LEG 2 : « GAZELLE »
Transfer : 39 km - Special : 424 km in two laps- Transfer : 39 km
AMV Shamrock - Rallye du Maroc (September 21st - 27th 2008)
The second leg of the AMV Shamrock-Rallye du Maroc was done at super high speed. Fast track after fast track in a magical landscape, an ideal picture for the 2008 competitors. Jean- Louis Schlesser almost changed the overall classification in the first lap, arriving ten minutes before the Russians, but got tricked by his GPS ten km before arriving. In spite of that, the « desert fox » wins today's two laps, ahead of Leonid Novitskiy, who is still the leader.
On the bikes David Frétigné and Michel Marchini share the win with one scratch each. Thierry Bethys, sneaking up from behind, gets the second place in the overall, behind Frétigné and in front of Bruno Da Costa, steady as a rock.
On the quads Vincent Albira got far ahead of Spaniard Climent Vicent and Jean-Christophe Ménard. Alain Fricker and his SSV Drakart had quite a bit of fun, but repeated punctures ruined his performance.
The magic of the desert…
This second leg, very fast, was done at the speed of the gazelle in landscapes the likes of which can only be found in Africa.
Over more than 70 kilometers, off-track between dunes and camel grass, then a series of speedy tracks with a lot of direction changes. A few nice passages close to the dunes and a very trying finish. Fairy tales landscapes made the competitors truly appreciate today's leg.
David Frétigné et Michel Marchini have it easy…
Two lightning fast laps. Michel Marchini first this morning and David Frétigné this afternoon. Close to one another on the track, although the Corsican was too far behind to win today (because of yesterday's penalty). David Frétigné had a lot of fun and even rode for ten minutes at 143 km/h…, happy to go ahead, without a trail and enjoying the desert!
Thierry Bethys was still continuing his day to day self teaching of the discipline. A lot of care and concentration for the rider from western France, aware he still has a lot to learn, especially on the navigation part. Bruno Da Costa, 3rd in the overall, had a bit of a fright this morning when he broke his exhaust pipe. Thanks to Thierry Bethys, who nicely gave him a spare part, he was able to do the second lap and to keep his place.
After yesterday's troubles, Michaël Pisano went on and is now coming up slowly. Frédéric Lepan, 5th in the overall, is riding special after special and had some fun today. Too bad that losing his mudguard yesterday also lost him about fourty minutes. Hats down for Moroccan rider Harite Gabari, in the top ten since the beginning.
In the Enduro Cup, Laurent Renault got the lead whereas Irishman Gary Ennis and British Stephen Malone got in a fight and arrived with only 1 second between them in the overall! For the quads, Vincent Albira distanced his opponents easily on both laps. The young Frenchman was on his first rally and is making quite an impression already.
No luck for Schlesser. Novitskiy stays steady…
On this morning's start, a very focused Jean-Louis Schlesser was getting ready to fight back. And almost won, ten minutes ahead of Russian Novitskiy. But, 10 km from the finish line, no more GPS... broken antenna and a black screen.
Schlesser had to wait for the Russian (a victim of two punctured tyres) to get to the finish line without missing the waypoints. Jean-Louis lost what he had gained and still got the scratch at an average of 121,7 km/h, 30 seconds ahead. Everything had to be done again in the afternoon. However, it proved impossible for the « desert fox » to get rid of the Russian after passing him. Another three minute ahead, but not enough to worry Novitskiy in
the overall. Behind the two bolids, Ronan Chabot and his Toyota T2 got his third place easily and without rushing.. Jean-Noël Julien had a trouble-free day. Nothing on the car, only a little issue with the navigation instruments. His teammate from the MD Rallye Sport Team, Régis Delahaye, got the third time in spite of a lack of top speeds. Etienne Smulevici's copilot is getting used to this type of navigation and the pair gets the 6th place in the leg.
In the trucks, Elisabete Jacinto, still 4th in the overall, also appreciated the quality of the trail and arrived 7th in a special made for the buggies.
Change of program for the SSVs…after the abandon yesterday of Richard Doux with Polaris and Frédéric Alard's troubles, Alain Fricker was the only one present this morning. A lot of fun for him today in his « grasshopper », as he calls it,.
Only repeated punctured tyres on the rocky parts were a problem today, probably because of ill-adapted pneumatics. Alain Fricker won't be alone tomorrow since Frédéric Alard, with the help of Richard Doux, fixed his broken supension and will be able to compete, as will Samuel Lecomte on the last Polaris.
Tomorrow, watch out for traps and cold trails…, a 300 km special and some great memories to be had.
Internet : www.npo.fr
- Lydia Arpizou - photos NPO
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