Tunisia: Schlesser’s sixth

Seventh victory for the Schlesser team, the sixth personal for Jean-Louis Schlesser. At over 60 years old, the driver-builder from Mouans-Sartoux has proven that he is still a formidable competitor, and that the physical problems he experienced two years ago are only a distant memory. “This last stage was really difficult. We left with fear in our stomachs, and we even got a little lost, not finding an important landmark. We turned around, and then followed Lavieille to the finish. » Schlesser?s lead was such that he could afford it?

“Our only problem was this puncture, during the second stage, which cost us around ten minutes. On the other hand, our team was hit hard by the accident involving François Lethier and Jean-Marie Lurquin. It is to him that I dedicate this victory, without forgetting my teammate, Constantin Zhiltsov, who officiated for the first time alongside me. He did an extraordinary job, which was not easy given the speeds reached in certain special stages, and the difficulty of the road book” concluded Schlesser.

After his thirty-minute penalty the day before, following a speeding violation at the entrance to a service zone, Christian Lavieille could no longer really believe in victory: “there was too much time to go back. We drove fast, but not excessively, paying attention to the temperatures which were very high with the tailwind. Additionally, visibility was very low. We passed Jean-Louis, but it was hopeless. In conclusion, I think we had a good race, the car was efficient and efficient. There is human error, but it can happen to anyone.”

First at the Desert Challenge in Abu Dhabi, third here, Russian Leonid Novistkiy logically takes the lead in the FIA ​​World Cup for Rally Raids. After the titles obtained in 2008 by Nasser Al Attiyah and in 2009 by Guerlain Chicherit, the X-Raid team seems well on its way to a new crown.

Finally, let's tip our hat to Eric Vigouroux, third in the stage with his Trophy Truck Chevrolet. ?Despite our transmission problems in yesterday?s stage, we never give up. This stage was made for us, unfortunately we had to stop twice for three minutes to let the mechanics cool down. » His delay at the finish, compared to Novitskiy?s best time, was 5:45???