klaus
June 4th, 2006, 19:38
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Morocco Rally, leg 3, 2 June 2006
Volkswagen with one-two lead after Carlos Sainz’s stage victory
Wolfsburg (2 June 2006) As the Morocco Rally is reaching its mid-point, two Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 cars have captured the overall lead in the event. On the third leg Carlos Sainz/Michel Périn (E/F) celebrated their first stage victory to move up to the position of the runner-up overall behind their team-mates Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (RSA/D). Giniel de Villiers, who had taken the top place on the first day and won the first two legs, defended the front runner’s position with a seven-minute lead. The Portuguese Carlos Sousa in his debut in the Race Touareg entered by Team Lagos, fielded by Volkswagen’s semi-works team, Phoenix Sport, is now running in seventh place overall. The fourth leg on Saturday will take the teams across 280 classified kilometres of a cratered landscape along the Moroccan-Algerian border to the oasis of Zagora.
Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)
"Congratulations to the entire squad because not only Carlos and Giniel were perfect today, but the whole team. All Race Touareg 2 cars are running like a charm. With Carlos Sousa there are no complaints either. He and the Phoenix Sport team are doing a good job but need to learn a few things, but that’s the purpose of this entry."
#201 – Giniel de Villiers (RSA), 2nd place (leg) / 1st place overall
"It’s great that we not only successfully defended our lead on this demanding and quick leg but were even able to expand it by four seconds. Following our stage victory yesterday we had to go out first today. My co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz did a perfect job of handling this difficult task."
#203 – Carlos Sainz (E), 1st place (leg) / 2nd place overall
"We’re pleased about the stage victory we clinched. On the first special stage we made up two minutes to Stéphane Peterhansel, who had started in front of us, and we finished behind him. The second special stage we won. It was difficult because there had been heavy rainfalls the week before and some of the washed out places had not been included in the roadbook."
Standings after leg 3, Ain Benimathar (MA) – Erfoud (MA); 247/479 km leg 3/overall
Pos., Team, Vehicle, SS 5 + SS 6, Total time
1. Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (RSA/D); Volkswagen Race Touareg 2; 2:23.11 hrs (2.); 7:09.50 hrs
2. Carlos Sainz/Michel Périn (E/F); Volkswagen Race Touareg 2; 2:21.23 hrs (1.) + 7.06 min
3. Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-P. Cottret (F/F); Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution; 2:23.16 hrs (3.) + 7.07 min
4. Jean-L. Schlesser/François Borsotto (F/F); Schlesser-Buggy; 2:23.49 hrs (4.) + 13.27 min
5. Joan Roma/Henri Magne (E/F); Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution; 2:24.52 hrs (6.) + 16.57 min
6. Hiroshi Masuoka/Pascal Maimon (J/F); Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution; 2:24.22 hrs (5.) + 17.41 min
7. Carlos Sousa/Andreas Schulz (P/D); Volkswagen Race Touareg 2; 2:34.14 hrs (8.) + 36.01 min
Volkswagen Motorsport public website: www.volkswagen-motorsport.com
Morocco Rally, leg 3, 2 June 2006
Volkswagen with one-two lead after Carlos Sainz’s stage victory
Wolfsburg (2 June 2006) As the Morocco Rally is reaching its mid-point, two Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 cars have captured the overall lead in the event. On the third leg Carlos Sainz/Michel Périn (E/F) celebrated their first stage victory to move up to the position of the runner-up overall behind their team-mates Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (RSA/D). Giniel de Villiers, who had taken the top place on the first day and won the first two legs, defended the front runner’s position with a seven-minute lead. The Portuguese Carlos Sousa in his debut in the Race Touareg entered by Team Lagos, fielded by Volkswagen’s semi-works team, Phoenix Sport, is now running in seventh place overall. The fourth leg on Saturday will take the teams across 280 classified kilometres of a cratered landscape along the Moroccan-Algerian border to the oasis of Zagora.
Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)
"Congratulations to the entire squad because not only Carlos and Giniel were perfect today, but the whole team. All Race Touareg 2 cars are running like a charm. With Carlos Sousa there are no complaints either. He and the Phoenix Sport team are doing a good job but need to learn a few things, but that’s the purpose of this entry."
#201 – Giniel de Villiers (RSA), 2nd place (leg) / 1st place overall
"It’s great that we not only successfully defended our lead on this demanding and quick leg but were even able to expand it by four seconds. Following our stage victory yesterday we had to go out first today. My co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz did a perfect job of handling this difficult task."
#203 – Carlos Sainz (E), 1st place (leg) / 2nd place overall
"We’re pleased about the stage victory we clinched. On the first special stage we made up two minutes to Stéphane Peterhansel, who had started in front of us, and we finished behind him. The second special stage we won. It was difficult because there had been heavy rainfalls the week before and some of the washed out places had not been included in the roadbook."
Standings after leg 3, Ain Benimathar (MA) – Erfoud (MA); 247/479 km leg 3/overall
Pos., Team, Vehicle, SS 5 + SS 6, Total time
1. Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz (RSA/D); Volkswagen Race Touareg 2; 2:23.11 hrs (2.); 7:09.50 hrs
2. Carlos Sainz/Michel Périn (E/F); Volkswagen Race Touareg 2; 2:21.23 hrs (1.) + 7.06 min
3. Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-P. Cottret (F/F); Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution; 2:23.16 hrs (3.) + 7.07 min
4. Jean-L. Schlesser/François Borsotto (F/F); Schlesser-Buggy; 2:23.49 hrs (4.) + 13.27 min
5. Joan Roma/Henri Magne (E/F); Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution; 2:24.52 hrs (6.) + 16.57 min
6. Hiroshi Masuoka/Pascal Maimon (J/F); Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution; 2:24.22 hrs (5.) + 17.41 min
7. Carlos Sousa/Andreas Schulz (P/D); Volkswagen Race Touareg 2; 2:34.14 hrs (8.) + 36.01 min
Volkswagen Motorsport public website: www.volkswagen-motorsport.com