COMMUNIQUE 11 4 January 2002 Tan-Tan - Zouerat Liaison 365 km - SS 371 km - Liaison 16 km - Total 752 km

Mitsubishi Pajero / Montero Team Nippon Mitsubishi Oil Ralliart K. Shinozuka / T. Delli-Zotti (4 January 2002)

Japanese Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero driver Kenjiro Shinozuka took his first stage win on this year’s Dakar Rally on the second day of a two-part marathon section, between Tan-Tan in Morocco and Zouerat in Mauritania. His result closes the gap between Shinozuka in second place and rally leader Hiroshi Masuoka, also driving a Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero, to just 27 seconds. Mitsubishi Pajero / Montero Team Mitsubishi Ralliart J.P. Fontenay / G. Picard (4 January 2002) The 739 km leg, which crossed the disputed border between the Moroccan Sahara and Mauritania, formed the second part of a huge Marathon section that started two days ago in Ouarzazate. The competitors had to drive day and night over two days, with a rest halt at Tan-Tan before starting again at 2 am this morning, driving in the darkness across the Saharan desert. Masuoka led at the halfway point but his lead was cut by around three minutes today as Shinozuka powered ever closer, despite continuing power steering problems. The section today was twisty at the start, but for the most part the combatants drove flat out across the desert floor, which was easier for Shinozuka than of late without power steering. Mitsubishis now hold first, second, fourth, fifth, seventh, eighth and ninth positions, with only Belgian Grégoire de Mevius’s Nissan making any significant impact in third place. Today, De Mevius suffered from the Marathon-style stage which prevented outside assistance from mechanics, and while the Mitsubishi’s ran almost faultlessly, the Nissan limped into Zouerat with engine problems, the V6 unit dropping onto five cylinders. Mitsubishi Pajero / Montero Team Mitsubishi Ralliart J. Kleinschmidt / A. Schulz (4 January 2002) Germany’s Jutta Kleinschmidt ended the Marathon section in fourth position, just a few seconds behind De Mevius, and looks set to take third soon barring any further problems in her Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero. Her continually improving performance, despite only two hours sleep during the two-day marathon section suggests that she still could be in the running for the overall lead, despite being just over 20 minutes behind the leading pair of Mitsubishis. Masuoka, despite his slender lead, was still brimming with confidence at Zouerat, a desolate desert outpost at the foot of iron ore-bearing mountains. He said: "It was not that difficult today. Very fast. I had a good sleep during the rest halt and I don’t feel too tired. Tomorrow will be the most difficult stage of the rally so far. It is time for my attack!" Despite being so close to the lead, Shinozuka was less enthusiastic about his chances, commenting: "For the first 30 or 40 kms today the stage was twisty and rocky, but after it was just straight and very fast. We have not had the power steering working now for three days. Today it was not a problem, but tomorrow it will be a big problem. We must look at this today, but so far the mechanics do not know what is wrong". Mitsubishi Pajero / Montero Team Nippon Mitsubishi Oil Ralliart H. Masuoka / P. Maimon (4 January 2002) Kleinschmidt added: "Today I was just driving very fast. Nothing special. I am happy to be here. It was long, and last night I worked on the car and I didn’t go to sleep until 10 pm, and then I was woken up at midnight to get ready for the restart. I’m now 20 minutes behind the leaders, which is a lot, but the rally is long..." With the demise of Spaniard Jose-Maria Servia, who lost a great deal of time in the sole surviving Schlesser buggy with a radiator problem, Qatari driver Saeed Al-Hajri moved up to seventh place in his Mitsubishi L200. He is closely followed by French ex-World Downhill Ski champion Luc Alphand in a Pajero/Montero in eighth, with Portugal’s Carlos Sousa ninth in a Mitsubishi L200. Tomorrow, the rally heads south again for one of the toughest stages of this year’s event. It will be a flat out 383 km charge across the Sahara desert over countless dunes stretching into the horizon, including the huge range of dunes known as the Erg de El Beyyed, one of the highlights of the entire event. If they can survive, the competitors will be greeted at the Mauritanian town of Atar with a full day’s rest through Sunday, just enough time for them to catch their breath before the second half of this great motoring adventure.