Team Nissan France Dessoude continued its fine performance. During the third leg of the Rally of the Orient, Isabelle Patissier and Benoît Rousselot set a fast pace through fields and mountains…

Quite a day for the competitors of this edition of the Rally of the Orient, who were able to admire some astounding landscapes during the 431 km stage. A radical change of scenery, from yesterday’s flat country to the 2400-metre mountain pass. The caravan has set up its bivouac in the heart of the town of Sivas, to the east of Anatolia.

During this stage, full of navigation, with gravel tracks that became rocky in the mountains, Benoît Rousselot put on a real demonstration. Quite at ease behind the wheel of his Nissan Pathfinder, he devoured the kilometres at a high pace, and was particularly satisfied at the finish, when he was classified 6th.

«This is the best day since the start of this rally. Not a single mistake ; Fabian and I are really beginning to complement each other, we’re becoming quite a team.” The team managed well over the route, which hid a number of traps. «I took particular care of my Nissan Pathfinder, there is still a long way to go, and I don’t want to damage it. »

Starting fourth in the stage, the ‘bomb’ Serge Jordan caught up with him in the mountains. «He overtook us on the narrow, rocky mountain track, on the mountain side, just like a rocket ! We’re not driving in the same category so I did not put up any resistance ». Benoît drove quickly «but cleanly, » he added, « in the sectors which allowed it. It was hard, but we had a lot of fun.” He is currently lying 5th overall, and has further strengthened his lead in the Production category.

Isabelle Patissier also had fun today, telling a good story at the finish. “I landed in clay-like mud at one point. With Thierry, we got the strap out, and, when I put it in reverse gear, I covered him with mud.” The co-driver did not want to get down from the cockpit; still very muddy, he could not wait to find some water and get himself clean. “Apart from that, there were no real problems today. We overtook a lot of bikes and quads, which threw up a lot of dust.” Seventh in the stage, eighth overall, the four minutes they lost in the mud means that the nr 203 Nissan Dessoude has dropped down one place.

Tomorrow, the third leg will be 599 km long, taking the competitors from Sivas to Erzurum. It will include two special stages. The first is 183 km long, the second 148 km. They are completely different, the first taking part in a very long valley, possibly badly crevassed due to the heavy rain over the past weeks. With one pass to cross, and a number of villages on the route, there will be little work for the navigators. The second stage, also with few navigational difficulties, will wind through the mountains, along a river and a railway line. There will be two mountains to cross, which will test the drivers.