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01/10/2007 //
RALLYE MAROC - DE VILLIERS' REIGN CONTINUES IN MOROCCO!
2007 FIA CROSS COUNTRY RALLY WORLD CUP
ROUND 4: RALLYE MAROC
SEPTEMBER 25-30, 2007
REPORT
DE VILLIERS' REIGN CONTINUES IN MOROCCO!
The 2007 Rallye Maroc, fourth round of the FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup, boiled down to a duel between Volkswagen/BFGoodrich team-mates Carlos Sainz and Giniel de Villiers. But although the two Race Touareg 2 drivers posted three fastest times apiece, it was the South African who had the final word as he collected his third Rallye du Maroc win to equal Jean-Louis Schlesser's existing record. The VW pair was joined on the podium by BMW X-Raid/BFGoodrich's Nasser Al-Attiyah.
Volkswagen's Sainz/Michel Périn and Giniel de Villiers/Dirk Von Ziztewitz were split by a mere eight seconds at the start of the final 222km stage of the event which took place in the Ouarzazate region. The two men had dominated the event since Tuesday's start in Zagora, with Giniel de Villiers taking an early lead and Sainz responding to move into top spot the following day. The South African then retrieved the lead after SS3 when the Spaniard's run was spoilt by a slow puncture and a navigational error in the magnificent Chegaga dunes.
Going into Day 4, Sainz trailed his team-mate by eight minutes but luck then played into his hands over the longest stage of the rally which saw Giniel de Villiers suffer power steering trouble. That gave the two-time World Rally Champion a slender lead of eight seconds after five days and some 1,500km of competitive action over the rocky tracks of southern Morocco, between Zagora and Ouarzazate, where many of the front-runners picked up punctures.
"Punctures are difficult to avoid on rocky tracks like this," says BFGoodrich rally-raid technician Dominique Bravy. "Last year, flooding caused the organisers to shorten the stages so the tyres suffered less. This year's stages were consequently much longer, while the thermometer reached the 40°C mark in the Zagora region. On top of that, the leading car competitors are often forced to take to the verges to pass backmarker bikers or overtake rivals and it can be difficult to avoid hitting the bigger rocks. Last but not least, the pace of the top two Volkswagen drivers was extremely fast. For BFGoodrich and also our partners, this event served as a full-scale dress rehearsal in the run-up to the 2008 Dakar and we will analyse all the damaged tyres later this week to perfect our preparations for the African classic."
In the end, punctures played a major role in deciding the outcome of the Rallye du Maroc's last stage and consequently the final leaderboard. Giniel de Villiers picked up a rear puncture over a particularly rough section shortly after the start and was forced to stop to put on a spare. Soon afterwards, it was Carlos Sainz's turn to have to stop to change a wheel, and then again a second time after clouting a big rock concealed by water in a ford. Further time was lost when the wheelstuds proved troublesome to remove and the Spaniard ended up more than three minutes behind de Villiers who was able to take his score in Morocco to three wins.
Volkswagen/BFGoodrich had two other Race Touareg 2s at the start but Mark Miller (5th) and Carlos Souza (4th) both lost large chunks of time through navigational errors, punctures, etc. The Portuguese driver, who personally didn't suffer any punctures, put in a big effort towards the end and only just failed to steal third place from Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah who managed to save the honour of the BMW X-Raid/BFGoodrich squad. The BMW X-Raid drivers went to Morocco with a view to preparing for the Dakar but were plagued by a long list of misadventures, starting from Day 1 when Guerlain Chicherit was delayed by major electrical problems and Paulo Nobre had engine trouble.
"The BMW X-Raids mostly suffered rear punctures but their balance improved as the rally progressed and the team will stay an extra week in Morocco for testing."
Dominique Housieaux celebrated his maiden outing in a Buggy Schlesser/BFGoodrich to claim sixth place and victory in the two-wheel drive category. After being delayed on Day 1 with electrical problems, his team-mate José-Luis Monterde fought back to finish third in the two-wheel drive classification.
The final round of the FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup takes place at the end of October in the sand of the United Arab Emirates near Dubai where Mitsubishi and Volkswagen are expected to compete head-to-head for the last time before January's Dakar.
ROUND 4: RALLYE MAROC
SEPTEMBER 25-30, 2007
REPORT
DE VILLIERS' REIGN CONTINUES IN MOROCCO!
The 2007 Rallye Maroc, fourth round of the FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup, boiled down to a duel between Volkswagen/BFGoodrich team-mates Carlos Sainz and Giniel de Villiers. But although the two Race Touareg 2 drivers posted three fastest times apiece, it was the South African who had the final word as he collected his third Rallye du Maroc win to equal Jean-Louis Schlesser's existing record. The VW pair was joined on the podium by BMW X-Raid/BFGoodrich's Nasser Al-Attiyah.
Volkswagen's Sainz/Michel Périn and Giniel de Villiers/Dirk Von Ziztewitz were split by a mere eight seconds at the start of the final 222km stage of the event which took place in the Ouarzazate region. The two men had dominated the event since Tuesday's start in Zagora, with Giniel de Villiers taking an early lead and Sainz responding to move into top spot the following day. The South African then retrieved the lead after SS3 when the Spaniard's run was spoilt by a slow puncture and a navigational error in the magnificent Chegaga dunes.
Going into Day 4, Sainz trailed his team-mate by eight minutes but luck then played into his hands over the longest stage of the rally which saw Giniel de Villiers suffer power steering trouble. That gave the two-time World Rally Champion a slender lead of eight seconds after five days and some 1,500km of competitive action over the rocky tracks of southern Morocco, between Zagora and Ouarzazate, where many of the front-runners picked up punctures.
"Punctures are difficult to avoid on rocky tracks like this," says BFGoodrich rally-raid technician Dominique Bravy. "Last year, flooding caused the organisers to shorten the stages so the tyres suffered less. This year's stages were consequently much longer, while the thermometer reached the 40°C mark in the Zagora region. On top of that, the leading car competitors are often forced to take to the verges to pass backmarker bikers or overtake rivals and it can be difficult to avoid hitting the bigger rocks. Last but not least, the pace of the top two Volkswagen drivers was extremely fast. For BFGoodrich and also our partners, this event served as a full-scale dress rehearsal in the run-up to the 2008 Dakar and we will analyse all the damaged tyres later this week to perfect our preparations for the African classic."
In the end, punctures played a major role in deciding the outcome of the Rallye du Maroc's last stage and consequently the final leaderboard. Giniel de Villiers picked up a rear puncture over a particularly rough section shortly after the start and was forced to stop to put on a spare. Soon afterwards, it was Carlos Sainz's turn to have to stop to change a wheel, and then again a second time after clouting a big rock concealed by water in a ford. Further time was lost when the wheelstuds proved troublesome to remove and the Spaniard ended up more than three minutes behind de Villiers who was able to take his score in Morocco to three wins.
Volkswagen/BFGoodrich had two other Race Touareg 2s at the start but Mark Miller (5th) and Carlos Souza (4th) both lost large chunks of time through navigational errors, punctures, etc. The Portuguese driver, who personally didn't suffer any punctures, put in a big effort towards the end and only just failed to steal third place from Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah who managed to save the honour of the BMW X-Raid/BFGoodrich squad. The BMW X-Raid drivers went to Morocco with a view to preparing for the Dakar but were plagued by a long list of misadventures, starting from Day 1 when Guerlain Chicherit was delayed by major electrical problems and Paulo Nobre had engine trouble.
"The BMW X-Raids mostly suffered rear punctures but their balance improved as the rally progressed and the team will stay an extra week in Morocco for testing."
Dominique Housieaux celebrated his maiden outing in a Buggy Schlesser/BFGoodrich to claim sixth place and victory in the two-wheel drive category. After being delayed on Day 1 with electrical problems, his team-mate José-Luis Monterde fought back to finish third in the two-wheel drive classification.
The final round of the FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup takes place at the end of October in the sand of the United Arab Emirates near Dubai where Mitsubishi and Volkswagen are expected to compete head-to-head for the last time before January's Dakar.