One of them twenty years old, the other twenty-four. Today the 8th Master Rallye gave itself a good dose of youth with the first scratches by Nicolas Misslin (Mitsubishi) and Laurent Lazard (KTM), the fastest on the Kalmukian steppes, amongst mud and dust. Relatively far apart in the overall ranking, Misslin and Lazard decided to take more risks in the last specials of the rally. This bore fruit quite rapidly. A wonderful recompense for their attacking temperament, and good promises for future rally-raids. Although the day’s winners are new, the leaders in the overall ranking are still the same. Jean-Louis Schlesser (buggy Schlesser Renault) and PG Lundmark (KTM) finishing respectively
4th and 3rd in the special. The ultimate victory would appear to be promised to them unless they have mechanical hitches.
After several difficult legs (flooded engine, tricky passage in the dunes), Nicolas Misslin therefore confirmed the extent of his talent today, at only 20 years old and in a 4x4 diesel.
«I believe we maximised the potential of this car. The rally had started well, then I had some very difficult days and we are finishing very well. Winning in a diesel is extremely gratifying. We started off fairly slowly before driving very hard. At 5 km from the finish, we hesitated slightly but we were able to keep calm and find the right trail. It was not a good time to lose our cool!» Revelation of the rally-raid during latter months, the man from Marseilles now hopes to drive a petrol-powered proto,
«quite soon», to continue his progress which is very impressive already.
Behind Misslin, Christophe Tinseau (Protruck ASM) signs the 2nd time in the special, not enough however to delight the Russian, Alexander Khrol (Mitsubishi), the
2nd place in the overall. Unfortunate during the last few days, Tinseau had another of his daily hitches, with a tyre not punctured but deflated.
«Another little quarter of an hour wasted, it is a pity, sighed Tinseau, but we had a great time. We kept up a good rate, even though we had to do almost 100 kilometres off the scheduled track.» For Schlesser as well, the day was not easy, particularly due to the omnipresent mud at the beginning of the special.
«You had to go off-trail to continue, I even called up René Metge on the radio to find out whether we had to go on. This was another day without worries, and we must be able to arrive at the finish in the same way, that is essential. This rally is going well for us, without waves or ripples.»
In category T1, the Mercedes raised their heads again after a terrible Thursday in the dunes, but it is still Yves Loubet (Nissan) who clocked in in the lead of the overall.
«Above board it will be difficult to get him by Sunday, analysed Jean-Pierre Strugo. We got a quarter of an hour from him, that will stimulate the fight slightly...»
Like Misslin in cars, Laurent Lazard (KTM) also surprised all the «oldies» by signing a remarkable success in front of Oosting, Lundmark and Dabrowksi, all on KTMs. Born in Nîmes but living in Montevideo for four years, this Franco-Uruguayan who races mostly in South America had made excellent time these last few days. But the steppes and a good navigating performance in the last kilometres of the special enabled him to impose himself.
«In view of my position in the overall (8th this morning at 2’19’’ from Lundmark), I wanted to take risks in this special. I really attacked, almost falling about ten times. I fell in the mud a little before the finish, but it was not serious even though I lost my right-hand exhaust muff. The leg was in fact run on approaching PC 6 at 40 km from the goal.» Seeing Lundmark and Flick choosing the wrong direction in front of him, Lazard made the right choice.
«I think I have improved quite a lot in this aspect since the 1st August. What is happening to me is extraordinary, magnificent!» Thanks to his scratch, Lazard now occupies the
7th place in the overall, still very far from the first ones and from Lundmark.
The Swede rode mostly with his heir apparent, François Flick, but both men spent a few kilometres «gardening» together, seeing the leg victory escape them. Not important for Lundmark who warmly congratulated Lazard for his success. «No big deal ! François made a mistake like me, it is therefore, even so, a positive day. I am very pleased to be here still, in one piece, like my motorbike. Tomorrow there will be another difficult
leg...»
They said...
They said...
They said...
N 230: The Toyota Trophy team entered the only feminine team in the Master 2002. Leg 5 was fatal for them (overturn). At the departure of yesterday’s special, Elisabete Jacinto said:
«The race is finished. We were able to repair, I am driving slowly to reach the end.»
N 206: After the hassle at the beginning of the rally, the Mercedes team is continuing in spite of it all, fighting in the outposts. Satisfied with his
6th time scratch today, Lansac however is thinking about stopping at that:
«We may change our minds, but the Master 2002 is probably our last raid.»
N 249: The
«La part du Rêve» team, entered by ASM, clocked in at the
18th place in the overall. For his first participation in a rally raid, Arnaud Neveu has discovered the joys and the hassles of navigating. The young man from Mayenne is learning quickly and is appreciative:
«Discovering a course with René Metge is a delight: He is a story-teller. I have made a kid’s dream come true.»
N 2: 7th in the 2001 edition, Kemal Merkit , 10th in the overall, has gone from hassle to hassle.
«Since the beginning I must have fallen at least 30 times! Today I wanted to show off as the helicopter was just above me and I landed up sprawling in the mud.»
N 18: «Two trip breakdowns in 3 days – that’s a lot. Today I was able to follow N 21 who is fast and get to the end. The day before yesterday, on the other hand, I had to join up with the liaison as I was lost.»
Tomorrow’s programme
After limbering up for approximately thirty kilometres, the competitors will enter the heart of the matter in Jaskul to reach Manitch at the end of the 269 kilometres of the special. Bends, dyke crossing, crevasses and even steps will be on the day’s menu. The finish around the big lake of Manitch will require a great deal of vigilance to find one’s way in dusty trails on the edge of small cliffs.
