HANNES GROBLER ON THE BOARD AGAIN!
author: Leon Botha
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Leon Botha
Who is going to beat me??
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Hannes Grobler has for the third day running managed to move up 4 places. He finished Stage 6 in 21st position, which moved him to 20th overall in the Truck category.
Don't say we did not predict that he would be crawling up the score board unnoticed.
Giniel on the other hand has really not done well today and only managed 10th place on the special. He stands a chance to loose three positions tomorrow if he does not get his act together.
We have not heard of any problems he had and can just hope that he is still busy finding his feet in the rally.
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Leon Botha
First top contender to withdraw. Schlesser out in six
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The two times winner of the Dakar in 1999 and 2000, Jean-Louis Schlesser, suffered a major setback on today's 5th stage of the 2003 Telefonica Dakar, when his new Schlesser Ford, broke down in the stage with electrical problems and had to be towed to the finish.
It marked the end of the road for him for the second year running, after his Schlesser Renault Buggie burnt out on the 2002 TOTAL Dakar soon after the start of the event. In 2001 Schlesser was also disqualified and excluded from the Dakar for "unsportsmanlike behaviour" that led to Jutta Kleinschmidt achieving her historic win as a woman.
The Dakar was starting to show its teeth as Thierry de Lavergne in a Team Nissan Hardbody, used for the first time last year and rebuilt for 2003, also suffered mechanical problems and just managed to reach the finish line putting him more than 6 hours behind the leader, Stephane Peterhansel in a Mitsubishi Pajero.
For the only all-woman team in the Dakar, Jutta Kleinschmidt/Fabrizia Pons, driving a Volkswagen Tarek that is making its debut on the rally, it was a better day than before. They experienced various mechanical problems on the first few stages, but have made they way up to 10th place overall after being in 48th place after stage 3 in Spain.
Stephane Henrard and Robert Willis, in the other Volkswagen Tarek are finding themselves in 7th position overall sandwiched between the Team Nissan Hardbody's of Giniel de Villiers/Pascal Maimon and Ari Vatanen/Tina Thorner.
They may be hardpressed to retain their position as Vatanen is slowly working his way up the leader board with al the experience of four Dakar wins behind him.
In the front of the pack a real dogfight is developing between the 2002 TOTAL Dakar winner, Hiroshi Masuoka/Andreas Schulz and Stephane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret, both in Mitsubishi Pajero's. Masuoka beat Peterhansel on yesterday's stage to take over the top spot in the overall standings, but today Peterhansel reversed the situation and beat Masuoka to take back the lead.
Peterhansel has won the Dakar six times on a motorcycle and is trying to achieve his first overall win in a car. But behind these two Belgian Gregoire de Mevius in a BMW Z5 and Kenjiro Shinozuka in a Team Nissan Hardbody are breathing down the necks of the front-runners and are waiting ready to strike.
The long days of the 2003 Telefonica Dakar referred to by Richard Sainct the leader in the motorcycle section after today's 6th stage, starts tomorrow.
The competitors crossed into Libya at Ghadames today. Assistance vehicles, except those competing, will not be allowed at the overnight stop of tomorrow's stage from Ghadames to Ghat in Libya.
The stage from Ghadames to Ghat is 584 km in length that includes 50 km of giant dunes. From Ghat the competitors will face a 492 km stage to Sabha where the service vehicles will await them.
According to the organisers the stage from Ghadames will be a major test for all the vehicles that will have to be in a tip-top and faultlessly prepared condition for the stage. The last time part of this route was used, was in 1989.
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