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GRANADA-DAKAR 1999
Communique 13
LEG 11: TOMBUKTU (MALI) - NEMA (MAURITANIA)
Distance: 548 KM
Stage distance: 539 KM


NEMA, MAURITANIA
Tuesday, January 12, 1999


PRIETO KEEPS PRESSURE ON
WHILE SHINOZUKA WINS AGAIN FOR MITSUBISHI

The battle for victory in the 1999 Granada-Dakar Rally rages on with Spaniard Miguel Prieto and his French navigator Dominique Serieys, driving a Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero, still neck-and-neck at the front of the field with Jean-Louis Schlesser and his buggy. Less than nine minutes separate them at the end of the 11th stage which ran from Tombuktu in Mali to Nema in Mauritania today.


Fastest on the hot, humid competitive section which took the surviving competitors over a hard, sandy route through the Sahara desert, was Kenjiro Shinozuka, co-driven by Henri Magne, in the Team Mitsubishi Oil Ralliart Pajero/Montero currently in fourth position. German lady Jutta Kleinschmidt and her Swedish co-driver Tina Thorner finished the leg still in third place in their Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero after a problem-free day.


Prieto suffered slight overheating problems with his suspension system, which delayed him only slightly. He was also suffering minor physical problems with an old ski injury. He reported: "It was quite a physical stage. I injured my left shoulder skiing a few years ago, which was a problem. Otherwise, the day and the car were perfect, and since we are very close to the lead I am feeling very confident we can catch Schlesser."

Kleinschmidt also enjoyed a day free of problems in her Pajero/Montero, commenting: "There was a lot of sand on today's stage. I am very happy with today's progress. I passed five cars in the morning, and they were all very good and didn't delay me."

Japanese driver Hiroshi Masuoka, co-driven by German Andreas Schulz, is still comfortable in fifth place in his Team Ralliart Mitsubishi Pajero Sport/Montero Sport, several minutes clear of Jose Maria Servia's buggy in sixth, and well ahead of Stephane Peterhansel and Thierry De Lavergne, both in Nissans in seventh and eighth respectively.

French former world ski champion Luc Alphand regained the lead in the T1 category for standard cars in his Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero today, despite his earlier problems, heading Jean-Pierre Strugo, also from France and also in a Pajero/Montero, with fellow Mitsubishi drivers Klever Kolberg of Brazil in third.

Alphand reported: "The Pajero/Montero is very easy to drive and I am pleased that I am holding the T1 lead again. But my only target is still to reach Dakar. If I win it will be a bonus."


Tomorrow, Wednesday, January 13, 1999
LEG 12: NEMA - TICHIT
Distance: 490 KM
Special Stage: 490 KM


The surviving competitors in the 1999 Dakar face an enormous challenge on the 12th leg from Nema to the remote Saharan village of Tichit, having to find a route through the Enji Pass and the formidable Erg of the Mountain of Elephants - a vast sea of sand with countless dunes. It will be a stage that could turn the leader board on its head by the time the successful crews reach Tichit with its stagnant salt lake and encroaching dunes.



11th stage,Tombouctou (Mali)-Nema (Mauritanie) / Total 548km, SS 539km
(Tuesday, January 12, 1999)

Special stage (539km)
Pos. No: Driver / Co-Driver Nat Car Time* Cat
1. 202 K. Shinozuka / H. Magne J/F Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero 6h05'31 T-2
2. 206 J-M. Servia / T. Delli-Zotti E/E Schlesser Megane 1'06 T-3
3. 200 J-L. Schlesser / P. Monnet F/F Schlesser Megane 8'07 T-3
4. 208 J. Kleinschmidt / T. Thorner D/S Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero 8'14 T-2
5. 207 M. Prieto / D. Serieys E/F Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero 8'39 T-3
6. 201 J-P. Fontenay / G. Picard F/F Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero 11'02 T-2
7. 204 T. De Lavergne /J. Dubois F/F Nissan Patrol 17'39 T-3
8. 217 S. Peterhansel / J-P. Cottret F/F Nissan Patrol 25'16 T-3
9. 215 G. De Mevius / S. De Liedekerke B/B Nissan Patrol 26'14 T-3
10. 222 G. Marcy / J-M. Lurquin B/B Nissan Patrol 35'46 T-3
11. 203 H. Masuoka / A. Schulz J/D Mitsubishi Pajero Sport
Montero Sport 		42'49 T-3
13. 210 C. Souza / W. Alcaraz P/F Mitsubishi L200 46'15 T-3
17. 236 L. Alphand / A. Debron F/F Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero 59'34
T-1 1st		 T-1
19. 237 J-F. Guinot / M. Kroiss F/F Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero 1h07'39 T-1
20. 211 J-P. Strugo / B. Cattarelli F/F Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero 1h13'21 T-1
21. 233 K. Kolberg / P. Larroque BR/F Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero 1h27'49 T-1


Overall classification at Nema (Mauritania)
Pos. No: Driver / Co-Driver Nat Car Time* Cat
1. 200 J-L. Schlesser / P. Monnet F/F Schlesser Megane 48h18'11 T-3
2. 207 M. Prieto / D. Serieys E/F Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero 8'57 T-3
3. 208 J. Kleinschmidt / T. Thorner D/S Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero 45'24 T-2
4. 202 K. Shinozuka / H. Magne J/F Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero 2h03'13 T-2
5. 203 H. Masuoka / A. Schulz J/D Mitsubishi Pajero Sport/
Montero Sport 		3h24'28 T-3
6. 206 J-M. Servia / T. Delli-Zotti E/E Schlesser Megane 3h24'43 T-3
7. 217 S. Peterhansel / J-P. Cottret F/F Nissan Patrol 3h53'29 T-3
8. 204 T. De Lavergne /J. Dubois F/F Nissan Patrol 5h21'41 T-3
9. 201 J-P. Fontenay / G. Picard F/F Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero 6h33'56 T-2
10. 210 C. Souza / W. Alcaraz P/F Mitsubishi L200 7h18'43 T-3
16. 236 L. Alphand / A. Debron F/F Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero
 12h24'28
T-1 1st 		T-1
17. 211 J-P. Strugo / B. Cattarelli F/F Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero 12h37'39 T-1
19. 233 K. Kolberg / P. Larroque BR/F Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero 15h06'20 T-1
27. 237 J-F. Guinot / M. Kroiss F/F Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero 20h51'49 T-1


*The time, under 2nd position is the difference from the top.
Updated 20h00 GMT

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Copyright 1999 by Mitsubishi Motors Corporation.