The third stage of the Central Europe Rally was a repetion of yesterday’s layout, where two specials were disputed in the same setting. So today the participants were faced with a 76 Km loop-style special, with two runs, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. While the weather had been perfect during the first two days, today Baia Mare awoke to drizzle and lower temperatures.
In the nearby mountains where the special ran through, the rain increased the amount of mud, and fog made today’s specials even tougher. Meanwhile, first withdrawal within the Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart, after an incident suffered this morning by Hiroshi Masuoka’s co-pilot, Frenchman Pascal Maimón. The Masuoka/Maimon pair punctured a tyre during the first special, and stopped in an area off-route, in order to make the replacement. While they were carrying this out, Carlos Sainz and his Volkswagen made a mistake at that same point, and drove past Masuoka’s car thinking that the special continued in that direction. A few minutes later, Sainz returned after discovering his mistake, and when he drove past Maimón, who was changing the wheel, he drove over the Frenchman’s left foot. The result: a fracture to Maimon’s ankle joint, and the Masuoka/Maimón pair are out of the Dakar Series test. During this first special, and in spite of the accident, Masuoka had placed his Mitsubishi MPR14 in twelfth position, tenth in the general classification. For the rest of the members of the Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart, it was a positive day in Baia Mare. Peterhansel maintains his leadership after finishing second in the firat special, and sixth in the second, which was shortened again by the organisation -this time it was 37 Km- due to the mud that had built up. Luc Alphand also maintains third position after finishing fifth in the first special, and seventh in the second. Nani Roma also holds his position, fourth, after racing the third fastest time in the first run and eighth in the second. In the motorcycling category and after Marc Coma’s withdrawal yesterday -he has already returned to Barcelona-, Jordi Viladoms is now the sole rider representing the Repsol KTM Team. The rain that fell this morning did not make things easy for the motorbikes in today’s timed special. The mud-filled furrows, along with the fog and cold, made today’s special a tough challenge for the motorbike riders. Viladoms, riding on terrain where he does not feel comfortable, chose to be prudent and to wait for more appropiate scenarios for his style of riding. In the morning, Viladoms was tenth, and in the afternoon, sixteenth. In the general classification, and after losing yesterday over eight minutes in an incident where part of the special was cancelled, the Repsol rider holds twelfth position.Stéphane Peterhansel >> Audio It wasn’t bad. Another good day, though it wasn’t a perfect one either. The first special we ran this morning went well. We raced a very good time and the car performed well. It was a special with fog, clouds, poor visibility, rain, a lot of water, but it went well. In the afternoon the special was shorter. The result was poorer, because we lost a lot of time in a special which was quite short. I think it’s due to lack of experience in a kind of race where you do the same route twice, when in African rallies you cover each track only once. Drivers who have raced traditional rallies take down additional notes in their roadbook and I think they do better the second time. However, we don’t follow that method of working and lose time. Though it’s still a good day, because yesterday I was first with a 20 second advantage over the second car, and right now it’s over two minutes.Luc Alphand >> Audio Today was another good day, because we’re third in the general classification. It’s a good position, though unfortunately the special was shortened again because of the mud. The first special was particularly difficult, with a lot of water and mud. More than yesterday, because it was raining. We had some problems with the power-steering belt during the first special, when it started slipping because of the water. This forced us to race pratically without power-steering. During the second special we made full use of the car’s possibilities. It was a fine struggle, because between Peterhansel, Nani and myself there is hardly a ten second difference. I think we’re getting the most out of the car. But I still think we’re at a slight disadvantage with respect to the diesel-powered cars, mainly in the very short specials. In general we’re doing well, because it’s the third day and we’re still in the lead. I would like to send my regards to our friend Pascal Maimón, as Carlos Sainz accidentally broke his foot. It wasn’t intentional, but it’s a shame about the diesel project and for Hiroshi Masuoka, who had to withdraw from the race.Nani Roma >> Audio These specials are proving to be quite complicated because of the mud we’re finding on the tracks, but I’m happy because we’re constantly improving. We had a few problems which made us lose some time -during today’s first special the intercoms were not working properly and I couldn’t follow Lucas’ indications correctly-, but in spite of that we’re well placed in the general classification. Today I was commenting to Lucas that this was my first time driving this car through mud, so I’m discovering this kind of driving as I go along, but I think that we’re doing very well.Hiroshi Masuoka >> Audio What happened to us today was a shame. We stopped in an area off the track to change a punctured tyre and my co-pilot Pascal Maimón was hit by the car driven by Sainz, though it was obviously unintentional. But this incident, in spite of having been able to finish the special, has forced us to withdraw, as Pascal has a fracture in his left foot. A real shame, because we were improving with the new MPR14 special by special, and it was important to keep up development on the new car, with our sights always set on fighting for the victory in the Dakar. But that’s what races are like.Jordi Viladoms >> Audio Today was also a complicated day. In the morning it was raining and there was a lot of mud and stones. I felt more comfortable than yesterday, because we were familiar with the special, though we did have to be quite careful. I’m happy with how today went, because I’m gradually finding my pace. The second special had to be shortened due to the same reasons as yesterday. And this morning after the cars and trucks tore off the topsoil, we had to ride over stones, which were wet due to the rain and very slippery. The special got more complicated, but luckily it was short, and now we’re heading for Hungary, where I think the terrain is better suited to what I can do on this bike.
