The Rally of Tunisia has entered Libya and at the same time the middle section of the race, and it did so with the longest special of the programmed total of eleven. There were 563km against the clock and the stage finished in Oubari where the riders will spend the night without any sort of assistance as today`s stage is considered a marathon. With a comfortable lead in the overall, Marc Coma decided not to take any risks; to control the race, protect his lead and at the same time take special care of his engine and tyres.
With this strategy in mind the Repsol rider preferred to use an inner tube on his rear wheel and so not risk any problems that could end his growing hopes of a good result in this race. In the end, after six hours of riding his KTM 690 Rally, Coma lost just 4 minutes to Cyril Despres, although he stays as the race leader with an advantage of four minutes. For Jordi Viladoms this the fifth stage was not so positive, as he has now fallen to sixth place, arriving 22 minutes behind the winner.
Tomorrow sees a stage of 418km, 308 of them against the clock, and the riders face a whole day crossing the Libyan sands. Sand dunes will make the special a physically demanding one, and after having already done so many kilometres the riders` stamina will begin to play an important role.
