Carlos Sousa and his Nissan Navara are now 8th

Carlos Sousa, in the Nissan Navara, is still holding position amongst the big teams. The leading private team in the overall classification, Team GALP ENERGIA was seventh fastest in today's special stage, and has gained another place overall. The third and final part of the Dakar has just started. A change of scenery and a different set of traps to avoid.

The tenth of the Dakar's stages saw the competitors leave Mauritania and head for Mali. Thinking that they no longer had to deal with the redoubtable dunes they had faced over the last two stages, the teams once more had to cope with shovels and planks. It might have been a brief interlude, but it added to the fatigue of all those who arrived late last night or at dawn. Once in Mali itself, the vegetation grew denser, and the vehicles could speed up. A narrow track through the baobabs and saline lakes which dotted the route, this stage was a good transition before the difficulties on the programme for tomorrow's first stage in deepest Africa. 333 kilometres were on today's schedule, including 283 km of timed stage, arriving at the Kayes bivouac in the middle of the afternoon.

Carlos Sousa's results are proof of his excellent regularity. Yesterday he was 8th in the stage, and today he was 7th. He also improved one place in the overall classification.
"Everything went very well today. We started quite quickly, and Sainz, who was really flying, overtook us like a rocket at the 70 km point ! Afterwards, due to some pain in my neck, I calmed down a bit. Today, we entered into the third and final part of the Dakar, with its narrow, winding tracks. You have to make sure the trees aren't crossing the road, as Ari Vatanen would say… Despite the care we took, we set the seventh time on this stage, and I am very pleased, as most of the top drivers are still driving very quickly. They are not here to go for a gentle walk. The strength of our team is the incredible reliability of the cars."

Benoît Rousselot had an extremely trying day yesterday, with all sorts of problems and a night spent out on the stage. This morning, no sooner had he arrived in Kiffa than he had to start off again on the Kiffa-Kayes stage. The final victory in the Production category might have slipped away, but his determination is intact, as Benoît set the fastest time over today's stage.

" We had all sorts of problems from Nouakchott to Kiffa, and the night was very short, and not that good. First of all, at the 90 km point, our front right transmission broke. That lost us an hour. Then, the clutch started playing up, at the 420 km point, it gave up altogether. And finally, after 450 km, in the very last part of the special stage, part of the front axle broke. An essential part, which brought us to a total halt. We waiting five hours for the T4 assistance truck, and well into the night, the mechanics changed the part. We managed to finish the stage at dawn, and got to the Kiffa bivouac at half past eight in the morning !
I am really disappointed - how is it possible to lose all hopes of victory in just one leg ? In Kiffa, we only had time to have breakfast, to sleep for an hour, and then we had to start off for the next stage, between Kiffa and Kayes. Luckily the day's stage was pleasant, which allowed us to stay concentrated and not fall asleep. It was some small consolation that we set the 27th fastest time overall, and the best in the Production category."

This evening's update from André Dessoude :" Today, Carlos Sousa had no problems, setting the seventh-fastest time and climbing another place in the overall classification, following the problems that befell Magnaldi. Our Portuguese driver, Miguel Barbosa, had a small power steering problem, and he found the stage physically very difficult on this winding stage, with the steering being very heavy.
Although Benoît Rousselot was psychologically affected by his problems of the day before, he still continued to attack, and finished the day having set the best time in the day in the Production category. No problems for René Metge, always consistent and in the top 40 overall. Finally, our two Paladins are still there ; everything is going well for them, although we are going to change a gearbox this evening as a precautionary measure, as the third gear is cracking.

Marc Blazquez with the Nissan Pickup : "The Nouakchott-Kiffa special stage went without problems, we drove carefully and got through all the dunes without difficulties. Unfortunately, on the liaison, the front right wheel bearing seized. We had to wait for the assistance truck to repair it, and got some penalties for getting back late to the liaison checkpoint. No problems for the Kiffa-Kayes stage, where we finished 19th overall."

An update from Daniele Canonico - Team Manager (Tecnosport) : "Unfortunately, we don't have our T4 race truck any more, as it went to help Shinozuka who retired. Luckily, the three cars remaining don't have any problems. My orders to my drivers : drive carefully and get to Dakar."

Andrej Ivanov- Nissan Pathfinder: " Today, I had the surprise of seeing my left rear wheel overtake me in the middle of the special stage. Luckily I wasn't driving that quickly, as I was pulling to one side to let Delavergne overtake me. We were able to repair it ourselves, losing around twenty minutes. It was a good special stage, quite fun."


Tomorrow, they head for Bamako, the capital city of Mali. The 231 km special stage will include forests and savannas, in sumptuous scenery. The tracks will be very narrow, and any navigational errors will be very costly indeed…