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Tensions rise as competitors leave St Louis through the busy and fascinating old streets and squares of Portuguese colonial architecture and head for the pink tinged lake - Lac Rose - at Dakar. It's the final day of an epic adventure that has tested man and machine to the limit. Some have it all to lose on this final day whereas, of course, some that have less to lose could well use this opportunity to go for Dakar glory or bust. Word had spread that this could also be the 'sting in the tail' and maybe there was a little something to catch out the navigators. There was no such intention but anguish was intensified further by some last minute route book changes before the very last test of the rally. The section was a long flat sandy track that looped away from the main road and returned back at the same road further down and had no passage control to report to at its furthest point. The track was actually very difficult to follow by using 'tulip' symbols alone, due to a myriad of optional paths, so once again using GPS waypoints was the name of the game. It was a nerve racking time for the navigators and despite over two weeks of practice vehicles where still going in all directions before long. Alastair Caldwell and Brian Johnson started very conservatively, wisely capitalising on their comfortable lead and seemingly driving well within their impressive capabilities. Felix Wright arrived at the start with the windscreen of the Focus so badly smashed that navigator John Hall may just as well have been blindfolded on his side of the car. Stephen Cooper and Aggie Foster arrived late to the start - their patience well and truly tried with the troublesome little AX Citroen. Citroen 2CV stalwarts Liz and Simon Chance left the start line on only one of its two, already feeble, cylinders. On the sides of the car it says; No Fan belt, No water pump, No Distributor etc. Instead of 'No problem' at the end it should have said 'No chance' as on its one cylinder it failed to move more than 10 metres through the soft sand. Of course this was no still no problem for the intrepid couple who calmly and cheerfully sorted the problem and got on their way. Richard Hayward and Kane Athay in the Land Rover 110 gained a large advantage over 4x4 leaders Dominic Manser and Jeremy Davies, by taking advantage of the sections lack of passage control. They ended up pipping Manser and Davies to the post to win the 4x4 Cup. Iain Freestone and Rod Maclean extended their lead and won the Classic Cup by conducting a good hard charge from day one and pushing hard enough to render a few hiccups, earlier on, insignificant. Alastair Caldwell and Brian Johnson completed an astonishing achievement in the 15 year old, two wheel, drive Peugeot by not only winning their World Cup but being the quickest overall vehicle on the whole rally. Only those who have crossed these actual deserts themselves and will really appreciate the scale of this achievement. To complete this entire route without becoming stuck would not have been considered possible in such a car. However, hearty congratulations are due to absolutely every body who made it from London to Dakar including Roger and Michael Stevens who limped to within 80km of the finish before expiring the engine and finishing on the tow rope of Phil and Lee Collins Land Rover. The Collins themselves had incident today resulting in a smashed screen. This was after passing all but one of a large flock of enormous vultures. Paul Kane summed up the World Cup for everybody, but the three winners, as being an event of Would'avs.....Could'avs.....Should'avs! |
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