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FIA
World Cup for Cross Country Rallies – Seventh Round
Sunday August 31st
15 cars 14 bikes and
2 quads passed today the Scrutineering and Administrative Checks of the
sixth edition of Por las Pampas Cross Country Rally, which counts for
the FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies.
These vehicles will start the first of the five legs that make up the
event, tomorrow, at 10, from the Starting Ramp located in Plaza San
Martín, the central square of the city of Córdoba.
During the day, in Superdomo Orfeo of the city of Córdoba, the drivers
of both cars and bikes had their first official contact with the event.
In the afternoon, the first Briefing took place, where the regulation
details of the event were published. The crews received the road book
for the first leg, which will lead from Cordoba to Mina Clavero. The
competitors will arrive in their final destination of the day at 14:30,
after driving for over 200 km.
It was a good opportunity to get to know the opinions of the different
protagonists, which was attractive for the eyes of spectators, as they
were able to observe from up close the powerful machines which will
start to travel along the geography of the Province of Cordoba.
The Frenchmen Jean Louis Schlesser stated:
“This race
cannot be planned in advance, even though I have taken part in it on
two occasions, the roads present a great variety of possibilities, so
we will decide our rhythm for the event on a leg by leg basis. I do
not think my previous experience will be an advantage over Sousa. In
fact, he has as many chances of winning as I have, he has proved it
all year long.”
His great rival during the event and during the Championship, Carlos
Sousa, caused a great impact by the strong construction of his
Mitsubishi L200 Strakar, a real prototype. When interviewed, he replied:
“I think this
will be a very even competition, and very complicated as well, I have
the feeling that it will be defined during the last day of the event.
I trust my car, and I do not think I will have serious problems. This
my first time in this event, and I think Schlesser has a advantage
over me on this, but Cross Country Rallies are always a surprise. I
cannot speculate and I do not want to, I have no possibilities to plan
very much in advance, I must drive as fast as possible if I am to win.”
With less pressure, as regards the fight for the lead, Komornicki, from
Poland, is here to complete the itinerary, without his habitual car, but
with a, rented to the Argentinean team Motor Service Sport. Komornicki
stated:
“I do not
really know car, we ran some tests, but I will have to adapt to it,
and change my driving. I understand I will have to be careful with the
car if I am to reach the end, I will be happy if I finish within the
first 5 competitors at the end of the event.”
His rival is the French Jean Pierre Strugo, who participated in Por las
Pampas Rally once before, and plans to defeat the Polish driver, with a
Mercedes ML 430. After the scrutineering, he expressed his opinion:
“I have to
comply with all the itinerary, my objective is to defeat Komornicki.
Even though I have already participated in this event, the course must
have changed a lot, I hope this is advantageous for me. The geography
of Cordoba is very nice, it introduces both driving and GPS sectors
which are very complicated. I will take it easy on the first day, and
then we will make a more convenient plan.”
The Argentineans Patxi Otaño and Pablo Gomes will fight the last two.
Otaño said:
“I want to
finish, make the turn. I have participated in all editions since 1999.
For this edition, I have rented my vehicle to Komornicki, this is why
I will drive the same Mitsubishi Jorge Recalde drove, when he won
1998’s edition. I am very proud of this, and I hope I will participate
in the fight for the first positions. We do not have realistic
possibilities against Schlesser and Sousa, but we will try to stay
behind them.”
For Pablo Gomes this is a greater challenge, he has already taken part
in this event, as well as in mythical Dakar, and he expects to have a
good performance here. As regards this topic, he stated:
“I am very
happy to be back in Cordoba, running Por las Pampas Rally is a great
experience, our vehicle is in perfect conditions, and we will attempt
a fast and secure rhythm. I still have a lot to learn, you never have
enough experience, and this is an excellent opportunity for it. I want
to be a part of the fight for the lead, and I am prepared for it, but
we shall only know the facts as of tomorrow.”
Bikes represented a separate show, two wheel competition fans observed
the work of the different teams, and those with the higher expectations
to succeed were also interviewed.
Marcelo Miti claims to be ready for tomorrow:
“I want to win
this race again, I trained real hard to be in good shape, I trust the
bike will show a good performance. I do know the surface, but the
course includes many areas where people from Cordoba have never been,
including me. This is why my local advantage is only relative. I will
try to arrive first in Mina Clavero, that will give me the chance to
set the pace of the race for the rest of the event.”
One of his rivals will be Laurent Lazard, who stated:
“I come from
running in Turkey, where I had to retire due to mechanical problems,
once again. I hope this does not happen again in Argentina. I run this
event twice, and finished second on both occasions, I want to win this
time, it won’t be easy but I trust I will overcome my bad luck and
claim the lead.”
For Jean Charles Mayol, this will be the third Cross Country event,
“Everything is so new to me, I come from the
tracks, and this category needs some time to adjust. I will use this
event to gain experience, but I will try to do it fast”,
he concluded.
Ezequiel Sundblad also has high hopes,
“I broke a
connecting rod on Friday, so I had to re-assemble the engine, luckily
I was able to test it, and everything is ready for tomorrow. I will
start calmedly, in order to evaluate the performance of the bike,
later on, I will make my attempt to reach as high in the standings as
I can. Cordoba is a challenge for everyone, and I am looking for good
results here.”
Por las Pampas Rally has already started, the challenge begins tomorrow,
with the crossing of the Sierras Grandes. Tanti, Cuchilla Nevada, Ambul,
San Lorenzo, and the classical Giulio Césare will see the competitors on
the run for the first time.
Córdoba, August 31, 2003 |
