Over a hundred kilometres shorter than the previous day’s stage, the fourth leg of the UAE Desert Challenge did not give the Nissan cars any bad surprises. Grégoire de Mevius maintained his second place in the overall classification without taking any risks, while Isabelle Patissier took second place in T1.
The third and final loop around Moreeb, 255 km long, did not make any serious changes to the overall classification. If Hiroshi Masuoka increased his lead, and is assured of the win, Grégoire de Mevius drove at a cautious pace, preferring to make sure of his position rather than taking any desperate risks to hunt down the Japanese driver.
«The stage was not very long, but quite difficult. There was a six or seven kilometre section where it would have been relatively easy to make a mistake. We were going at a good pace when we nearly fell into a dip. We had to turn really hard in order to avoid the hole. I must admit we really gave ourselves a big scare. It was on the limit. Further on, we stopped to let the air out of the tyres. Since the start of the rally, we had decided not to use the automatic system to test ourselves before the Dakar. I am very pleased with this choice, as it allowed us to test ourselves in real conditions.
The car had a few little misfires. But it looks as if the water temperature gauge was off. Nothing too serious. Today, we drove at a ‘Dakar’ pace, but the Mitsubishi cars had opted to go faster. The rally is nearly over, as we will return to Dubai in a liaison stage. I am very pleased with this second place, which pleased the whole team, and is a good sign before the Dakar. But we need to get back to Dubai and get back on the podium before celebrating. “
Grégoire de Mevius is a careful man, and he knows well that the race is not over until they are up on the podium. An opinion shared by a smiling Jacky Dubois : «For a whole day we dreamed of catching up with Masuoka, but this second place is already very satisfying. The party will be for tomorrow…”
Isabelle Patissier and Bernard Irissou were very happy to have finished with the dunes and the sand. Scenery which has been their daily lot for four days.
«We were stuck in a dip and it took nearly an hour to get out. The funny think is that we were the first to get stuck there, but we were not alone for long. One after another, the cars came and parked next to ours. Everyone helped his ‘neighbour’ to get out of the incredibly soft sand. A real festival of shovel and boards. Apart from that stop, we just landed rather hard in a descent. The heat was just as intense as ever. Like yesterday, our eyes were firmly fixed on the engine temperature. This rally is a good preparation for the Dakar, you could just complain that it is not quite varied enough. The menu of the last four days : sand, sand, and more sand.. Tomorrow we will be in Dubai and it will be time to savour the T1 World title.
On Friday, the competitors will travel to Dubai in liaison for the podium ceremony. Eyes and ears will certainly be alert to listen for the slightest problem.
