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 | Silk Way Rally: Team Dessoude crushes the T2 category - ninth place overall.
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The fifth stage between Astrakhan and Stavropol suffered a slight modification. After several legs particularly difficult, the stage was shortened by 68 km, totaling 621 km. The tandem Chavigny Brucy finished in ninth place of the stage and on the 9th place overall. The Pathfinder’s crew is overwhelmingly leading (four hours ahead his opponent) the T2 category while the duo Zhou-Garcin is on 13th place tonight on Proto Dessoude N05.
After the sand, today the steppes and even the mountain, but in the cockpit of the Nissan Pathfinder, the co-driver was the one who could make a difference. Staying on the right track, Frederic Chavigny and Jean Brucy did particularly well.
"It was time that this stage ends because once again it was "tough "! The secret today was, without doubt, navigation. You had to be clever and very careful to avoid any mistake and, of course, Jean was perfect in his role... not a single mistake! The profile of this stage was generally very technical: 20% quite fast then a very bumpy track with many holes and jumps and a beautiful small mountain at the end."
"The car is perfect, nothing to report. We had four large stages and, finally, tomorrow, we should have some "rest". The 6th leg will be splitted in two special stages but this doesn’t mean it will be simple but for sure, they should be less "physical". We are ranked on 9th place today, which is also our position overall. In the T2 category, with more than 4 hours ahead our opponent, we have to "quietly" manage this advantage."
On co-drivers’ seat of the Proto Dessoude N05, Frenchman Jean-Pierre Garcin, is living a new experience, his first alongside a Chinese driver. "The Silk Way is not a rally where we can sleep a lot. It is a very physically demanding race, spending long hours in the car. With Zhou, everything goes well. This is a very nice guy who listens to advices I can provide him. He did not have much experience of this kind of event and he needs to drive and learn."
"Yesterday, he made a great day, I was happy. Today, he was tired. Communication between us is sometimes a bit tricky due to a lack of comprehension in English. As long as the pace is fast, all is well but when it is necessary to explain, it’s another story ... Anyway, we understand each other. For me it's a new experience!"
Two days from the end of the race, André Dessoude is already thinking about the next events. "What to say about Frederic and Jean? Not much, as their race management is perfect! They know exactly what to do and the car has no problem. Concerning Zhou Ji-Hong, controlling the Proto N05, is a long learning. For him, it's a lot of new things at the same time. But he has to drive a lot before the Dakar and I think racing in Egypt would be a good solution for him. He would be able to really learn the secrets of driving in the sand. Physically he is very tired but luckily, tomorrow the stages should be much shorter."
Tomorrow, towards Maykop, drivers will compete on two stages, 113km to start, then later 54 km. However, the "low" mileage is not synonymous with "easy" stages. Beware of last traps on this third edition of the Silk Way Rally.
2011/07/15 | 14:35 CET | ARTICLE: MR/SY/ARPIZOU
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