|
 | Dakar 2010: The 5 JMB Stradale Mitsubishi still on track.
|
The second stage, 687 km from Cordoba to La Rioja, required more concentration than usual for certain members of the JMB Stradale Off Road team who finished this stage in 9th, 10th, 15th, 16th, and 20th positions. The best time was run by Carlos Sousa, followed by Orly Terranova, and two minutes separate the times of Nicolas Misslin, Miguel Barbosa, and Guilherme Spinelli.
The 355 km timed special ended well for JMB Stradale Off Road as the team members have stayed together despite a couple of mishaps by Terranova and Misslin.
The duo Sousa and Baumel maintain their position by coming in 9th of the stage at 6mn 20s from the days stage winner, Nasser Al-Attiyah and have positioned 7th in the general ranking: "The stage was good…we started out with mud, then rain and fog…the terrain was windy therefore we had to be careful. The car worked perfectly however we could not catch the head of the group as their cars are more performant than ours."
During this second stage, Orlando Terranova and Pascal Maimon climbed into 11th position of the general ranking despite certain difficulties and came in with the 10th best time : « At km 4, the mud was thick and sticky - we were almost at a halt when we rolled the car » explains the French co-driver Pascal Maimon. "We rolled over but luckily back onto our wheels - once our heads cleared we started up again just behind Guerlain Chicherit which kept Orly on his toes for several kilometres. Let’s wait and see what tomorrow will bring."
The French team Misslin-Polato finished 15th of the stage and now are 14th in the general ranking despite a driving error at the end of the timed portion of today’s stage. "We ran the stage based on Dominique Serieys’ advice. Unfortunately, at the end of the timed portion, I made a mistake and we slid and hit a tree. No big consequences except for some body and mechanical work " states Nicolas Misslin.
With the 16th best time of the day, Miguel Barbosa and Miguel Ramalho have moved up to the 15th position in the general ranking. "We drove carefully as the terrain was very slippery with the mud. In the middle of the timed stage, we ran into a hole which broke our rear gear. Therefore, we did not wish to take more risks than necessary."
Guilherme Spinelli and Filipe Palmeiro came in 20th today and are ranked in 17th position. "I had a hard time finding a good rhythm today", explains the Brazilian driver. "I don’t know why and I’m somehow frustrated with this feeling. The essential was to finish the stage, as asked by our team manager. Tomorrow is another day."
Tomorrow’s third stage will be held between La Rioja and Fiambala. Out of the 441 km, only 182 km will be clocked. The competitors will experience 30 km of white dunes tomorrow which will be their first "dune" experience on this edition of the Dakar.
2010/01/04 | 14:31 CET | Editor: MR/HS/JMB
|
|
