Arras-Madrid-Dakar: Stage five quotes

January 1, 2002 Stage 5 quotes:

BIKES

Alfie Cox
"It was a short stage and not really a test, but the liaison was really long. It seemed to go on and on. No problem with the bike and I was surprised there wasn't too much traffic on the tracks. I'm looking forward to the first long one tomorrow.

I've got a busy season ahead and maybe I will get a chance to ride the 'twin' on one race. This is a motocross bike compared with that..."

Carlo de Gavardo
"The stage was okay. I didn't realise I had been fastest, but it is a nice feeling. I did a little damage to the front mudguard and it began flapping a little, but no real problem. It's always nice to win a stage early on (Carlo was fastest on a section in Morocco last year)."

CARS

Dominique Serieys - Mitsubishi team manager
"We have four factory cars and a car for Mitsubishi Portugal. There are no team orders at this stage. It is too early, but this may change later. We are running the new Evolution specification of the cars we tested in Dubai, but decided to run the older, normal compound tyre and not the one we were testing before this race."

Hiroshi Masuoka - winner of the stage
"It was a very short stage, but quite fast. I am pleased. The stage was quite easy to drive. This is only the start of the race. I would like to win the Dakar, but before the finish everything must work perfectly."

Bruno Saby (Ford) 15th in the stage today
"I have not yet been able to exploit the potential of the car. It is the start of a new team and a time to better get to know and understand my co-driver Jerome. It is the first time together. If we put everything in place we can take confidence that we will be competitive.

The car is balanced, nice to drive and effective in the corners. I have never pretended that we can win. I have a three-year programme. I remain modest about my ambitions."

-aso-