The FIA International Court of Appeal confirmed Jutta Kleinschmidt’s victory in the Paris-Dakar 2001 Rally after a rival compeitor’s appeal against the result was rejected in Paris on March 5, 2001.

Kleinschmidt won the event in January, 2001 driving a Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero, with fellow Mitsubishi driver Hiroshi Masuoka second in a similar car. However, the result was cast in doubt when buggy driver Jean-Louis Schlesser announced he would appeal against the decision of the Stewards of the Meeting, who had penalised the Monaco-based driver by 1 hour for jumping the start on a special stage.

The Court of Appeal heard arguments from The Automobile Club of Monaco, acting for Schlesser’s entrant Coli & Co., and the Federation Francaise du Sport Automobile acting for Schlesser as a driver. Also presenting evidence at the hearing were the Deutsche Motor Sport Bund acting for Kleinschmidt and the Japanese Automobile Federation acting for Masuoka.

After listening to the evidence presented by all parties and examining various documents, the Court rejected the appeal and confirmed the decision of the Stewards of the Paris-Dakar Cross-Country Rally, thus confirming the final result with Kleinschmidt declared the winner with Masuoka second.

Mitsubishi driver Kleinschmidt can now officially be declared as the first ever woman to win the Paris-Dakar Rally.