GRANADA-DAKAR 1999
Communique 12
LEG 10: MOPTI - TIMBUKTU
Distance: 1,032 KM
Stage distance: 460 KM


TIMBUKTU,MALI
Monday, January 11, 1999

FONTENAY FASTEST WHILE PRIETO CLOSES ON LEAD FOR MITSUBISHI

Spanish driver Miguel Prieto and his French co-driver Dominique Serieys moved one minute closer to taking the lead in their Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero on the 10th leg of the Granada-Dakar Rally today, while French pair Jean-Pierre Fontenay and Gilles Picard started making up for lost time by winning the stage in their Team PIAA Ralliart Pajero/Montero


German driver Jutta Kleinschmidt and her Swedish partner Tina Thorner, who last week became the first female crew ever to lead the Dakar, are currently in third place in their Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero. The girls are still within striking distance of leading driver Jean-Louis Schlesser in his Schlesser Megane buggy. The gap between Prieto and the leading buggy is down to just 8m 25s.


Said an annoyed Kleinschmidt: "We broke a wheel just eight kilometres into the stage and several cars got past while we fixed it. After that we made good time, but we quickly caught the slower Nissan and he wouldn't let us past for 200 km!"

Fontenay leapfrogged a number of Nissans in his Mitsubishi to jump to ninth place overall, and is now catching Thierry De Lavergne's Nissan which was eighth at Timbuktu.

The 10th leg of the Dakar wound its way along the River Niger in Mali from Mopti to the legendary town of Timbuktu. But before they even reached the competitive section, the surviving 46 cars faced an eight hour drive, starting at four o'clock in the morning, from Mopti to the stage start, covering over 600 km. Once on the stage, they had the tracks to themselves as the motorbikes enjoyed a day off and were transported to Timbuktu by aeroplane. But the extreme heat and dust made the route difficult for the tired car and truck crews who were allowed no such dispensation.

Driving the Team Mitsubishi Ralliart Pajero/Montero, Japanese driver Kenjiro Shinozuka and his French partner Henri Magne remained comfortable in fourth place overall after scoring an appropriate fourth fastest on the competitive section, while fellow Japanese driver Hiroshi Masuoka, co-driven by German Andreas Schulz, kept well ahead of the chasing Nissans and Servia's struggling buggy, to stay fifth in the Team Ralliart Pajero Sport/Montero Sport.

Said Shinozuka: "The route was fast, with fast bends. The car and our Michelin RA1 tyres were perfect. But I think, at over 1,000 km, the leg was far too long.

Masuoka added: "It was not so bad for us today, although a small electronic problem made the engine run a little slower today, but the time was not too bad."

In the T1 category for standard cars, French stable driver Jean Pierre Strugo grabbed the lead in their Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, January 12, 1999
LEG 11: TIMBUKTU - NEMA (MAURITANIA)
Distance: 548 KM
Special Stage: 539 KM

The 11th leg, driven almost entirely competitively, will be a classic Saharan trek over desert sand, taking the surviving competitors out of the Sahel in Mali and back into the Mauritanian desert landscape on a fairly fast route.