COMMUNIQUE 4 28 December 2001 Arras - Chateauroux Liaison 465 km - Total 465 km

Mitsubishi Pajero / Montero Team Mitsubishi Ralliart J. Kleinschmidt / A. Schulz (28 December 2001)

This evening, December 28, 2001, the latest hi-tech Mitsubishi Pajeros/Monteros set out for Dakar from Arras in France in the hope of victory in the 24th Total Arras-Madrid-Dakar. The 465km liaison section from the cold, wet and windy northern French town of Arras to Chateauroux should hold little in the way of drama. But with thousands of fans cheering the 118 cars, 170 motorbikes, and 35 trucks as they set out on their 9,436 km adventure through France, Spain and Africa, the tension and excitement was clearly building. Mitsubishi Pajero / Montero Team Mitsubishi Ralliart J.P. Fontenay / G. Picard (28 December 2001) The opening leg involves what should be an easy drive though the night, which will be a welcome relief from the excitement and hype of the start celebrations, which included a send-off from French rock star Johnny Hallyday. The competitors can now settle down with their vehicles and start concentrating on their forthcoming long and arduous challenge. The first competitive section of the rally will take place at the Croisière Activity Parc, in La Souterraine. At just 6km it will be short, but potentially sharp. No-one could possibly win the rally with a good time here, but anyone could easily lose it with a simple mistake. Mitsubishi Pajero / Montero Team Nippon Mitsubishi Oil Ralliart K. Shinozuka / T. Delli-Zotti (28 December 2001) After entertaining the many thousands of spectators who are sure to turn up at La Souterraine, the huge rally caravan will head further south through the French countryside to Narbonne, near Perpingnan, ready to cross the border into Spain. With the excitement building before the overnight drive to Chateauroux, the Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero drivers seemed to be becoming increasingly optimistic. Said last year’s winner, Jutta Kleinschmidt: "We are confident that our cars are more than capable of winning. The new developments have improved the all-round package". Mitsubishi Pajero / Montero Team Nippon Mitsubishi Oil Ralliart H. Masuoka / P. Maimon (28 December 2001) Team Manager Dominique Serieys agreed: "We have more torque and the cars are lighter". He also revealed that the cars have improved cooling with a special roof-mounted system. Japanese driver Hiroshi Masouka insisted this was an important development. He revealed: "There were times last year we did suffer some overheating. The cooling improvements should prevent this from happening again". The Mitsubishi team may be confident, and with good reason, but victory is far from assured. The Dakar is the toughest motoring event on earth, and anything can happen. And with such a huge number of competitors drawn from 34 countries in a wide range of vehicles including Renault buggies, Nissans, Toyotas, Mercedes and Fords, Kleinschmidt was wise to add that this may be a "very open race".