All woman team struggle on 2003 Dakar
author: Leon Botha
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Leon Botha
All women team struggling through the early stages, but improved 16 places after Stage 3
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After making history on the 2001 TOTAL Dakar by becoming the first ever woman to win the event, Germany's Jutta Kleinschmidt is finding the 2003 Telefonica Dakar heavy going.
With her female co-driver, Fabrizia Pons, the pair in the new Volkswagen Desert Nardo, are currently in 48th place overall after the three European stages. Kleinschmidt changed from a Mitsubishi Pajero to the new, untried VW Desert Nardo, but technical problems, especially on the second 43 km stage, has made life difficult for her.
She finished in 68th position on stage two, but managed to finish 15h on today's third stage in Castellon, Spain to pull back some positions.
She is still some 11 minutes behind the front runner Hiroshi Masuoka, the 2002 TOTAL Dakar winner and runner-up to Kleinschmidt in 2001.
She has emerged as one of the stars of the Dakar over the past five years and won in 2001 after Jean-Louis Schlesser was disqualified from the event for "unsportsmanlike behaviour".
She started her career on the Dakar on a motorcycle, but then switched to the car section, ironically joining the Schlesser team.
The 40 year old is known for her perseverance in while competing in the 1992 TOTAL Paris Sirte Le Cap event, she broke her ankle when she fell with her motorcycle. She continued and the boot on her right ankle had to be cut off her foot when she arrived at the finish in Cape Town.
One thing is for certain, she is not going to give up easily.
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