Carlos Sousa returns to the African trails

The first day of competition on Moroccan soil - and an opportunity to get used to the trails and its potential traps. Carlos Sousa used the day to adapt to the 'African' pace again, after a year away. A 14th fastest time on the special stage, and 13th place overall. The Portuguese driver prefers to aim for the distance, and remarks that the leaders had started off at a very fast pace…

Having spent the night on the ship between Malaga and Nador, the competitors set off for a 237 km liaison stage, using the new navigation system with hidden GPS points.
Carlos Sousa, with his Nissan Navara, had chosen moderation for today's stage. Preferring to gamble on the length of the event rather than on the individual time, the Portuguese driver gave himself the time to get used to the trails again at a more cautious pace :
" The rally leaders started off very quickly, a bit too quickly in my opinion. The Dakar is long, and I did not choose to attack full out from the start. We took advantage of the day to get used to things, the vehicle, Jean Marie and myself. I must admit that did not really enjoy myself, because it was not the kind of stage I prefer. The dust was quite a problem, and overtaking the bikes was risky. We have to adjust the suspensions that did not correspond to my driving style, but nothing too fundamental. The race is only just starting…"

A day of mixed fortunes for the Dessoude clan. Both Holowczyc and Mitsuhashi, in the two Pickups, had problems, for totally different reasons.
Andre Dessoude explained the reason behind these problems : " Holowczyc's vehicle had a problem on the liaison section. We found sand in all the fuel filters, even though the reservoir was new. The car stopped on the liaison, and stayed there for a long time, until the T4 truck solved the problem. Holowczyc finally took the start, but over an hour late… As for Mitsuhashi, after 4 km of the special stage, lifted up an enormous rock in a wadi, which tore out the transmission. The T4 truck was able to repair it, but although he rejoined, he had lost a lot of time."

Miguel Barbosa had an oil leak around 80 km from the finish. The Portuguese driver mended the problem himself, shunting a tube. He lost around 30 minutes in the operation.

To give an update on the two Chinese Paladin vehicles, nothing to note for Xu Lang, who set an excellent 45th time, while Zhou Yong's vehicle suffered a front transmission failure. This did not bother him too much, as there was no sand, and on rocky roads like those crossed today, it is quite possible to get through with rear-wheel-drive only.

Today was a good warm-up for the still-serene Marc Blazquez : "A very good day, and I am very pleased with my position. This 24th place on the special stage is the normal position for me at the moment. As the special stage was very rough, we were very careful, in order to keep the vehicle in good condition."

The Italian team had a few minor worries today.
Kenjiro Shinozuka, in the new generation Nissan Pathfinder, was keeping something in reserve : " It was very difficult today, both the navigation and the tracks. I drove very slowly, as I am still not totally confident with this car, that I am still discovering. We had a few small problems, as first the front drive was slightly open, which made me be careful. And then we had a puncture, and we had some problems opening the boot. We lost around fifteen minutes. But the main thing is to be here this evening."
Russian driver Andrej Ivanov appeared content to have finished today's stage : " Not a very good day overall. The navigation was very difficult, and we made a few mistakes. We missed a crossroads, and came back on our tracks quite quickly, but then we had to put up with the dust from those competitors who had taken advantage of our mistake to overtake us. We also had to block the brakes once, to avoid a car, and afterwards they made a strange noise…"


Tomorrow's special stage is the most varied of the rally, with the first dunes and the first saline lakes. A 386 km timed stage after a short 56 km liaison. Tomorrow evening, the bivouac will be in Ouarzazate.