UAE DESERT CHALLENGE 2004
OTHER CATEGORIES
RACE SCHEDULE
PROLOGUE Sunday 10th October 2004 Race Result
COLIN MCRAE SECOND IN THE PROLOGUE
UAE DESERT CHALLENGE 2004 Rally Report
PROLOGUE: Sunday October 10th 2004, DUBAI - JEBEL ALI - 2 km
Colin McRae lined up today to take the start of the UAE Desert Challenge - only his second-ever rally raid. The penultimate round of the World Cup for Cross Country Rallies, this traditional pre-Dakar event is, as usual, looking like a full dress rehearsal for January's event. Colin was second fastest in the 2-kilometre Prologue, which took place in the suburbs of Dubai. Colin is the only representative of the Nissan Rally Raid Team taking part in this event; he is driving a 2003 version of the factory Nissan Pickup, entrusted to Team Dessoude.

In Dubai today, Gilles Martineau, Team Manager of the Nissan Rally Raid Team, explained this choice : "Colin needs additional time behind the wheel, especially in the sand, in order to prepare for the Dakar. This is also a perfect opportunity to check out some options concerning the issues of deflating and re-inflating the tyres, as the automatic system will be banned during the next Dakar. We chose to run Colin through the Dessoude team for a number of reasons. The 2003 Pickup is closest to our current car. As André Dessoude has just bought the car driven by Vatenen in 2003, it seemed quite logical to let Colin drive this vehicle. Moreover, Team Dessoude regularly runs the Pickup in rounds of the World Cup, and has excellent knowledge of the car. The car is entered by Nissan Europe, but Team Dessoude will take care of all technical aspects."

This will be a life-sized test for Colin McRae, who will once again be partnered by Tina Thörner, his team-mate during the Dakar :

"This rally is an excellent opportunity for me. One rally raid a year is just not enough to prepare for the Dakar. The Desert Challenge is an ideal way to get back up to speed and to find the right race pace. Furthermore, this event is mainly run over sand, and you need time to learn how to be as competitive as possible. Even if we will not have our new car, we will experiment with the new deflating - re-inflating system, which can no longer be done automatically. This will be a good practice run for the coming months. I am also discovering the car, as I never had the opportunity to drive the 2003 version of the Pickup. I think that tomorrow, after the first real stage, I will have a better idea of the conditions. Even if I was second fastest today, it is difficult to get a real feeling for the event. The Prologue was very short, and the sand extremely soft. But no matter what, there is one factor that cannot be ignored throughout this event c the heat."

The Scottish driver has a fine team-mate within Team Dessoude, namely Grégoire de Mevius, who recently won the Orient Rally with a Nissan Pickup, and who finished fifth in today's two-kilometre prologue. The third car in the team is that driven by Isabelle Patissier, who arrived in Dubai with the aim of claiming the T1 world title. A prisoner of the soft sands on the Jebel Ali track, she lost a few minutes today and will start off tomorrow from the middle of the pack.

Tomorrow, the serious business will get under way, starting from Abu Dhabi and finishing in Moreeb, not far from the Liwa oasis. The cars will soon face their first trials, when they have to cross the first sand-dunes, which are described as being eredoubtable'. Sand, sand and more sandc
RESULTS
CLASSIFICATION - PROLOGUE - JEBEL ALI (2 Km)
Pos. PILOT / CO PILOT Car Time
1 Saby - Perin VW Race Touareg 00:02:32
2 McRae - Thörner NISSAN Pickup 00:02:34
3 Peterhansel - Cottret Mitsubishi Pajero Evo 3 00:02:38
3 Masuoka - Magne Mitsubishi Pajero Evo 2 00:02:38
5 De Mevius - Dubois NISSAN Pickup 00:02:40
6 Kleinschmidt - Pons VW Race Touareg 00:02:44