COMMUNIQUE 20 21 January 2001 Dakar - Dakar Liaison 70 km - SS 25 km - Total 95 km

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

German rally driver Jutta Kleinschmidt made motor sport history today in Senegal by becoming the first woman ever to win the Paris-Dakar Rally, driving a Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero. Her victory added to Mitsubishi’s celebrations this weekend after Finn Tommi Makinen won the Monte Carlo Rally, round one of the FIA World Rally Championship driving a Mitsubishi Lancer. Mitsubishi Pajero / Montero Mitsubishi L200 A. Schulz, J. Kleinschmidt, H. Masuoka & C. Sousa Kleinschmidt, co-driven by fellow German Andreas Schulz, won the 10,000 km Dakar rally by just two and a half minutes from fellow Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero crew Hiroshi Masuoka of Japan and Pascal Maimon of France. Masuoka had led for the second half of the Dakar , from Mauritania, through Mali to Senegal, but lost his first place when forced off the road yesterday while trying to pass rival Jose Maria Servia. Said a delighted Kleinschmidt at the finish in Dakar: "It is fantastic, incredible - I can hardly believe it. I slept very badly last night, my stomach was in knots and I was worried about throwing it all away. I’m a little sad for Hiroshi but I took my chance. To be the first woman to win the Dakar is not the most important thing for me. Above all I am a driver. Mitsubishi gave no team orders this morning - we had carte blanche". The final 25 km stage today, along the beach near Dakar and around the famous Rose Lake, was almost a formality for Kleinschmidt, although with a cushion of just a couple of minutes, she could not afford to relax, with Masuoka hard on her heels. It had been one of the most hotly contested Dakar’s ever, and until yesterday, and the amazing events surrounding the last "real" 217km stage through the Savannah in Senegal, Kleinschmidt was hoping merely to finish third. But after Masuoka’s demise, and a one hour penalty handed out to Jean-Louis Schlesser for jumping the start yesterday, Kleinschmidt was unexpectedly promoted to first after a cautious and well-planned drive through North and West Africa. While Kleinschmidt celebrated her incredible victory, Masuoka won the hearts of everyone who had followed this year’s event with his poise and enthusiasm, even when under severe pressure. The Japanese driver led for half the event, 10 legs, and was almost assured of victory before yesterday’s dramas. Mitsubishi Pajero / Montero Team Nisseki Mitsubishi Ralliart H. Masuoka / P. Maimon Never before has such a closely fought Dakar been seen, with four different leaders during the three weeks, and no less than seven lead changes. In the end, Kleinschmidt’s consistently solid performance won her the 23rd Dakar crown, much to the delight of the many thousands who turned out to help her celebrate by the Rose Lake at Dakar. Schlesser ended up in third place after battling hard for the lead for half the rally with Masuoka. His buggy team mate Jose Maria Servia was fourth after he too received penatlies for starting yesterday’s stage too early, while Portuguese driver Carlos Sousa ended up fifth in his Mitsubishi L200. Two of the pre-event favourites, Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero drivers Jean-Pierre Fontenay and Kenjiro Shinozuka, finished the event in sixth and 30th positions respectively after an incident-packed event which saw Fontenay, co-driven by Gilles Picard, crash twice, and Shinozuka, partnered by British co-driver Fred Gallagher, pick up a massive 25 hours in time penalties because of technical problems.

Leg 20 - Dakar - Dakar SS 20 - 25.00 km - Sunday 21 January

Times on SS 20 =1 J.L.SCHLESSER H.MAGNE SCHLESSER BUGGY RENAULT MEGANE 18.42.0 =1 J.M.SERVIA J.M.LURQUIN SCHLESSER BUGGY RENAULT MEGANE 18.42.0 +0.0 3 C.SOUSA J.M.POLATO MITSUBISHI L200 18.54.0 +12.0 4 H.MASUOKA P.MAIMON MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO 18.59.0 +17.0 5 J.KLEINSCHMIDT A.SCHULZ MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO 19.15.0 +33.0 6 S.HENRARD J.M.MARTINEZ VOLKSWAGEN BUGGY 20.44.0 +2.02.0 7 G.DE MEVIUS A.GUEHENNEC NISSAN TERRANO 20.48.0 +2.06.0 8 J.F.GUINOT M.KROISS NISSAN TERRANO 20.58.0 +2.16.0 9 L.BOURGNON G.LENEVEU NISSAN TERRANO 21.03.0 +2.21.0 =10 B.SABY T.DELLI ZOTI FORD RANGER PROTRUCK 21.16.0 +2.34.0 =10 H.PESCAROLO S.DE LIEDEKERKE NISSAN TERRANO 21.16.0 +2.34.0 12 K.SHINOZUKA F.GALLAGHER MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO 21.34.0 +2.52.0 13 C.LE DUC R.TORNABELL KIA 21.49.0 +3.07.0 14 J.P.FONTENAY G.PICARD MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO 21.57.0 +3.15.0 15 S.PETERHANSEL W.ALCARAZ NISSAN TERRANO 22.28.0 +3.46.0 18 A.KHROL A.MARZALIOVK MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO 23.41.0 +4.59.0 21 T.DELAVERGNE J.DUBOIS NISSAN TERRANO 24.06.0 +5.24.0 29 V.RAKITIANSKY O.PYALIN MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO 25.33.0 +6.51.0

Overall after SS 20 1 J.KLEINSCHMIDT A.SCHULZ MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO 70.42.06.0 2 H.MASUOKA P.MAIMON MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO 70.44.45.0 +2.39.0 3 J.L.SCHLESSER H.MAGNE SCHLESSER BUGGY RENAULT MEGANE 71.05.35.0 +23.29.0 4 J.M.SERVIA J.M.LURQUIN SCHLESSER BUGGY RENAULT MEGANE 72.48.30.0 +2.06.24.0 5 C.SOUSA J.M.POLATO MITSUBISHI L200 72.50.36.0 +2.08.30.0 6 J.P.FONTENAY G.PICARD MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO 74.34.11.0 +3.52.05.0 7 S.HENRARD J.M.MARTINEZ VOLKSWAGEN BUGGY 75.47.25.0 +5.05.19.0 8 G.DE MEVIUS A.GUEHENNEC NISSAN TERRANO 77.12.05.0 +6.29.59.0 9 T.DELAVERGNE J.DUBOIS NISSAN TERRANO 78.13.43.0 +7.31.37.0 10 L.BOURGNON G.LENEVEU NISSAN TERRANO 84.40.14.0 +13.58.08.0 11 J.F.GUINOT M.KROISS NISSAN TERRANO 84.42.09.0 +14.00.03.0 12 S.PETERHANSEL W.ALCARAZ NISSAN TERRANO 85.21.27.0 +14.39.21.0 13 B.SABY T.DELLI ZOTI FORD RANGER PROTRUCK 86.51.10.0 +16.09.04.0 15 T.MAGNALDI F.BORSOTTO MERCEDES ML 430 88.22.38.0 +17.40.32.0 16 V.RAKITIANSKY O.PYALIN MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO 88.37.17.0 +17.55.11.0 17 H.PESCAROLO S.DE LIEDEKERKE NISSAN TERRANO 89.47.24.0 +19.05.18.0 19 A.KHROL A.MARZALIOVK MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO 92.47.50.0 +22.05.44.0 30 K.SHINOZUKA F.GALLAGHER MITSUBISHI PAJERO / MONTERO 107.58.33.0 +37.16.27.0