Under a clear blue sky and a blazing sun, the race was back on today, on this, the 30th anniversary of the Oilibya Rally of Tunisia. They left at dawn, six am for the first bike and eighteen minutes past seven for the first car, the competitors had a loop of over 200 km of dunes to swallow on this, de facto, second stage. A special of sand and dunes, considered as one of the best the by organizers. That probably adds more to the joy of Jakub Przygonski (KTM 450 No 15), stage winner in the bike category and to the satisfaction of the Schlesser / Zhiltsov (Buggy Schlesser No. 300) duo, winners of the day in the car category. Real icing on the cake for the young Pole and for the crew of the blue buggy: both grabbed the opportunity to seize the overall lead...
The calm after the storm ...the saying was indeed confirmed in Ksar Ghilane today allowing the organizers to open the famous "southern loop" to competitors. All you had to do was to see their faces at the finish line to understand that the day had certainly not been easy. The organization was well advised yesterday to advance starting times to dawn to allow all competitors to finish the stage in the best possible conditions. Knowing that the leaders accomplished the special at speeds well below 60 km per hour, on this route, it was totally justified...
JORDI’S SUFFERING
In the bike category, the image that we all have today is of poor Jordi Viladoms (No. 4), literally exhausted after pushing his Yamaha 450 up to the finish line. A faulty fuel pump leading to excessive fuel consumption, meant that he ran dry 800 meters from the finish line! The young Catalan champion was gutted! A few miles earlier, the former lieutenant to Marc Coma was poised to win the stage. 6th on the starting block....he had made a spectacular comeback and had caught up with the trio of leaders, formed by Helder Rodrigues (Yamaha 450 No. 3), Francisco Lopez (Aprilia 450 No. 1) and Jakub Przygonski (KTM 450 No 15).! Przygonski, started third behind his two opponents and pocketed all the benefits of a stage victory he now leads the overall ranking ahead of Lopez and Rodriguez. Viladoms now 6th overall.
Jacek Czachor (KTM 450 No. 5) is now 4th overall and Marek Dabrowski (KTM 690 No 100 ) takes a proud 5th position in the overall ranking, A good position for the Tunisian Anis Nabli in 7th, Just behind the excellent Manuel Lucchese (Husaberg 450 No. 18).Edoardo Piero Mossi (KTM 450), fared well and is now 2nd in the overall endure cup ranking, Leading the Enduro cup is the Frenchman Thomas Bourgin (Husaberg No. 253).
While many competitors were drawing on their last resources to vent their joy at passing the finish line, Dmitry Pavlov (Honda No. 200) pushed a sigh of relief. Taking advantage of Pascal Delesque’s mechanical problems (Honda No. 260) and Karim Dilou’s health concerns (Yamaha 202), the Russian ogre has largely consolidated his dominance in the overall classification in the quad category.
CARS: SCHLESSER, THE RESISTANT ...
For this second round in the car category, we expected a fight between the BMW X3’s of Novitsky (301) and Roma (302) facing up to the blue buggy of Jean-Louis Schlesser (300). And while the battle did seem to take shape, Nani Roma and Michel Perin had to let go. Their black X3 jumped to high over a dune and ended up in a sand bowl. It took them forty minutes to dig themselves out. As expected the excitement lay in the battle between :Leonid Novitsky and Jean-Louis Schlesser, each overtaking each time and time again, at one point both stranded for a while in the deep sand, but finally it’s Shlesser and Zhiltsov who sign a stunning stage victory and regain the overall lead ... just 30 seconds in front of their Russian challenger. Third in today, the Czechs Zapletal and Ourednicek put their privately owned BMW X3 onto the podium and are now tailgating Roma / Périn with just seven minutes, in 4th place overall.
GARAFULIC AND KUZNETSOV: ALWAYS READY TO HELP OUT
Trying as best he could to help his teammate Roma, Boris Garafulic (BMW X3 No. 303) concedes almost an hour and a half, today. As for Italy's Roberto Tonetti (Nissan Pathfinder), trapped on four occasions in the dunes, he has now lost all the benefits of a perfect first special, In the T2 category, Ilya Kuznetsov (Toyota)...proves that not only can you dominate the category but also be a perfect gentleman, he had no hesitation in stopping to help Ludovic Leloup and Sofiane Driss (Toyota n°318), in trouble at one point.
WILDACT TROPHY: VISY IS LAUGHING, DECREE IS CRYING
Among the sporting achievements of the day let’s acknowledge: Visy Michel and Sébastien Delaunay (QT Wildcat No. 315). The crew from the Cantal region in France defeated Christophe Guillot (QT Wildcat No. 312) literally exhausted and still dealing with fuel feed problems, and took this opportunity to shake up the rankings.Eugenie Decré and Patrick Antoniolli (QT Wildcat) lose big time with a broken axle shaft before ...
Finally, while many competitors were reported in difficulty, Elisabete Jacinto, Charly Gotlib and Marco Cochinho (MAN No. 401) leading in the truck category, finally crossed the finishing line after more than 6 hours of agony.
Work it out for yourself: 200 kilometers, six hours, that works out at an average time of ... 30 km / h!
INTERVIEWS
BIKES
Jakub Przygonski (Pol / KTM 450 No 15) : "A great special, but very physically demanding. In catching up with Helder and Chaleco, I knew I could win the stage. So I got very motivated. In the end, in the dunes, it was more like a motocross race. Tomorrow I will open the track, this will be an additional experience ... "
Francisco Lopez (Chi / Aprilia 450 No. 1) : "Everything went as I expected. We ganged up, and all I had to do was be careful not to make a mistake. Leaving third tomorrow means I can gain a little time ... "
Helder Rodrigues (Por / Yamaha 450 No. 3) : "I knew that opening the track today really would not be an advantage, but eventually I had fun. I was surprised that we had caught up with Jordi Viladoms. Too bad, he was really unlucky to experience these setbacks right at the end..”
Jordi Viladoms (ESP / Yamaha 450 4) : "I believe that fate is not on my side! After my troubles on Monday, I again had problems with that fuel pump. The bike stopped dead less than one kilometer from the finish. I thought I would die. I was exhausted but still managed to pass the finish line.”
Manuel lucchese, (Ita / 450 Husaberg, No 18) : “It was hard, a lot of dunes, small but cut, no time to breathe! Once in the rhythm of things, it got easier, and the special was not too long so it got better. It’s only my second rally, in Abu Dhabi I finished 13th, so I am hoping to do better here, especially as in Tunisia the scenery is much nicer...”
Kemal Merkit, (Tuk / KTM 450, No 101) : “Yesterday I had a problem with my fuel injection and relied on the team spirit and friendship of the other teams to repair during our day of rest (caused by the sand storm). So today, I had fun on these easy dunes even though I broke a couple of ribs in Abu Dhabi and I am still on painkillers.”
Edouardo piero mossi, (Ita / KTM 450, No 250) : “I haven’t had this much fun in a long time! Great sand and fast on the dunes. I actually live in Morocco and organise raids for tourists, so I feel right at home in the desert. Weighing in at 100 kgs, I am not the lightest of bikers, so I am in the Oilibya Rally of Tunisia to enjoy myself, more than to win it “
Dmitry Pavlov, (Rus, Honda Quad, No 200) : “I enjoyed the day; this was a difficult special for quads. Compared to Abu Dhabi where I came third three weeks ago, Tunisia offers a change of scenery every day. The quad albeit heavy is very reliable.”
Philippe Pages (Fra, Yamaha 450, No 16) : “this special was easier than when I saw the road book last night the sand was fun, I even caught myself looking at the beautiful landscape. The first two specials have honestly been the toughest and yet nicest ones I have done this year. I said to myself that if I make it through the Ksar loops, I’ll get to the end.....”
Tobias Younger and Jago Pickering (Eng, KTM, Nos 254 and 255) : “Today was awesome! Lots of jumping, navigation was fast and furious, great scenery we loved it. For Jago, it is rally number two (we were in Morocco last October), and Tobias is at his third, we enjoy the friendship and team spirited people than come on the NPO rallies. “
Karim Dilou (Tun / Yamaha Quad No. 202): "Before yesterday I had health problems, despite the forced rest day yesterday, I could not recover completely, so I cut short today, in order to rest, I really want to finish the rally you see.”
AUTOS-TRUCKS
Jean-Louis Schlesser (Fra / Buggy Schlesser No. 300) : "What rhythm! We had to concentrate to keep up with Novitsky. Not easy because the ground was not fast. I won this stage and I'm leading in the overall, but we must remain feet on the ground. The BMW is more powerful and it will be very difficult to keep that advantage "
Leonid Novitsky (Rus / BMW X3CC No. 301) : "It was very intense with Jean-Louis today. We got stuck twice, but fortunately we did not lose too much time. It will not make any mistakes in the days to come ... "
Nani Roma (Spa / BMW X3CC No. 302) : "We had overtaken Jean-Louis and we were behind Leonid when our car fell into a hole. It took almost 40 minutes to get out. That's racing ... Too bad because we had a good shot to play today. On a rally this short, I fear that we will not be able to claim a final victory. "
Boris Garafulic (Chi / BMW X3CC No. 303) : "We stopped to help Nani, and then we got stuck just after that! Which made us loose time, this stage was very difficult, but I am gradually getting used to my new car "
Ilya Kuznetsov (Rus / Toyota No. 310) : "Given the weight of my car, I was not at an advantage today. Actually I'd say it was an ordeal. I hope it’s another terrain for tomorrow, I'm exhausted ... "
Michel Visy (Fra / QT Wildcat No. 315) : "Following last night’s briefing by Stéphane Clair , we fully focused on the road book: the result was a flawless special that allows us to achieve a good result in our class! "
Roberto Tonetti (Ita / Nisan Pathfinder No. 305) : "We got stuck four times today! Costing us over an hour and a half It's a special to forget as quickly as possible ..."
