The Dakar 2009 is on the final countdown to the start of the rally and everything is now ready for the big day, the off on 3rd January in the Argentinian capital of Buenos Aires. Today, Thursday 1st January 2009, the members of the Repsol KTM & Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart teams passed the scrutineering, administrative and technical, in Buenos Aires – in La Rural, the exhibition centre in the district of Palermo.
Thorough planning made sure that the Team Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart got through the formality without any problems at all – car and documents – before the 31st edition of the Dakar. The scrutineering took place at the La Rural exhibition centre in the district of Palermo Buenos Aires, on New Year`s Day. The experienced crews of the four new Mitsubishi Racing Lancer cars can now concentrate on their own individual preparations before the race starts with a first leg between Buenos Aires & Santa Rosa de la Pampa on Saturday 3rd January.
The four Racing Lancer did a quick “shakedown” in Buenos Aires yesterday, 31st December, and the team`s four drivers – Stéphane Peterhansel, Luc Alphand, Nani Roma and Hiroshi Masuoka – were responsible for noting anything untoward on their cars just before the start of the race after they were transported by plane from Europe. The complete Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart contingent – four drivers and co-drivers, managers, mechanics, engineers and support staff – enjoyed a dinner together last night to say farewell to 2008 in the Argentinian capital and toasted to another victory for the team, what would be the eighth consecutive in the Dakar for the Japanese manufacturer.
The complete Team Repsol KTM, with Marc Coma, Jordi Viladoms and Gerard Farrés the riders, and their manager Jordi Arcarons, also passed today`s scrutineering – at 14:30 local time – and then later had their bikes checked by the team mechanics. This year the paperwork has been less tiresome since the bikes were checked by the organisers in France before being transported by boat to Argentina, meaning that the formality was just that.
Tomorrow, Friday, the organisers have organised a briefing so that all the participants can give their latest news. On 3rd January the race begins very early, the first to start, as always, will be the bikes, these will be followed by the cars and finally the trucks. The first motorbike will leave La Rural, in the heart of Buenos Aires, at 5am local time and will try to reach the end of the first liaiason of 196 Km. direction San Saladillo, to start the first special in the Dakar 2009, which is 371 Km long. After this first special the riders still have to do another liaison of 166 Km. to reach Santa Rosa de la Pampa, final destination on the first leg. In total the bikes will cover 733 Km on the first day. The first car leaves at 7:05am local time.
Marc Coma >> Audio
“I am dying to start. The scrutineering is always a drag for us, even though this year it was a lot shorter, that is because the majority of it was done in France before sending the bikes over. What we want to do is to ride. We have been enjoying the delights of a magnificent city, which is what Buenos Aires is; the people, the food, and now we just have to think about the challenge ahead of us. Last year the rally was at this very same stage, with the scrutineering passed, but now it looks like the Dakar is another new well-planned solid, adventure and very attractive for us. I think that we will have a good race, one that is very important for everybody.”
Jordi Viladoms >> Audio
“After such a long time, two years waiting to get back to this point, we got through the scutineering without any problems, and now I am waiting to get under starter`s orders, but really I can`t wait to start the first stage. Today everything went well and the bike is in the closed park, but after a couple of days here the wait to start the rally seems really long”
Gerard Farrés >> Audio
“I am very pleased just to be here. We have just passed the scrutineering and the truth is that there is more work than meets the eye before the race starts. We have done all the preliminaries and tomorrow we have a rest day just before the race begins. The weather forecast is for high temperatures but in the end today it was just very pleasant. There are a lot of people around, a lot to see the race, and that is also good. I cant wait to start.”
Nani Roma >> Audio
“For me and Lucas it is different to come to South America for the Dakar. It was a 12-hour flight and then we land and it feels like Spain. The race is not going to be easy at all. People say that the race in South America is easier than before, but I don’t agree. When we used to arrive in Mauritania, the maximum length of the stages used to be around 350km. Here, we have stages 600, 500 and 400km in length. It will be long and hard. I made the Pampas Rally on two occasions and for people like me, Stéphane and Luc, when we arrive in places like Nuequén, San Rafaël and Mendoza, we may have seen the stages before. I passed these places twice. Maybe it’s not the same track, but I know the area a little. In the last few years the level of speed from the start has been high. I am sure that on the first two days everyone will start flat. But it is easy to lose the race in these two stages. It is difficult if you finish the first stage and you have lost 10 minutes. It is important for me to start at a pace with which I feel comfortable. I want to drive fast but not at the maximum.”
Stéphane Peterhansel >> Audio
“It is not easy to say that we can win the rally first time with the new car. We had a long test and the feeling is that the car is fast and gives good performance. But we have not competed against top-level teams with this car so far. We only did one small race – the Baja Portalegre – and there were no top drivers there to compare against, only one private BMW with Filipe Campos. The feeling for me is that we have a good level, but we need to have confirmation of this during the race. With the old atmospheric engine we had a big problem racing at altitude and lost a lot of power. But now, with the diesel engine and the turbo, we will be at the same level as the Volkswagen and the BMW. We only really have one and a half hours of experience with this new engine, so I think that the performance will be a little bit less than the other diesel cars. But we have also worked very hard with the chassis of the car, the suspension and shock absorbers. We must remember that inside the car it is not just about the engine. We will have a good level, but everyone will start fast and maybe after two days (Robbie) Gordon will lead the race and it will not be easy for Mitsubishi to be inside the top five in the early stages.”
Luc Alphand >> Audio
“It’s going to be tough for the next three weeks. It’s going to be a big race. It is hot here in the summer and we have many kilometers to go. I am happy to start and ready to go. But I do have some worries how I will physically manage this race. But we have been here for a while and I am in good shape. The fact that we are in South America for the first time has made this a more open playing field for everyone, except for four or five of the stages are known to drivers who have taken part in the (Por) Las Pampas Rally and we know some of the tracks. We have a new race format, a new car, a new engine and a new name. So, we are really turning the corner into a new era at the same time as the Dakar has moved to South America. I am expecting a huge fight over the first two days. I am not sure that we are super fast in top speed, that is why people like (Robbie) Gordon and (Nasser) Al-Attiyah and a couple of the Volkswagens will want to start fast. But there is so much to go afterwards, I will not be worried if I am sixth or eighth after two days. I just want to be close to the pack and stay on the road. We had no race since September. We have all trained well, but it will take one or two days to get back into the pace of the race.”
Hiroshi Masuoka >> Audio
“All our preparations have been very good for this race. We have the new car and now we must wait and see. We tested three times in Africa and everything was fine. Now I must concentrate 100% to make sure that I reach the finish in Buenos Aires. This is my first time in Argentina and it is a nice city. Everybody is very friendly, but it is different to competing in Africa. It will also be my first time racing in the Andes mountains. But I have prepared well and the team did some useful training in the French Alps.”
