Rallye Dakar Nachrichten

PETERHANSEL IN SECOND PLACE FOR TEAM REPSOL MITSUBISHI RALLIART, LUC ALPHAND IN 4TH, NANI ROMA RETIRED

The penultimate day of the 2008 Central Europe Rally continued at the same fast and furious pace that has marked this new event from the beginning of the week. However, for Mitsubishi this leg turned out to be a little less successful, as Stéphane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret lost the lead they had held for virtually the entire time since Monday. With only 18 seconds to separate the French pair from the new leader, Carlos Sainz, the fight is far from over! Mitsubishi suffered further disappointment today with the loss of Nani Roma and Lucas Cruz, who were forced out with a mechanical problem whilst in third position.

"It's turning out to be a very close thing and the pace is exceptionally fast, so to have two cars in contention for top places on the last day against a field of such talented drivers is particularly gratifying," said Team Director Dominique Serieys. "It says so much for the potential and the reliability of the Pajero Evolution, especially against the new generation of cross-country rally-raid cars, but also for the ability and cool-headedness of our drivers." Ironically, Stéphane Peterhansel lost the majority of his time today in the dust of his team mate, Luc Alphand. "I caught Luc after about 100km into this morning's stage and I couldn't get past, so I had to sit in his dust."

The morning stage took place in bright warm weather, but the conditions turned colder in the afternoon and there was even a little rain as Luc Alphand did his utmost to get above Depping in the overall standings. "We've got nobody on our heels on the leader board, and Depping is only seven seconds ahead," explained the Frenchman. "Our choice for tomorrow is simple - either we just sit back and cruise home in fourth place or we give it everything we can to try and finish on the podium."