	MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO	4.12.50.0	+1.46.37.0

Overall after SS 16
1	H.MASUOKA P.MAIMON	MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO	60.53.12.0
2	J.L.SCHLESSER H.MAGNE	SCHLESSER BUGGY RENAULT MEGANE	60.59.40.0	+6.28.0
3	C.SOUSA J.M.POLATO	MITSUBISHI L200	61.20.11.0	+26.59.0
4	J.KLEINSCHMIDT A.SCHULZ	MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO	61.24.02.0	+30.50.0
5	J.M.SERVIA J.M.LURQUIN	SCHLESSER BUGGY RENAULT MEGANE	62.25.49.0	+1.32.37.0
6	J.P.FONTENAY G.PICARD	MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO	64.23.54.0	+3.30.42.0
7	T.DELAVERGNE J.DUBOIS	NISSAN TERRANO	65.31.20.0	+4.38.08.0
8	S.HENRARD J.M.MARTINEZ	VOLKSWAGEN BUGGY	66.23.23.0	+5.30.11.0
9	G.DE MEVIUS A.GUEHENNEC	NISSAN TERRANO	67.40.52.0	+6.47.40.0
10	S.PETERHANSEL W.ALCARAZ	NISSAN TERRANO	74.00.43.0	+13.07.31.0
11	L.BOURGNON G.LENEVEU	NISSAN TERRANO	74.12.01.0	+13.18.49.0
12	J.F.GUINOT M.KROISS	NISSAN TERRANO	74.27.55.0	+13.34.43.0
13	B.SABY T.DELLI ZOTI	FORD RANGER PROTRUCK	76.34.31.0	+15.41.19.0
15	T.MAGNALDI F.BORSOTTO	MERCEDES ML 430	77.17.12.0	+16.24.00.0
16	V.RAKITIANSKY O.PYALIN	MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO	78.21.00.0	+17.27.48.0
17	J.P.SIBELLAS G.VIEILLY	MITSUBISHI L200	78.28.29.0	+17.35.17.0
18	H.PESCAROLO S.DE LIEDEKERKE	NISSAN TERRANO	79.45.50.0	+18.52.38.0
34	K.SHINOZUKA F.GALLAGHER	MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO	97.38.33.0	+36.45.21.0