THE RACE

10.08.2002 Press Release
Kropotkin/Anapa

Schlesser and Lundmark close to the goal

It is not a scoop: Jean-Louis Schlesser (buggy Schlesser-Renault) and PG Lundmark (KTM) are still in the lead of the 8^th Master Rallye this evening on completion of the last-but-one leg, and, unless an accident occurs, will win the final victory tomorrow on the shores of the Black Sea. As expected, the special contested at the beginning of the day on technical and very wet trails did not change the overall ranking very much.

In his buggy, Schlesser did not take the slightest risk in the fords on a layout that he did not appreciate much, effectively not very well adapted to his vehicle. An unusual 20^th place in the scratch leaves him at 11’38’’ from the winner of the day, Nicolas Misslin (Mitsubishi), who signed his second scratch in three days. At 20 years old, the man from Marseilles clearly asserted himself as one of the great hopes of rally-raids. «The evaluation of this Master Rallye is very positive. With my diesel, I believe I did as much as possible. Today, I really wanted to make the best time. It was very technical, pure driving, where I can express myself at my best with our car. This victory is a wonderful reward for the mechanics who worked throughout the night under very difficult conditions. Now I hope to drive my petrol proto very soon.»

Behind Misslin, Lukasz Komornicki (Mitsubishi) took second place and confirmed the good course by the Polish competitors on this Master, as his compatriot and team companion, Marek Dabrowski (KTM) won the leg in motorbikes (see below). «Rally-raids are becoming very popular in our country, explained Komornicki, 37-year-old professional driver, established in Warsaw. Our team is progressing and soon we hope to bring trucks and aim for the top in the rating.»

Strengthened by his significant advance in the overall, Schlesser was able to spend a peaceful day; the duel between Yves Loubet (Nissan) and Jean-Pierre Strugo (Mercedes) for the first place in category T1 forced the two drivers to play a very tight game. Having secured an advance of 5’58’’ on Strugo at the departure, was Loubet going to succeed in forgetting his overturn the day before? The answer came from…Strugo, who in turn suffered an overturn when badly negotiating a descent on gravel. «I had decided to attack, and I got myself trapped, not very rapidly moreover. The car found itself in the ditch. Christian Misslin helped me and Magnaldi put me back on the trail but in all I wasted about ten minutes and lost all hope of victory in T1.» Loubet admits «having hurt his car in a very rally-type and pleasant special. But as long as you are moving, it is a good sign!» The Corsican also said that he was very satisfied with the choice of tyres fitted on his Nissan, and should now spend a much calmer Sunday with over a quarter of an hour’s margin on Strugo.

Almost ready to withdraw yesterday, Christophe Tinseau is still there and his Protruck ASM, damaged Friday, (lower A-arm bracket broken) as well. His 5th place in the scratch is proof of this and he hopes to do even better tomorrow. «We are aiming at victory in this last leg, the team has worked so hard to repair the car that it deserves it. On Friday, I waited five hours for my assistance who then worked for four hours. It is the experience of rally-raids which is sinking in! But we set off again, the chassis re-welded, and the car is spick-and-span!»

As for trucks, the Russian team (Mardeev-Belyaev-Chagin) in a Kamaz should win a very logical victory tomorrow as they have run the race in the lead since Saint Petersburg. The Kamaz is even in 10^th place in the overall car rating.

For motorbikes, sprayed from top to toe with mud such as Sireyjol (KTM), 2^nd in the scratch of this «good shower with no navigating difficulties», this special for Enduro experts was marked by the victory of Dabrowski, whose KTM 660 was the fastest, in front of those of Sireyjol and Flick. «It is a terrific surprise, great satisfaction but I effectively had the feeling that I went quite fast today. This is my 5^th rally-raid, after three Dakars and the last Morocco Rally. I am still at an apprenticeship stage, I came to the Master Rallye to improve myself.» This is obviously successful. For the final victory, we will have to wait some more, even though the eternal leader PG Lundmark (KTM) still refuses to admit this openly, at a few kilometres only from an announced acclaim. His fall on a stone during the last ford crossing gave him a perfect excuse for showing his prudence once more. «I wasn’t frightened of losing everything, but my engine could easily have suffered. No-one is protected from a fall, look what happened today to Kemal (Turkish motorbiker crashed into on the road by a car and injured in the wrist).»

Unless he has this type of predicament, Lundmark will carry off a prestigious success tomorrow, which could reward him with a KTM factory handlebars for the coming rally-raids. «I don’t believe this over much, moderated the Swede. They have at least ten drivers of high value. I think I will rather try to assemble a project with private sponsors. I can try to further improve myself..» Competition, factory or private, be warned.

Tomorrow’s programme

This last leg between Anapa et Novorossysk (170 km including 54 of special) will entirely take place on the sea shore, on the Imperial Riviera beaches in circuit. In the first part of the special, the very soft sand will be reminiscent of the Le Touquet Enduro. The return towards the finish will be run on a grassy and sandy trail with fords to be crossed. Look out for surprises which may arise!
 

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