Rest day - Saturday 13 January 2007 | Atâr
Interviews
Eric Bernard (FRA - KTM Gauloises - Team manager)
Now at mid-race, I think our track record is rather positive, even if we would have loved to be in front. Our four pilots are in the top 10. It is quite remarkable; all the more that Frans (Verhoeven) lost some time yesterday due to an error. So we have Esteve (2nd), Casteu (3rd) and Despres (4th). We are in a good stand-by position. Isidre Esteve is just 10’ behind the leader. It is little and much at the same time. There are 2 or 3 essential days left to go. Our bikers will attack when the time is right. We knew that Marc Coma was very strong because of his result of last year. Having been a pilot myself, I don’t want to put too much tactical pressure on my men. In the meantime, I want a maximum of Gauloises team members up front. If we have to have a team strategy, we shall do it during the Tambacounda-Dakar stage, bearing in mind that Isidre is our real leader and that David is free to ride.
Jonathan Edwards (team manager - KTM Red Bull)
Chris Blais, our biker, is in a better position than last year. Normally, he should not have been in the top 10 at this stage in the rally. Blais had intended to come on strong after the rest day in Atar. Tomorrow should be a critical day and we have prepared Chris for it. We coached him mentally primarily. He was really shaken by the death of his friend Elmer Symons and by the accident of Jordi Viladoms that happened right in front of his eyes. By the way, the organizers gave him 13’ back after he stopped to give the Spaniard a helping hand. We would by the way like to thank the organizers for this kind gesture. The aim is still for him to be in the top 3. Everyday, Chris will race based on his gut feelings. That’s why he’s so good. And he’s only 26!
Jordi Arcarons (ESP - KTM Repsol - Team manager)
If there was an award for being first during the rest day, this award would be for us. But we would give it to Dakar. Between here and the finishing line, our focus will be the same: we’ll do our race and take the options whenever they show up. We just have to try not to be under excessive pressure because of our position in the ranking. Marc has faith in himself, so the team has faith. He has indeed a full team behind him. But I believe we should not overestimate the advantages it can entail. Personally, I am in favor of a team of three bikers. This is what we set up this year. A young biker (Viladoms) in a learning process and an experienced biker (Sala). This provides for good complementarity. If you don’t do that, it’s just too many people and too many diverging interests. Then you have to put into perspective the support a leader can get. On this Dakar, it was important on the marathon stage in Morocco. So in a nutshell, we have faith but not excessive faith. In order to win, the Gauloises team will have to work a lot, a whole lot.
Sven Quandt (team manager - BMW X-Raid)
We had pretty good hopes in the beginning of the rally. Unfortunately, we had a lot of problems. Jutta (Kleinschmidt) had problems from the start on: electrical problems that made her lose a lot of time. What happened to Guerlain (Chicherit, who had an accident in stage 6) is typical of what happens before the rest day. He pushed too hard. The Dakar calls for being patient and I told him that. It is only its 3rd Dakar and he still has to learn not to take so much risk. It was also the case with Nasser (Al Attiyah) before him. The aim now is to get both cars in the top 10. I would say that a lot can happen in the next couple of days. We can easily win or lose an hour. The car is fast enough but there are some details to attend to. We must know whether our cars are still jinxed or not. Let’s not forget that our budget is maybe 10 or 20% of the budget of Volkswagen. I am by the way very surprised by the VW. They keep attacking but on the Dakar cars have memory and problems can happen faster than you may think.
Kris Nissen (Team manager - Volkswagen)
So far, it has been a pleasure. Team work has been perfect. I think Volkswagen has taken a step in the right direction. The race is really open and the battle will be intense up to Dakar. We have to keep the pace and remain cautious at the same time. I have great respect for Mitsubishi but we are much better placed in the race than we were last year. The gaps could remain very small up to Dakar. We should have 10’’ lead in Dakar but if we finish 2’ behind, we’ll accept it. No one can feel safe in the overall rankings as they stand. It’s great for our sport and for the show. Apart from the problems of Ari (Vatanen), I am happy to say that our cars did not need to be hand pushed. In the past we had to react to the problems we were facing. We are not interested in winning stages, what matters is to have a Volkswagen in the lead. Back then, it was hard to control the drivers who wanted to win it all. This year, they have a true team spirit. No matter who’s in the lead, our drivers want Volkswagen to win the Dakar.
Dominique Serieys (Team manager - Mitsubishi)
The situation has changed compared to last year. Today, we have become the pursuers. I must congratulate Volkswagen for the competitiveness of its cars. Pressure is not on our shoulders, so we shall attack till the end. Victory might even still be at stake in the Tambacounda – Dakar stage; this race can have a lot of surprises. We had to get to the rest day with gaps between 15 and 20’. We’re not that far from it. Peterhansel has had clutch problems. Alphand did not manage to get a single trouble-free stage. We can’t redo the race and say ‘what if?’. We are not angry and in the next few days, we’ll be out there to play.
Jean-Louis Schlesser (FRA – Schlesser-Ford – Team manager)
There is a lot of positive in this first week of race given the fact that I am alone in 6th position in the ranking in a pack of manufacturers’ drivers and very close to the 5th one in the ranking. I was also delighted to win a stage, almost two, in this very competitive context. But I am nevertheless slightly enraged because of the flat tire and jack problems I had yesterday, which made me lose 45 minutes. If I hadn’t had such trouble, I would rank 3rd. This is where my disappointment lies as well as on the Portuguese stage, where I started loosing time already.
Charly Gotlib (BEL - Man - Team manager)
We got to the rest day with 3 trucks in good positions. The 501 of Hans Stacey is in the lead; the 508 of Philippe Jacquot is 6th and the 516 of Franz Echter is 12th. The way this truck is behaving is interesting; it’s the Man of the future. It has already been configured according to the 2008 rules and is very promising. Generally speaking, the team is well trained. In the 501 all three of us are at our 3rd Dakar. We know each other well and we fully trust each other. Last year we wanted to be in the top 5 and we came out second. This year the aim is to do even better than 2nd… Tomorrow’s stage will be determining. Once beyond Nema, we will be able to think about our strategy for the race.
Firdaus Kabirov (RUS - Kamaz - Team manager)
The event for us is the withdrawal of Vladimir Chagin after his crash. It’s seriously bad news for us. Mardeeev, who now becomes our best truck driver, is suffering: he is feeling like an orphan without our leader. Chagin was our admiral ship, always in the lead. As for the race itself, we can’t understand why trucks are always starting last. The start should really be mixed for trucks and cars; it would be better in terms of safety. The race that still has to be run up to Dakar, we will do it by working hard with the copilots and the navigators. We are already preparing the follow-up. A place in the top 3 would be nice but half a dozen trucks can pretend to it… so the race isn’t won yet.