Rally Pharaons 2012

PRESS RELEASE 2012 N.1

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Barreda and Al-Mutawei start strong
Following the traditional start in front of the Giza Pyramids, with the Egyptian Minister of Tourism looking on, the competitors of the 2012 Pharaons Rally completed a transfer of 124 kilometers before starting their race adventure in earnest. The first special stage, 330 kilometers of mostly unknown terrain, was the first test awaiting the racers, containing a mix of difficult navigation, fast off-road areas, sand and the first dunes. It was more than enough to open the proceedings and familiarize everyone with the Egyptian terrain. Many of the competitors described it as a difficult day, with several of the front runners quickly bunching up and running together, keeping a close eye on one another. As a part of this “game,” Joan Barreda, who started 8 minutes after the trailblazer Ullevalseter, broke away from his rivals in the final part of the stage with an unstoppable sprint. “He was really on the gas,” confirmed Jordi Viladoms, “and we were surprised by the speed of his Husqvarna on the straights. Personally I navigated very well, and I’m happy with my day.” Viladoms, the winner of the Sardegna Rally Race, was third fastest on the opening day.

It turned out to be a one-two finish for Husqvarna, with Paulo Goncalves coming in 5 minutes behind his teammate. Jakub Przygonski, in fourth place, was the fastest from Team Orlen, who also saw Jacek Czacho and Marek Dabrowski in sixth and seventh places, respectively. Joining the top 10 was the quad of Polish rider Rafal Sonik, aboard a Yamaha Raptor. He was 27 seconds ahead of his compatriot and rival Lukasz Laskawiec. Camelia Liparoti, happy with her day, was fourth of the quads, behind Frenchman Sébastien Souday.
Diocleziano Toia (Beta) and Paolo Bellini (Alfer), eleventh and twelfth respectively, were the top Italian finishers.

Schlesser suffers battery problems
“I have to give a big thank you to Patrick (Sireyjol), who came to help me when I had battery problems. This already happened to me during the Baja of Aragon ; when I shift into reverse, the engine shuts off. It’s most certainly a short circuit.” Coming off of a dune in reverse, his buggy was stuck in place, completely dead. Sireyjol didn’t hesitate for a moment to grab his equipment and bring the Sonangol Buggy back to life, where it eventually finished the stage sixth.
The incident left the way clear for Khalifa Al-Mutawei (Mini All4 Racing X-Raid), who gave credit for the success to his co-pilot Andy Schulz, who navigated to perfection. “It’s been at least ten years since I’ve been to a Pharaons, but I immediately felt comfortable,” the German commented.
A surprising second fastest was Régis Delahaye (Buggy MD Racing): “I drove relaxed. We are preforming tests ahead of the Dakar, and every day we try a small technical modification,” the driver navigated by Alex Winocq, normally by the side of Eric Vigoroux.
Patrick Sireyjol (Buggy SMG) went on to finish third after his day as a ‘good Samaritan.’ “It’s normal for us Frenchman to help one another,” he stated simply at the finish.

Japanese driver Jun Mitsuhashi, navigated by Alain Guehennec, confirmed his competitiveness in the Toyota, finishing fourth ahead of the Mitsubishi of Romanian driver Costel Casuneano, navigated by Italian Maurilio Zani.
Tomorrow’s second special stage will be a long loop around the oasis of Baharija. It will be a route with magnificent views, and which requires considerable energy to cover the 347 kilometer length.

PRESS RELEASE 2012 N.2
Viladoms and Schlesser triumphant!

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The second stage of the Pharaons Rally didn’t see any significant changes in the motorcycle category. Even if the day’s special stage was increasingly difficult as it wore on, both in terms of terrain and navigation, the top riders all took it in stride. Amongst the cars, the gap between Khalifa Al-Mutawei and Jean-Louis Schlesser was reduced notably, thanks to a fairly dominant win by the Frenchman.
Jordi Viladoms (KTM - Bordone Ferrari) ran a nearly perfect stage today. We say nearly because the Catalan rider started very strong in the first part, before losing a little concentration later on. As he explained in his usual calm and direct way: “The second part of the stage was faster than the first. I left the refueling point with a thirty-second lead on the others, but Barreda and Goncalves were able to catch me. I was impressed by their speed, as their bikes were going at least 10 km/h faster than mine. That distracted me a little bit.” That said, Jordi still won the 307 km stage with an advantage of 1'12'' over Jakub Przygonsky (KTM – Orlen team), another rider who was fast in the first half of the stage, “but they lost me towards the end,” the Polish rider explained.
One reason why Joan Barreda finished fourth, behind Goncalves, is because they wandered off course toward the finish of the stage, where Viladoms was instead impeccable. Pal Anders Ullevalseter had a good day, finishing fifth, the same position he occupies in the overall standings, ahead of Bolivian rider Juan Carlos Salvatierra.
Diocleziano Toia maintained his lead among the Italian contingent, tenth on the stage and ninth overall.
Among the quads, Polish rider Lukasz Laskawiec won the stage ahead of his compatriot Rafal Sonik, moving up to the head of the overall standings. Camelia Liparoti, the only woman racing a quad or bike, ran another courageous stage today, taking third place on her Yamaha Raptor.

Auto: Schlesser applies pressure
Of the 21 minutes that separated Khalifa Al-Mutawei (Mini All4 X-Raid) from Jean-Louis Schlesser (Buggy Sonangol), only 5’40’’ now remain. The driver from the Emirates lost his first pursuer, Régis Delahaye, but another one took his place... Patrick Sireyjol marked him close for the entire stage, setting the second fastest time in the process, and moving up to third place overall. “It was a trouble free day,” the driver of the SMG Buggy said, with a very telling smile on his face. Boris Gadasin continued his strong run with a fourth place finish for the stage, following yesterday’s retirement of his Team G-Force teammate, Vladimir Vasilyev, because of an engine problem.
There was also tough news for Team Sixt Ukraine: a broken gearbox on his Toyota LC 200 prevented Vadym Nesterchuk and Laurent Lichtleuchter from continuing their race.
With the second stage now complete, the suspense is greater than ever amongst the cars. The class of Jean-Louis Schlesser’s driving is indisputable, and what he did today behind the wheel of his two wheel drive buggy is only the latest demonstration of that fact: the Frenchman finished his charge with a 9'44'' lead over Sireyjol, and an impressive 16'07'' on Al-Mutaiwei.
Team Dessoude came to the fore today with the Italian crew of Michele Cinotto and Fulvio Zini, finishing fifth. Also worth noting was the performance of Japanese driver Jun Mitsuhashi, navigated by Frenchman Alain Guehennec, seventh ahead of Nicolas Gibon-Akira Miura, both at the wheel of Toyota VDJ200’s for Team Land Cruiser Auto Body.
Tomorrow is the third stage of the 2012 Pharaons: from Tibniya to Abu Mingar, with a daunting 426 km special stage and 159 km transfer. It’s the longest stage of this year’s rally.

PRESS RELEASE 2012 N.3
Barreda repeats, Al-Mutaiwei gains breathing room

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“It was a beautiful special stage, something from a real rally raid,” commented recognizance scout Stephan Le Bail, outside the Abu Mingar bivouac as he prepared to set off again for his work as rally trailblazer. “It’s a real pleasure to find such symbolic situations: sands, rows of dunes, navigation…,” added Pierre Lartigue, charged with driving the recognizance car. And the competitors got more than their fair share of sand today. Joan Barreda seems to be riding on another planet aboard his Husqvarna, and he was dominant once again today: “The bike was working very well again, and it’s the same one we will use for the Dakar,” the Catalan rider affirmed. The competition, and the KTM riders in particular, again seemed shocked by the outright speed of the Husqvarna.

As was the case in stage one, Paulo Goncalves was second fastest, 2'24'' behind, completing Husqvarnas third double in the first three stages. Jakub Przygonski was third fastest, but his teammate Marek Dabrowski failed to finish the stage, breaking both of his wrists in a crash. “Kuba” commented at the finish: “The special was beautiful, complete, difficult, and had all the necessary ingredients from our sport. The Husqvarnas are very fast, and it’s hard to match their pace.”

Suffering some bad luck on the day was Jordi Viladoms: the engine in his KTM began to lose power some 150 km into the stage. “After refueling, we tried to fix the problem at the assistance point, but we couldn’t get it done. Luckily I managed to finish the special stage, riding on my own.” The engine will now be changed by his mechanic, giving the Catalan the opportunity to defend his second place in the World Championship standings.
Barreda now leads the overall standings with a gap of 5’41” over his teammate Goncalves and 12'48” on Przygonski.

Khalifa Al-Mutawei claws back some minutes
After having his lead reduced to nine minutes yesterday, Khalifa Al Mutaiwei could hardly relax as he started this morning’s special stage. But in the end the roles were reversed, and the driver from the Emirates gained a further nine minutes on Jean Louis Schlesser. The Frenchman explained at the finish: “We got stuck in a tight valley between two dunes. The front end was buried, and we were trying to find a way out. To avoid any potential problems, Konstantin (Zhiltsov) placed his helmet atop the previous dune; without that, Al Mutaiwei would have come down on top of us for sure.” This problem cost Schlesser 15 minutes, leaving the way clear for Al Mutaiwei. “It was a very good day,” Khalifa commented at the finish. “We saw the helmet on top of the dune, and we thought it was an injured bike rider, but once over the summit we saw the blue buggy. I then quickly moved to the right to avoid finding myself in the same situation,” concluded the theMini All4 Racing X-Raid driver for the Fazza Cross Country Rally Team.
Régis Delahaye gained one position in the overall standings: third last night, the driver of the MD Racing buggy isn’t making any predictions, but taking it day by day along with his navigator Alex Vinoq.
Russian driver Boris Gadasin had his best stage of the rally, third on the day and now fourth overall.
There were no problems for the Toyota Auto Body of Mitsuhashi – Guehennec, fifth overall, and it was another strong day for Michele Cinotto – Fulvio Zini (Dessoude Junke), now solidly in seventh place.
Forced to retire after suffering numerous mechanical issues was Rocco Anaclerio-Ringo DJ and Maurizio Dominella (Fornasari): after having already changed his transmission twice, it failed yet again today.

Tomorrow’s fourth stage will be a ring around the Abu Mingar bivouac. Two special stages are scheduled, the first 215 kilometers in length, and the second 248 kilometers.

PRESS RELEASE 2012 N.4
Joan Barreda breaking away... Schlesser take the lead

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It was another hot day today, and the high temperatures have been the overriding characteristic of the four stages of the Pharaons rally disputed thus far. The racing starts early in the morning for this exact reason, with the sun just peeking out over the tops of the dunes and the fresh night air still lingering over the golden sands.
The fourth day of competition turned out to be slightly more difficult than yesterday, and perhaps a little less trying than what awaits the “survivors” tomorrow. As far as the bikes are concerned, everything can be summed up with a single name: Joan Barreda. He has swept the competition aside with such ease that the KTM riders can only look at his results with extreme envy. Everyone in the paddock now sees the Husqvarna as a serious threat to the Austrian manufacturer in the next Dakar.
After Barreda won the stage, this third of the four disputed thus far, there was something quite familiar about his comments: having started first, he said, “There were no problems with the navigation.” So no mistakes like he made during stage two, and neither Jakub Przygonski, second, nor Paulo Goncalves, third were capable of keeping pace with the Catalan gazelle, flashing his way across the scalding Egyptian desert. With Barreda now dominating almost every day, Goncalves and Przygonski are left to fight for second place.
Jordi Viladoms, fourth across the line, wasn’t able to push the limit during the 214 and 248 km long special stages, as he still has pain in his ribs from yesterday’s crash.
Pal Anders Ullevalseter suffered a different type of misfortune when his gearbox gave out just 40 km into the first stage, forcing him abandon his KTM in the desert, ready to be transported back by the balais.
For his part, Franco Picco didn’t celebrate his birthday in the best of ways today: he crashed heavily, momentarily losing consciousness. “I turned around to keep an eye on my ‘flock’, and didn’t realize I was cresting a dune,” he explained through the bruises on his face. The Italian rider has now been transported to the hospital in Cairo for the necessary follow up checks. Finishing eighth was Diocleziano Toia (Beta Dirt Racing), who is now seventh in the overall standings.
Auto: Experience has come through... for Schlesser

In the fourth stage for the cars, Jean-Louis Schlesser scored an authoritative win. He won both special stages in his classic style, a style which all the other drivers are frequently jealous of. By the end of the proceedings, the French driver had gained 25'03'' over Khalifa Al Mutaiwei, who therefore loses the overall lead by 10'07''! The final outcome is still very much undecided, but Schlesser’s lead will now allow him to keep control of his rival from the Emirates, despite playing the trailblazer role tomorrow.
“An excellent day,” the victorious driver declared, “and also very difficult. I caught Khalifa in the dunes, at the 100th kilometer. Then I had to play the role of trailblazer, because the wind had blown away all the previous tracks in the sand. Many times I thought I had wondered off course, since the sand was perfectly untouched.”
Khalifa Al-Mutawei was slowed down when he got badly stuck in the sand and punctured a tyre.
Patrick Sireyjol was second 15 min behind Schlesser and in front of Régis Delahaye, who got many troubles today: «We got lost, stucked in the sand, and bumped against a Buggy on a dune»
For the Dakar Challenge Costel Casuneau – Maurilio Zani (Mitsubishi) are the actual leader of the classification, waiting to mantain the position until the and and win the entry at 2013 Dakar.
Tomorrow the fifth stage will bring back to Tibnyia. 405 km of special stage in program.

PRESS RELEASE 2012 N.4 bis
Breaking News: Schlesser’s adventure is over!

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For the first time in twenty years of rally-raid experience, the ”Schlesser Adventure” faces a tough evening after having had an outstanding day !
After a random check by the FIA technical steward at the end of two special stages carried out on the day (215 km and 248 km), through a torrid climate and a super heated engines, the authorized air intake size of 37.2mm was found to be outside of the regulations!
To err is human. The Schlesser Aventures Team who is usually perfect in the preparation of their 2 WD buggies, finds itself excluded from the Egyptian championship round as notified by the FIA.
As a result, the blue Buggy exits from the stage without even appealing the decision.
We remind you that the paring of Jean-Louis Schlesser – Konstantin Zhiltsov had taken the lead following the 4th stage with 10:07 gap over the Mini All4 Racing of Khalifa Al-Mutawei – Andreas Schulz (X-Raid).
Therefore is the team of Fazza Cross Country Rally that regains the leadership before the two crucial stages of the Pharaons Rally.

PRESS RELEASE 2012 N.5
A day of firsts…

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Scoring their first stage wins of the 2012 Pharaons rally were Jakub Przygonski (KTM) among the bikes, and Miroslav Zapletal-Manciej Marton (H3 Evo) in the car category. Both of them were hoping to win at least one of the six stages, and today, finally, it was mission accomplished!

Today Joan Barreda found a rider that was faster than him. The leader in the overall standings wasn’t pushing flat out for the stage win, and was more than happy to manage his lead and, more importantly, hone his navigating skills.
Indeed, during this fifth stage it was very difficult for everyone to find their way, with many navigational errors being committed. The most glaring of them involved Paolo Goncalves, who lost what seemed like an eternity, 1h16’ to the stage winner Jakub Przygonski.

The result allowed the Polish rider to regain his smile, as he continues his pursuit of Barreda and the Husqvarna: “The start of the stage was fairly easy, while the final 200 kilometers were very demanding. There were stones, fesh-fesh, and I had to blaze the trail. I wanted to win, and I did it! I’m extra happy because it was stage with tricky navigation. What’s more, it could allow me to keep third place in the world championship, but we’ll wait for tomorrow for that.”
So we have one happy winner, and one relaxed Joan Barreda in the bivouac after a refreshing shower. Perhaps most content of all, however, was Bolivian rider Carlos Salvatierra, who finished the stage in fourth place. “I’ve run a good rally thus far. I’ve ridden well every day, but today was fantastic. When I arrived at the refueling point, I was in the lead! I lost a little time in the second part of the stage, but riding together with Barreda was an incredible experience.”
Pal Ullevalseter got started again this morning after changing the gearbox on his KTM: “I finished 1’35” from Jakub, which isn’t bad! I lost a little time over the jumps in the fesh-fesh, and I need a little more training; I hadn’t raced since the Dakar, and I need to be ready for the next one.”
Jordi Viladoms finished the day in fifth position, still suffering from pain in his ribs: “I caught up to Salvatierra, who was riding with a good pace, and I managed to stay behind him. I still haven’t fully recovered from the other day’s crash, so I am riding with caution. When I started to push a little harder the pain returned, but today I gained a position in the overall standings.”
Joan Barreda retains his advantage in the overall standings, heading into the final stage with a lead of 17'32'' on Jakub Przygonski and 1h06' over Jordi Viladoms. Tomorrow’s stage will conclude at the scenic Giza Pyramids.
Among the quad riders, it was a very difficult day for Camelia Liparoti, who got lost in the desert: “I was overcome with panic. I made some mistakes out in the middle of nowhere, and I lost my head.”

Miroslav Zapletal from out of nowhere...
Régis Delahaye was on his way to concluding a fantastic stage, and heading into the final two kilometers he held a lead of roughly fifteen minutes over the Mini All4 Racing of Khalifa Al-Mutawei/Andreas Schulz.
Then, just when it was in sight of the finish line, the French team encountered a nightmare scenario: both of their axles broke simultaneously! Khalifa stopped to make sure that everyone was ok, while the Toyoya of Jun Mitsuhashi towed the Frenchman’s MD Racing buggy across the line.
This situation allowed Mirsolav Zapletal and Maciej Marton to realize the dream of their first stage win in the rally: “I started off poorly today, because I drove an extra 40 kilometers at the start of the special stage. When I rejoined the right track, I found myself faced with the Mini of Al Mutaiwei... then I just followed him.”
Another team satisfied with their performance was that of Aidyn Rakhimbayev/Gaboulla Ashimov (Désert Warrior), second on the stage thanks to their impeccable navigating.
Patrick Sireyjol and François Beguin (Buggy SMG) finished third: they could have challenged for the win, similarly to fourth placed Jun Mitsuhashi/Alain Guehennec (Toyota VDJ200), who performed “Saint Bernard” duty for the unlucky Delahaye/Winocq pairing.
Boris Gadasin (G-Force) was the victim of a water pump problem, and therefore lost fourth place in the overall standings. But losing the most today was the team of Costel Casuneanu/Maurilio Zani, leaders of the Dakar Challenge up until yesterday. Their Mitsubishi flipped over forwards, and the incident allowed the Egyptian pairing of Tarek El Erian/Aly Mohamed (Buggy) to inherit the lead of the special classification.
Lastly, Michele Cinotto/Fulvio Zini (Buggy Junke Dessoude) lost fifteen minutes due to a navigating error, which was still considerably better than the four hours lost yesterday.

Joan Barreda and Khalifa Al-Mutawei/Andreas Schulz, winners

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After spending the last week in the desert, the “survivors” of the fifteenth edition of the Pharaons Rally finally reached the Giza Pyramids to receive their just rewards for six days of hard work.
Among the bike riders, it was Spaniard Joan Barreda taking the top honors on his Husqvarna and, in the cars category, it was Khalifa Al-Mutawei/Andreas Schulz (Mini All 4) being received by the Egyptian dignitaries to celebrate their first win in this rally. And it was a rally that more than lived up to its promises: sportsmanship, a friendly atmosphere, wondrous stages, a precise road-book and an exciting race to the end in both categories; bikes/quads and cars.

Moto: Joan Barreda is first
At 29 years of age, Joan Barreda has achieved the first important victory in his young rally career (two years long), riding the new Husqvarna developed for the Dakar. He now looks like the natural heir to countryman and 2012 World Champion Marc Coma’s (absent from this year’s Pharaons) throne in the coming years.
For Joan Barreda, always focused, careful and reserved, this victory is just what he needed with two months remaining until the Dakar, reassuring his good chances for success.
Instead it was a solid second place finish for Jakub Przygonski, who rode quite consistently (one stage win), but slightly slower than his Husqvarna mounted rivals. The result allows the Polish rider to finish the World Championship in third place, the same result he achieved last year.
With regard to Jordi Viladoms, his third stage crash kept him from achieving the type of result he had hoped for. Engine problems and pain in his ribs were, however, compensated for by a second place finish in the World Championship, and ready to great him at the finish was his friend Alessandro Botturi from Team Bordone Ferrari, who just arrived in Egypt today.
Bolivian rider Carlos Salvatierra took home a valuable fifth place finish, just head of Polish rider Jacek Czachor.

Quad: A Polish double
It was an in house battle among the quad racers: Lukasz Laskawiec edged out Rafal Sonik (both on Yamahas) for the overall win. The “princess of the desert,” Camelia Liparoti, finished on the third step of the podium. “It was a great rally, one of the best since I have been coming to Egypt. In five races, I have finished on the podium four times!”

Auto: Al-Mutawei and Schulz on top!
Winning both the rally and the 2012 World Cup, the Pharaons was exceptional for Khalifa Al-Mutawei and Andreas Schulz. Driving a Mini All4 Racing for X-raid, the driver from the Emirates reached all of his objectives this week. The victory uncertain until the disqualification of Jean Louis Schlesser for an irregular air intake, the result was then sealed thanks to an insurmountable lead over the rest of the field. Two stage wins (the first and the third) versus one for Schlesser, one for Patrick Sireyjol, one for Miroslav Zapleta and, finally, the last stage won by Frenchman Regis Delahaye, was the total for his week. Six very intense days during which all of the drivers held nothing back.
Boris Gadasin was particularly unlucky, along with his G-Force teammate Vladimyr Vaslyev, as both were forced to retire from the race. On the other hand it was a solid performance from the French contingent, particularly Régis Delahaye who overcame mechanical problems just 800 meters from the stage four finish, and a one-hour penalty for losing his time card. The MD Buggy nevertheless maintained second place in the standings, with a 14 minute lead over third place finishers Miroslav Zapleta/Maciej Marton, and 16 minutes over the fourth placed team of Patrick Sireyjol-François Beguin.
Two of the three Team Dessoude cars managed to finish the rally: the Cinotto family experienced quite an adventure, as did Michele (the father) who was lost for four hours in the Egyptian desert. He still managed to finish in 13th place behind the wheel of his Junke Buggy, while his son Piero drove his Nissan Pathfinder to 18th.

T2: Double for Toyota AutoBody
Jun Mitsuhashi and Alain Guehennec made up for their 2011 disappointment (retiring on the final stage) by winning the T2 category this time around. They beat out Nicolas Gibon-Akira Miura, also in a Toyota, giving the Japanese manufacturer an impressive double.

Dakar Challenge: An Egyptian in South America
It has never been done before: the winner of the Dakar Challenge, the Egyptian team of Tarek El Erian-Aly Mohamed in the Batmobile Buggy Cotel, has secured an entry into next season’s Dakar. “It’s the best we could have hoped for,” said Daniele Cotto. “A young Egyptian driver, who is also a friendly a kind person; he really deserved to achieve this dream.” Xavier Gavory, head of competitor relations for ASO, greeted the team at the Pyramids, and they will be the first Egyptians to participate in a South American Dakar.

Interviews
Bikes
Joan Barreda (HVA) winner: “I am really happy with this week in Egypt. All of the stages were difficult, and I’m very satisfied with the work done by the team, whom I would like to thank. It is my first win in World Championship race, following on from July’s victory in the Baja of Spain.”
Jakub Przygonski (KTM), second place overall: “After the mistake from Goncalves, the podium places were essentially locked up. I gave my best in the final special, after having ridden with Barreda and seeing that he wasn’t always consistent on the route. Second here and third in the World Championship, it has been a satisfying week, despite a few too many navigation errors.”
Jordi Viladoms (KTM-Bordone Ferrari), third: “It was a difficult rally for me personally, between physical problems and issues with the bike. After the crash I just tried to hold on until the finish, as my World Championship position was in play…”
Paulo Gonçalves (HVA), fouth: “I don’t have any regrets with regard to my riding, but I made some big navigation mistakes. But it’s something I will learn from, and I was always there to liven up the race along with Joan. Two double stage wins with Barreda, and one individual stage win, mean a lot for the factory. Unfortunately I lost second place in the World Championship.”

Cars:
Khalifa Al-Mutawei (Mini All4 Racing), winner: “It was a very positive result, and a great rally with excellent organization. We raced over varied terrain, like we will find in Perù. The disqualification of Schlesser certainly made our victory easier, but we will still attend the final round in Portugal with the new Mini.”
Régis Delahaye (Buggy MD Racing), second: “We ran a great Rally, carrying out a lot of testing here in Egypt. The victory didn’t come, but at least we got some satisfaction by winning the final special stage. I gave it my best in today’s stage, and I’m satisfied with the evolution of the buggy, even if it still struggles on uneven terrain.”
Jun Mitsuhashi (Toyota), winner T2: “Overall it was a satisfying week. We had just one mechanical problem, with the radiator, and nothing else. I’d say that we are ready for the Dakar.”