RALLY OF THE PHARAOHS - 5/12 October 2008
LEG 6 : Friday October 10th
SIWA/ BAHARIJA – 420 km
The day before the last leg, a final sprint that will take all those still in the competition towards Cairo and the Pyramids, Team Dessoude is controlling the race perfectly, an d is leading the overally classification.
A problem-free day for Christian Lavieille and Jean-Michel Polato, suitable for further testing on the Proto Dessoude 05. The leaders have such a lead th at, with no pressure, they are able to work on the settings of their vehicle.
Starting off this morning from Siwa, Team Dessoude was serene. After nearly 400 km of timed stage, there was nothing to report on the Proto 05. Both car and team reached Baharija without problems.
Christian Lavieille is managing his lead perfectly, and taking adv antage of the great variety of terrain to validate various technical options : «Today, we enjoyed the last chains of dunes. However, we were very careful, which turned out to be the right choice. There were three big traps whilst going down the broken dunes.
Sixty kilometres before the second service point, we even took the time to answer the call of nature… Then, we stopped at the service area to put more air in our tyres before going over the last section, w hich was very rough. The suspensions work ed wonderfully well. The progress over sand is amazing, but even on the more c hallenging parts, there is still a definite improvement.
Tomorrow, we have chos en to set off with what is almost a Dakar configuration. We will c arry 300 litres of fuel and three spare wheels. The route will be rough in sections, and it will be interesting to analyse how the car handles with the extra weight.
Since the start of the rally, Jean-Michel has done an excellent job, and the cherry on the cake is that we get on really well. The atmosphere is really good between us. »
The « boss », André Dess oude, cannot hide his pleasure at seeing his car in such a good position. « W e have not had any problems, and we are making good progress with the settings. Considering his lead, Christian is stopping every day at the service area, which means we can make comparisons about the changes. This week has been very positiv e in terms of validating our technical developments.
Christian Lavieille - Jean-Michel Polato – Proto Dessoude 05
I am very pleased with the work we have done. I hope we will be rewarded for all our work in the Dakar. »
Finally, as far as the Team Dessoude Patrol cars entered in the raid are concerned, there is total satisfaction from the three crews. Having enjoyed two bivouacs in the middle of the desert, under the stars, the raiders will be able to go home with plenty of wonderful memories.
Tomorrow, the final kilometres of the Rally of the Pharaohs will take the vehicles back to Cairo, the capital of Egypt. The day’s schedule includes a 410 km leg where it will be important to watch out for punctures, as well as the last dunes of the 2008 edition …
Classification SS6 – 420 km
1 300 LAVIEILLE Christian FRA DESSOUDE NISSAN HARDBODY T1 4:14:41 POLATO Jean-Michel FRA
2 301 SIREYJOL Patrick FRA CUMMINS BOWLER WILDCAT T1 4:41:05 26.24 VIDAL Paul FRA
3 306 DE GAVARDO Carlo CHI GT OFFROAD CHEVROLET D-MAX T1 4:41:49 27.08 BRUCY Jean FRA
4 302 PELICHET Jerome FRA PELICHET BOWLER WILDCAT T1 4:52:08 37.27 DECRE Eugenie CH
5 319 BOUTRON Philippe FRA CUMMINS BOWLER WILDCAT T1 04:54.46 40.05 MARTIN Jean-Luc FRA
6 314 PELICHET Edmond FRA RAID LYNX BOWLER WILDCAT T1 4:59:14 44.33 FERRAND Pascal FRA
…O verall Classification after Leg 6 : Siwa / Baharija – 420 km
1 300 LAVIEILLE Christian FRA DESSOUDE NISSAN HARDBODY T1 24:21.31 POLATO Jean-Michel FRA
2 301 SIREYJOL Patrick FRA CUMMINS BOWLER WILDCAT T1 27:22.53 3:01.22 VIDAL Paul FRA
3 302 PELICHET Jerome FRA PELICHET BOWLER WILDCAT T1 28:08.46 3:47.15 DECRE Eugenie CH
4 314 PELICHET Edmond FRA RAID LYNX BOWLER WILDCAT T1 30:50.11 6:28.40 FERRAND Pascal FRA
5 321 BILLAUT Gilles FRA CUMMINS BOWLER WILDCAT T1 30:51.33 6:30.02 SCHURGER Denis FRA
6 319 BOUTRON Philippe FRA CUMMINS BOWLER WILDCAT T1 32:59.13 8:37.42 MARTIN Jean-Luc FRA
…
www.teamdessoude.com
André DESSOUDE - Géraldine DESHAYES - Lydie ARPIZOU – photos desertrunner
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