Isabelle Patissier rolls 90 km into the second special stage, but is able to repair the car and get going again. Benoît Rousselot had three punctures, and loses slightly over 7 minutes to Serguey Sukhovenko in the other Team Dessoude Nissan Pathfinder, who takes the lead of the T2 category.

During yesterday evening’s briefing, the organisers spoke of the difficulties that the competitors would face on today’s two timed sectors; their predictions proved to be correct. Many of those competitors still in the race were either caught in the sand or suffered multiple punctures.

Isabelle Patissier, 16th in the first timed sector, received a severe sanction in the second. After 90 km, just 9 km from the assistance area, Isabelle went off the track. Hitting some large rocks violently, three nuts from the front left lower steering joint were broken off. A roll was inevitable. Serge Jordan helped the team to put the Pathfinder back on its wheels. Having undertaken repairs on the side of the road, the nr 209 Nissan got going again. Isabelle is trying to reach the finish line of this second special stage, but has still not reached the Oued Chebika bivouac.

Amagnificent battle is building up in the T2 category. Benoît Rousselot, leading the category until yesterday, had to relinquish the first place to Serguey Sukhovenko, the Team Dessoude in the other Pathfinder. The French driver explained the situation :

«Iwas slightly worried on the first loop. I have not yet learned all the secrets of the dunes… We got through the worst difficulties without problems, but 2 km from the end of this loop, we got stuck in the sand. On the second sector, we started off strongly, but then we had a puncture. At the assistance area, we opted to take an extra spare wheel on board. That was a good choice, as we had a second puncture. The wheel would not go on, and we fought with it for around 10 minutes. Raring to go, we got back on the track and caught up with Jean Pierre Strugo 70 km from the finish line, and overtook him. Unfortunately, we made a small mistake going into the cliff pass. We got lost, and it took us a while to get back on the right heading. 10 km from the finish, we had another puncture. This time, we decided not to stop. Sergey drove well and he has taken the overall lead. Nothing is lost yet, there are still two days of racing, on faster tracks which suit me better. I can still catch up. »

As Benoît said, nothing is over yet. Tomorrow’s stage between Oued Chebika and Agadir could still hold some surprises in store. The start of this 4th leg will be very fast, on a rather technical track, which will take them to a pass in the heart of the mountains. After this pass, a trail marked with cairns will take the competitors to M’sied where the assistance point will be located. Over 100 km, the cairns will take the cars on a trail drawn through the vegetation, crossing a number of saline lakes, with dips and undulations which will give them a number of changes of pace. After 206 km, the competitors will leave the wide track to go onto a tighter, more technical section, going through a pass after traversing a magnificent canyon. Out of the mountain, they will reach the finish of this tricky stage south of Goulimine by a last fast section, before facing the longest liaison sector of the rally, which will take them back to Agadir.