Scrutineering - Lisboa Thursday afternoon

The organisers of the Dakar have taken into account the declarations of the French Government recommending French citizens not to go to Mauritania on the occasion of the rally.

In order to comprehend the situation, they will contact the French and Mauritanian governing authorities to get information on new elements that might have motivated this communication despite the insurances given by the Mauritanian government.

Holder of the biggest number of victories of the rally (12), the Japanese manufacturer is again favorite and can count on the support of its star pilot Stéphane Peterhansel, the 2007 winner. Manager Dominique Serieys is taking stock of this fact - without any pressure - at scrutineering:

"We have no doubt but we have no complacency either. Yes, we’ve had a great deal of successes but we know our teams can always make mistakes. This is what the Dakar is about: it is first and foremost a human adventure with everything it implies."

With 16 Dakars on his team leader track record, the Mitsubishi Team Manager knows that the car provided to his four pilots is reliable: "Last year, the Pajero Evo 2 was only 9 months old. We are coming to this edition with a now mature vehicle: we won four of the five races we participated in in 2007." 

Second of the 2007 edition of the Dakar, David Casteu arrived in Belém way before he was supposed to, impatient of being in touch with the world of biking again. Unfortunately his crew is a bit shaken by the problems encountered by one of the KTM assistance trucks stuck on the highway near Barcelona:

"It’s not too bad; they will just arrive a bit late because they have to do some repair before they can be back on the road. Worst case scenario the truck will go through scrutineering tomorrow.

What bothers me is that the truck holds some parts I could have used before putting my bike in the parc fermé but it’s not overly important." 

The dakarsport.com team certainly made quite an entrance on the scrutineering site in Belém. No less than 60 people accompanied the cars of the Dutch team. This whole turmoil made mechanics dizzy mainly when flashes went off and hords of journalists packed around the orange and blue cars.

This team - gathering 8 nationalities - is indeed gratified with extraordinary media coverage amongst other things because of the presence in its midst of two stars of the small screen, Chris Zegers and Tim Coronel. The first one is the anchorman of a documentary show called Travel Adrenaline and the second the presenter of a program called Auto Xperience, names that are well-known and familiar to Dutch TV viewers.

In addition to their own shooting teams, the pilots enjoy full television coverage from Dutch television RTL TV that broadcasts a daily show on the rally. Add to this the deals signed between the team and four radio stations, two photographers following them during the whole raid and three reporters whose eyes will be on them only and the media circle is closed. 

It’s on the occasion of a press conference looking like a demonstration of strength that Team Dakar USA put on a true arrival show on the 2008 edition of the Dakar.

Present since last night at the rally scrutineering, both pilots Robby Gordon and Ronn Bailey, the only ones driving a Hummer in this edition, unveiled their respective aims today at 2:00 PM: victory for Robby and a place in the Top 20 for Ronn.

Nascar champion and the first American to win a special and finish 8th in the 2007 Dakar, his mind is set on winning this time with a vehicle that is 500 kg lighter than last year. "In the sand, my Hummer is scary, scary fast I mean!", he shouted with a smile. The Americans have arrived and they are ready to put on quite a show.  

Kutlu Torunlar and Kemal Merkit, who collected the tough times in the 2007 edition, managed to get to Dakar despite a long list of mishaps in last year’s race. Both bikers kept on going through harder times when they got back to Istanbul with the many injuries that called for them to undergo treatment for quite a while:

"I had a shoulder surgery, then I had another operation in the ligaments of my knee, so I spent six months at full rest. And the other six months I did not train either", says Kutlu jokingly! But the lack of preparation did not bring the companions to despair; they still intend to get to Lake Rose this year as well:

"This time we will change our strategy and take it slow in the beginning because the trails in Morocco are really deadly." 

A new year and a new race for the trucks enrolled in the Dakar. With more than 100 participants - a record in this category - the truck category is starting up a new era with the implementation of simplified regulations.

"The homologation procedure of the FIA - applicable as of January 1st - respond to a need for greater fairness and simplicity. The Federation considered that there were standard production trucks and modified trucks" adds Fabien Calvet, in charge of trucks at ASO.

For the latter vehicles, the rule is now simple. The axis of the axle is used as a basis. The cab cannot be pushed back by more than 900 mm. The engine wheel must be at maximum 140 mm and the height of the chassis at maximum 450. "Finally simple and easy-to-control rules" summarizes Fabien Calvet. 

"A new car, a new challenge". After a first conclusive experience next to René Metge last year, Yvan Muller is embarking upon an even more difficult Dakar.

It is indeed behind the wheels of a one-seater buggy that the Alsatian showed up at scrutineering in Lisbon.

"This is a whole different challenge. It’s completely different". In addition to driving, the pilot who is used to the production world championship will have to get acquainted with navigation, mechanics and - more importantly - not get stuck in the sand.

"I want to finish, that’s my only goal. There are 9,500km to do in 15 days. So just wishing to finish the race is already ambitious enough. I want to go beyond what I’m capable of, this is what I’m looking for." 

Etienne Smulevici, a.k.a. Semoule which means semolina in French, did not miss the opportunity to make an entrance on the Dakar accompanied by his co-pilot Gilles Tixador. "Hello ladies", is what he shouted as he draged himself out of his two-seater buggy before shaking the first hands he could find along the way.

Hands of the ’old foxes’ who had actually rushed to great him. Record holder in the number of participations and arrivals in Dakar, the spirited 60 year-old says he is "as happy as the first time", adding that he "loves to enjoy these brief moments of reunion before the start".

His ’first time’ was 26 years ago! When will he stop? To the question, he answers solemnly: "I told my friends and my family that I intended to quit the Dakar adventure as soon as I will have participated...50 times".

People laugh around him. When he stops laughing, he tells about his goals: "improving my record of 19 arrivals and being amongst the top 15". This is a closed club he has had no access to... so far.

- ASO copyright -

photos, reports and results from DAKAR 2008 will be on automobilsport.com under OFF ROAD