The start of the last special stage of a rally has a flavour all its own. Tired crews, worn vehicles, it is important to stay alert and finish the event with flair. Which is what Benoît Rousselot did, winning the « Production » (T2) category for the first time in his relatively short rally raid career.

During the 156-km final stage of the Rally of the Orient, Benoît Rousselot and Fabian Lurquin, with a solid lead in the Production category, worked together as they have done every day during the six previous legs. Each was concentrated on his own role, while ‘taking care’, as the Nissan driver was keen to add. With victory so close, every metre counts. So the two colleagues did not put themselves under stress, driving at a good pace, removing all thoughts from their minds of the 6-minute penalty they received the day before for straying out of the 1km corridor (1.3km).

An emphatic victory, crossing the line with a lead of one hour over Ronan Chabot, and an emotion-filled account of the event from the rookie.
«I am really satisfied with this first win, which I hope will be the first of many. To win on just my third event, with a new navigator, as new to the business as I am, is not that easy. The navigation on this rally was incredibly important. Both Fabian and I learnt a lot during this week, accumulating experience that will be useful for the rest of the season. My roll on Thursday, Fabian’s navigational mistake yesterday: these are all lessons we have learned. We did not lose our cool during those difficult moments, making up for the mistake as best we could on the following day.»

To finish 6th overall and first in Production was an excellent result for the young duo, full of good sense and good will. «For the future, I want Fabian and myself to turn ourselves into a redoubtable team. I hope we will be able to show this in Egypt and then in the Desert Challenge. If we have to go to Dubaï to defend our hopes of winning the title, we will do everything we can to make that journey, which is not really part of our programme ».

The next round of the World Cup, in Egypt, will be a first for both Isabelle Patissier and Benoît Rousselot. The mountaineering champion was smiling brightly at the finish line, which said a lot about her satisfaction with the result, a satisfaction shared with her navigator Thierry Delli Zotti, having finished 7th.«My first thought is for René Metge, who I would like to thank for the quality and the variety of the route he set down. In his choice of routes, you found many ingredients which favoured driving skills, while also letting navigation play a significant role. We never got bored during the stages, with each one as beautiful as the day before. You can really tell that René is a driver, and that he wants to share his passion for rally-raid competition by showing the very best this country can offer. »

For Isabelle and Thierry, finishing the rally in such a good position has helped to forget their previous disappointments. She added : “It was definitely worthwhile coming to Turkey !”

Two delighted teams, and a very satisfied preparer. André Dessoude added : «I am pleased with this success. We will go to Egypt and to Dubai to fight until the end. I know that our Nissan Pathfinders are competitive and helping Benoît to win is a priority, while retaining a hope of claiming a one-two in Production with Russian driver Sukhovenko (who won in Morocco),at the end of the season.» An aim set at the start of the season, in order to keep the title, won last year by Isabelle Patissier, with Nissan.