Shinozuka Snatches Lead in Argentina for Mitsubishi

Team PIAA Ralliart Pajero/Montero driver Kenjiro Shinozuka of Japan snatched the lead of the gruelling Cross Country Rally of Argentina on the third leg, September 23, putting himself just 3m 03 seconds in front of his rival for the World Cup for Cross Country Rallies, Renault Megane Buggy driver Jean-Louis Schlesser.

On the third day of the event, again starting and finishing in Mina Clavero high in the Argentinean Pampas, Shinozuka was fastest by 7m 10s, moving up to first after trailing Schlesser for two days by four minutes. Shinozuka's advantage came after the terrain changed from fast, open tracks and turned into a nearly dry riverbed some 290 km from the start of the 597 km competitive section. In his ultra-strong Mitsubishi, Shinozuka plunged straight into the Rover Copacabana for seven kilometres, while Schlesser was forced to tiptoe around the edges in his lightweight buggy. From there, the route climbed high into the mountains, 2000 metres above sea-level, where the rocky, boulder-strewn tracks again played to the advantage of the Pajero/Montero driver.

Said rally leader Shinozuka at the end of the 634 km leg: "There was a lot of dust before we reached the river, but it was a good day, we made the right choices and navigated well to get this stage win."

Local hero Jorge Recalde ended the third leg in a comfortable third position in his Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero, around an hour and a half behind the leading pair but a further hour and a half in front of his nearest rival, Marcelo Lusinazoff, driving a Hyundai Galloper in fourth place. Fifth was held by Louis Perez Companc, a further half an hour adrift in his Toyota Land Cruiser.