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Isabelle Patissier, with her Nissan Pathfinder,
wins in T1 and takes the lead of the World Cup
for the Category...
RALLY OPTIC 2000 TUNISIA 2004 Rally Report
LEG 7: Monday April 12th - RASS EL OUED / TOZEUR
Liaison 183 Km - Special Stage 282 Km - Liaison 40 Km - Total 505 Km
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Isabelle Patissier wins in T1 and finished in the top ten overall, being classified 9th and the first Nissan. She thus becomes the first female winner in this category during a round of the World Cup. Kenjiro Shinozuka, who had problems yesterday, returned to the bivouac at 4:00 this morning. The Japanese driver was therefore forced to retire. Cros and Bourgin finished in style.
After winning the Prologue, Isabelle Patissier had to leave the leading position in the Production category to Alexandre Debanne, before claiming it back two days later. Her main rival 'broke' on the final special stage and rolled his vehicle, having been under pressure for the last three days. Isabelle was delighted with her result. Since the Dakar, she has had a perfect record. On the final podium, Isabelle shared this fine win with her navigator Bernard Irissou and their mechanic: "I would like to thank the whole team, who have done a superb job. It is very reassuring to know you are surrounded and supported by such people, it really helps you to be confident. I would also like to thank Bernard, whose navigation has been great...(big smile). The Pathfinder proved itself to be competitive from the start to the end, it was extremely well prepared and, quite honestly, its efficiency is quite astounding. I am getting to know the car very well, and I must say that it is very pleasant to drive a car that is as fast and homogenous as this one. The mechanical problems we encountered were only race incidents. On such an exacting event, it is normal that you will have some problems. I am delighted with this result, but it is only the first round; the season will be long and the competition very tough. We will definitely be in Morocco and Turkey. As for the Bajas, I'll have to talk to the 'boss'..."
Finishing the rally at the 'Star Wars' location, not far from the area where the film was made (Episode 1), Isabelle was met by her nearest rival, a legend in the T1 category, Jean Pierre Strugo. As gentlemanly as ever, he came to congratulate her warmly, and when a journalist asked if this was symbolic for the future, Jean Pierre confirmed that he was still there, and not ready to give up yet. However, when asked if the win from the French woman was the 'consecration of a queen' , he agreed. A very nice gesture.
The unfortunate Kenjiro Shinozuka got back to the Rass El Oued bivouac in the early hours of the morning. Helped by the assistance truck, it was too late to work on the Pickup and get it ready for the final stage. The problem was, as suspected, a prop-shaft failure followed by a broken steering joint. A great disappointment for the team, which had run a perfect race up until then, and could easily have finished in second place overall. But the Japanese driver has vowed to get his revenge in Morocco...
As far as the 'clients' were concerned, François Cros was strong again today... He finished 14th in today's stage, despite a problem 50 km from the end. «We were going well. For the final stage, I wanted to set a good time. But then, around 50 km from the finish line, we broke our front driveshaft. There was no way we could set a good time after that... We finished in two-wheel drive, and we were very happy to get there! Without the wheel problem we had at the start of the rally, we could have managed a very nice result. But that's racing, nothing is ever certain !»
Jacky Bourgin, running like clockwork, has had a cloud-free event, finishing 15th today, and 17th overall. A very fine performance for the fastest Nissan dealer around...
André Dessoude, delighted with the T1 category win, did not attempt to hide his disappointment for 'Shino' : "I am really satisfied that Isabelle completed her mission successfully. But before we can talk about the title, there is still a long way to go. However, I am really sad for Shino. He had put in a very fine performance, and yesterday that was all reduced to nothing. That is the first time that a propshaft has broken on one of our Pickups
As soon as we are back in France, we will analyse the problem. But something very positive has come from this event : to see Kenjiro take so much pleasure in his driving, and to hear him talk about it. We will be in Morocco with Isabelle, of course, along with Paul Belmondo and Kenjiro."
This 23rd Rally of Tunisia finished with a fine success for Team Nissan France Dessoude, but a slightly bitter taste will remain, having come so close to the overall podium. See you in early June for the Orpi Morocco Rally. |
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RESULTS
Overall Classification after SS 7: RASS EL OUED/TOZEUR
Monday April 12th 2004
[ Liaison 183 Km - Special Stage 282 Km - Liaison 40 Km - Total 505 Km ] |
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| Pos. |
Dos. |
PILOT / CO PILOT |
Make |
Time/Gap |
| 1 |
200 |
PETERHANSEL-COTTRET |
MITSUBISHI |
21h02'49" |
| 2 |
203 |
ALMUTAIWEI-GUEHENNEC |
BMW |
+01h14'13" |
| 3 |
218 |
HENRARD-LOW |
VOLKSWAGEN |
+01h37'17" |
| 4 |
207 |
MONTERDE-TORNABEL |
MITSUBISHI |
+02h30'24" |
| 5 |
229 |
LANSAC-JACQUEMARD |
PRO-TRUCK |
+02h41'41" |
| 6 |
216 |
HOUSIEAUX-LURQUIN |
MITSUBISHI |
+02h47'25" |
| 7 |
205 |
KOMORNICKI-MARTON |
MITSUBISHI |
+02h56'02" |
| 8 |
223 |
GUINOT-KROISS |
BUGGY |
+03h36'20" |
| 9 |
221 |
PATISSIER-IRISSOU |
NISSAN |
+03h45'54" |
| 10 |
268 |
BERKUT-ANTON |
NISSAN |
+04h47'44" |
| 16 |
209 |
OLIVEIRA-DOMINELLA |
NISSAN |
+07h04'44" |
| 17 |
231 |
BOURGIN-ANCEMENT |
NISSAN |
+07h07'11" |
| 41 |
222 |
CROS-VACHARD |
NISSAN |
+13h54'51" |
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| the time for 2nd and below are the gap from the 1st |
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