The Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart`s exhausting test schedule, to prepare the 15 day Dakar 2009 – which begins on 3rd January in Buenos Aires – ended yesterday in Le Creusot France. All the team members participated in the final dress rehearsal before the new Racing Lancer cars are sent to South America. It was a cold but sunny day in eastern central France close to the Swiss border.
Over the last four weeks the team members have participated in a varied test program combined with physical training. The objective is to make sure that there are no loose ends before the team sets another record: its 8th victory in the Rally Dakar which will be held for the first time ever in South America. Five days of physical training in Douarnenez – Finisterre in Britanny between 10-14th November – and a second session in Prémanon – in the Jura mountains in France between 8th–12th December – has helped the team bonding to reach its famous enviable levels and for the drivers and co-drivers to be perfectly prepared, both physically and psychologically – for the tough race that is lying in wait for them next month.
The second training session was followed by a day of tests at the circuit of Bourg-en-Bresse, north-east of Lyon on 13th December, and a final test at Le Creusot, in the Burgundy region on Monday 15th December. The team`s new Racing Lancer cars will leave for Buenos Aires by plane on 19th December, although the trucks and assistance vehicles are already on board the transport ship the Grand Benelux. They left the port of Le Havre in France on 1st December, and the ship is now in the Atlantic bound for the Argentinian port of Zarata, near Buenos Aires.
The Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart will have an unchanged line-up for the toughest race in the world, and the drivers Luc Alphand, Stéphane Peterhansel, Hiroshi Masuoka and Nani Roma, together with their respective co-drivers, Gilles Picard, Pascal Maimon, Jean-Paul Cottret and Lucas Cruz, drove their definitive cars for the last time before the start of the race in just under three weeks. After checking that the set-up was the right one and that everything was working well all the team members went home to spend Chritmas with their families; they will all fly to South America on 27th December. This will be when they do their final preparations before the 31st edition of the Rally Dakar gets under way.
Nani Roma
“I am very satisfied with the physical training and the two tests we have done. In Prémanon we could ski every day and at the same time we tried to adjust to the altitude. We simulated a height of 2 500 metres so as to get an the idea of how the highest stages in South America will be. We also did some work in the gym and we did a lot of stretching exercises, that is after the first session last month when we rode on bikes and did some water sports, like sailing. In addition I did my own training program with a personal trainer. I feel fit and will spend a few days at 2 500 metres in the Sierra Nevada in the south of Spain to make sure that I am ready for the race. We have done two tests in the cars to get the final set-up. The first, on asphalt, was useful for the technicians and for ourselves as we got more used to the new car. And another that was a bit faster, although with 240 VIPs, sponsors, the media and friends the atmosphere was more relaxed”.
Stéphane Peterhansel
“We have done two very different training sesions. The first in Britanny was very nice. We could ride mountain bikes in the morning and sail for the first time in the afternoon. That was great fun. After that we went to the mountains in the Jura, close to Geneva, and we did a bit of cross-country skiing. The slopes were not at a very high altitude, perhaps at 1 000 metres, but we slept in some special rooms with less oxygen to simulate living at a height of 2 500 metres. The two tests were quite different but very useful. The session on asphalt was just to verify our data; such as the pressure of the air and gas. Today we were able to check the shock-absorbers out on the tracks and we made the final changes that were necessary. In my opinion the move of the event to South America does not mean that the race will lose any of its character. Even so, I think that it will be a tough race, with dunes and hard stages. Perhaps other years we were able to take advantage of the dunes in Mauritania, but I think that it it will be a tight hard-fought but exciting race”.
Luc Alphand
“The last two tests were excellent. We are pleased to have a car where everything is new and works well from the start. We have not had any problem at all. I only drove 5-6km this morning, but even so the car gives me good sensations. The first thing you notice is that the noise is different, but it is poweful, it has a good torque and it behaves fantastically. I suppose that my experience skiing should mean that the altitude affects me less, and that was in fact the case I was the one least affected during the simulations. We spent two nights at 3 000 metres and I felt fine.”
Hiroshi Masuoka
“The physical training in the mountains and on the coast went very well, just like the tests on asphalt and on gravel. They went perfectly too. We have a new challenge in the Dakar: a new continent with a new engine and a new car. This is very exciting for me. I am going to participate in my 21st Rally Dakar and I hope to win it for the third time. If that is not possible I will be very pleased if Mitsubishi carries on with its run of victories.”
Dominique Serieys
“Everything has gone well, both the physical training as well as the tests. The objective was to make sure that we are totally prepared for the first special stage in South America. We have a new car for the Dakar, but we have enough experience not to leave any loose ends during the preparation. Our team has spent a week getting used to high altitudes, and so we will be able to adapt quickly to any change. All the team members will fly out to Argentina one week before the race starts so as to avoid the effects of jet-lag and to acclimatise to the summer temperatures.”
