Mitsubishi's hopes of an eighth successive Dakar Rally win looked doomed yesterday when Luc Alphand put concern for a stricken teammate above his desire for a second victory.

The Frenchman, who was champion in the world's most gruelling endurance event in 2006, opted out of the 2009 edition after just 12 kilometres of the sixth stage when co-driver Gilles Picard became ill as the pair desperately tried to free their vehicle which had become stuck in mud.

Alphand's withdrawal followed that of Mitsubishi teammate Hiroshi Masuoka, the winner in 2002 and 2003, who was forced out after the first stage because of engine trouble.

As the race headed into Chile, only two top Mitsubishi drivers remained — Stephane Peterhansel, a nine-time champion, and Nani Roma, who were in fifth and fourth places overall, more than 30 minutes behind leader Giniel De Villiers in a Volkswagen.

“Of course we are disappointed, but some things are more important than racing,” said Alphand, who was lying eighth at the start of the day, 40 minutes behind previous leader Nasser Al Attiyah who was thrown out of the race later Thursday after skipping a series of checkpoints in his BMW.

“I must admit I was very scared when I saw Gilles fall down. “The mud hole was so deep. It was impossible for us to get out. We were maybe only a few metres from the track, but it was our mistake that we were slightly wrong and that is racing.”

A Mitsubishi spokesman said that Picard, who was airlifted by helicopter to the bivouac at San Rafael, had undergone a series of tests but was fine.

Peterhansel, searching for a fourth Dakar drivers title to add to his six on a motorcycle, had incurred a 15-minute penalty in San Rafael on Wednesday for missing a time control.

He had earlier rolled his vehicle on the testing fifth stage.

“The mechanics did a fantastic job to get my car ready. I really thought the rally was over after the accident,” said Peterhansel.

“We are now in fifth position, but ‘Nani’ and I are some way behind the leaders. It will not be easy at all to catch them. There are some long and difficult stages to come, but it is a case of finding where we can, perhaps, make up some of the time.”

AFP

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.