Dakar
Dakar: Nissan Dessoude stage 12 report
Carlos Sousa sets the fifth stage time... Once again, Benoît Rousselot is fastest in Production On today's stage between Kiffa and Bamako, Carlos Sousa and Thierry Delli Zotti set the fifth fastest time. A fine performance for the Nissan Pickup ...
Published: Jan 14, 2005, 8:42 PM
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Carlos Sousa sets the fifth stage time...
Once again, Benoît Rousselot is fastest in Production
On today's stage between Kiffa and Bamako, Carlos Sousa and Thierry Delli Zotti set the fifth fastest time. A fine performance for the Nissan Pickup duo. Benoît Rousselot set the best time in the T1 category and finished in 15th place on today's stage.
A difficult stage on a route full of potential pitfalls. The passage into Mali had not looked easy, which was confirmed during today's stage. The rally's second marathon stage meant that there were no assistance trucks waiting at Bamako, but this time, the cars were not put in Parc Fermé. However, the competitors will have to work on their cars without any extra help.
Over this 586 km special stage, the Pickup driven by Carlos Sousa did a wonderful job, setting the fifth fastest time. Carlos Sousa really gave his all : "I really enjoyed today's stage. From a driver's point of view, it was very interesting, undoubtedly the most interesting stage since the start of the rally. A bit too long, however. I am pleased with the result because we had a small mechanical problem yesterday, and the mechanics worked throughout the night. This result is a good way to thank them for all their hard work. They are not here, but I hope they are pleased; we will see them in Kayes tomorrow. I really like this sort of stage, and today we really did the maximum with the car."
Thierry Delli Zotti had plenty of work too : "There were lots of tracks ... and only one was the right one. It was not a straightforward stage. We made a few mistakes going into the villages, as did many others, I think. Carlos really enjoyed himself. He was really fantastic, driving in the best possible way, setting the right pace. The car was exceptionally good too. My thanks to the mechanics for all their work last night."
Congratulations to Benoît Rousselot, who claimed his second stage win in the T1 class. The Nancy-based driver set the 15th fastest time overall, and has jumped up to 35th place in the overall classification. The liaison sector was quite long, and Benoît had still not reached the bivouac at the time of writing.
Tomorrow will see the second Mali stage take place. The competitors will reach Kayes by the end of this second marathon stage. The special stage will be 370 km long, after driving over 200 km in liaison.
-nissan france-
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