COMMUNIQUE 15 8 January 2002 Atar - Tidjikja Liaison 33 km - SS 467 km - Liaison 2 km - Total 502 km

Mitsubishi Pajero / Montero Team Nippon Mitsubishi Oil Ralliart H. Masuoka / P. Maimon (8 January 2002)

After the longest and toughest leg so far on this year’s Arras-Madrid-Dakar Rally, Japanese Mitsubishi Driver Hiroshi Masuoka has extended his lead at Tidjikja, Mauritania after winning the 467 km stage that started in Atar this morning. The Pajero/Montero driver won the stage by 5m 40s to take his lead to an impressive 17m 49s. Mitsubishi Pajero / Montero Team Mitsubishi Ralliart J. Kleinschmidt / A. Schulz (8 January 2002) His nearest rivals, Kenjiro Shinozuka of Japan and Jutta Kleinschmidt of Germany, both driving Mitsubishi Pajeros in second and third places respectively, were both delayed today with punctured tyres. Both, however, are comfortably ahead of fourth placed driver Jean-Pierre Fontenay of France, also driving a Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero, and Carlos Sousa of Portugal, who completes a dominant Mitsubishi clean sweep of the top positions in fifth in his L200. Klienschmidt lost around five minutes with her puncture and was passed by Shinozuka and Masuoka, but later, Shinozuka fared even worse when he ploughed into a bush, puncturing a tyre and slightly damaging the front of his Pajero/Montero. Mitsubishi Pajero / Montero Team Mitsubishi Ralliart J.P. Fontenay / G. Picard (8 January 2002) Despite all being team mates, the top three Mitsubishi crews were clearly competing hard today in the knowledge that there are no team orders. Mitsubishi’s team manager Dominique Serieys reiterated this statement again today, confirming: "There are absolutely no team orders. The stage is open". Masuoka was obviously pleased at extending his lead, and after the bumpy, rocky desert section joked: "Good day today for me. The stage was not the most difficult, but it was long and there were so many jumps. We were flying. Maybe now I take a licence to fly an aeroplane! The camel grass was quite difficult, but I saw Jutta with a problem and Shino hit a tree and lost some time. It finished in a good way for me. My lead is getting bigger". Shinozuka had hoped to launch an attack on the lead today, but admitted: "I was pushing hard, but there was a bush and we hit it. There is some damage to the front of the car and we lost some time". Mitsubishi L 200 Team Mitsubishi Galp TMN Chesterfield C. Sousa / V. Jesus (8 January 2002) Kleinschmidt had also been optimistic about her chances of climbing from third place, but much of that optimism has disappeared by the time she reached Tidjikja. She reported: "I was running well, but we had a flat tyre and all the hard work was wasted. I was passed by Hiro and Shino and we were five minutes behind by the time we reached the second PC. It is frustrating, but this can happen to anyone. We have an uphill battle now, because we’ve undone yesterday’s hard work". Today’s leg had been extremely difficult and long. With temperatures in the high 30s, they drove through canyons, winding dry riverbeds, open desert sections, dune crossings, and hazardous stretches of camelgrass. After a night’s rest at the most unpopular bivouac of the event in Tidjikja - scene of the horrific Air Mauritanie plane crash of five years ago with wreckage still visible around the runway - the surviving competitors face more of the same tomorrow, including the difficult Nega Pass. The 520 km stage - the longest so far - finishes in the tiny Saharan village of Tichit that’s gradually being smothered by the surrounding, spectacular sand dunes.