Stage report

Cross-Country Rally

Lead changes on stage four of Pharaons prior to Schlesser exclusion

Edited: Oct 5, 2012, 3:26 AM

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#5 Husqvarna: Joan Barreda

Joan Barreda breaking away... Schlesser take the lead

It was another hot day today, and the high temperatures have been the overriding characteristic of the four stages of the Pharaons rally disputed thus far. The racing starts early in the morning for this exact reason, with the sun just peeking out over the tops of the dunes and the fresh night air still lingering over the golden sands.

#5 Husqvarna: Joan Barreda

Photo by: BMW AG

The fourth day of competition turned out to be slightly more difficult than yesterday, and perhaps a little less trying than what awaits the “survivors” tomorrow. As far as the bikes are concerned, everything can be summed up with a single name: Joan Barreda. He has swept the competition aside with such ease that the KTM riders can only look at his results with extreme envy. Everyone in the paddock now sees the Husqvarna as a serious threat to the Austrian manufacturer in the next Dakar.

After Barreda won the stage, this third of the four disputed thus far, there was something quite familiar about his comments: having started first, he said, “There were no problems with the navigation.” So no mistakes like he made during stage two, and neither Jakub Przygonski, second, nor Paulo Goncalves, third were capable of keeping pace with the Catalan gazelle, flashing his way across the scalding Egyptian desert. With Barreda now dominating almost every day, Goncalves and Przygonski are left to fight for second place.

Jordi Viladoms, fourth across the line, wasn’t able to push the limit during the 214 and 248 km long special stages, as he still has pain in his ribs from yesterday’s crash.

Pal Anders Ullevalseter suffered a different type of misfortune when his gearbox gave out just 40 km into the first stage, forcing him abandon his KTM in the desert, ready to be transported back by the balais.

For his part, Franco Picco didn’t celebrate his birthday in the best of ways today: he crashed heavily, momentarily losing consciousness. “I turned around to keep an eye on my ‘flock’, and didn’t realize I was cresting a dune,” he explained through the bruises on his face. The Italian rider has now been transported to the hospital in Cairo for the necessary follow up checks. Finishing eighth was Diocleziano Toia (Beta Dirt Racing), who is now seventh in the overall standings.

Auto: Experience has come through... for Schlesser

In the fourth stage for the cars, Jean-Louis Schlesser scored an authoritative win. He won both special stages in his classic style, a style which all the other drivers are frequently jealous of. By the end of the proceedings, the French driver had gained 25'03'' over Khalifa Al Mutaiwei, who therefore loses the overall lead by 10'07''! The final outcome is still very much undecided, but Schlesser’s lead will now allow him to keep control of his rival from the Emirates, despite playing the trailblazer role tomorrow. “An excellent day,” the victorious driver declared, “and also very difficult. I caught Khalifa in the dunes, at the 100th kilometer. Then I had to play the role of trailblazer, because the wind had blown away all the previous tracks in the sand. Many times I thought I had wondered off course, since the sand was perfectly untouched.”

Khalifa Al-Mutawei was slowed down when he got badly stuck in the sand and punctured a tyre.

Breaking News: Schlesser’s adventure is over!

For the first time in twenty years of rally-raid experience, the ”Schlesser Adventure” faces a tough evening after having had an outstanding day !

After a random check by the FIA technical steward at the end of two special stages carried out on the day (215 km and 248 km), through a torrid climate and a super heated engines, the authorized air intake size of 37.2mm was found to be outside of the regulations!

To err is human. The Schlesser Aventures Team who is usually perfect in the preparation of their 2 WD buggies, finds itself excluded from the Egyptian championship round as notified by the FIA.

As a result, the blue Buggy exits from the stage without even appealing the decision.

We remind you that the paring of Jean-Louis Schlesser – Konstantin Zhiltsov had taken the lead following the 4th stage with 10:07 gap over the Mini All4 Racing of Khalifa Al-Mutawei – Andreas Schulz (X-Raid).

Therefore is the team of Fazza Cross Country Rally that regains the leadership before the two crucial stages of the Pharaons Rally.

Source: Pharaons 2012

Patrick Sireyjol was second 15 min behind Schlesser and in front of Régis Delahaye, who got many troubles today: «We got lost, stucked in the sand, and bumped against a Buggy on a dune»

For the Dakar Challenge Costel Casuneau – Maurilio Zani (Mitsubishi) are the actual leader of the classification, waiting to mantain the position until the and and win the entry at 2013 Dakar.

Tomorrow the fifth stage will bring back to Tibnyia. 405 km of special stage in program.

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