UAE Desert Challenge - lots of pictures Options

[Russell Sheldon]

The 16th UAE Desert Challenge, the 2006 FIA Cross Country Rally World Championship finale, got off to an action packed start in Dubai yesterday with a Super Special Stage. The UAE Desert Challenge is the traditional dress-rehearsal for the Dakar Rally and attracts all the top teams.



The Russians invaded Dubai in force! These are the competing 'service vehicles' supporting the Zil of Sergey Shmakov and Konstantin Meshcheryakov. Shmakov has already won the 2006 World Championship drivers' title and the team will be attempting to clinch the manufacturer's crown for Zil, at the expense of the Mitsubishi and Volkswagen works teams. Truck 244 is driven by none other than Rustam Minnikhanov, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan!



The Nissan South Africa entry of Mark Corbett and Juan Mohr.



The Equip Raid Volkswagen of Jean-Claude and Emmanuel Reboux (France).







Giovanni Cipolla gets it all wrong with his Honda CRF 450X!



KTM rider Jason Sockett (GB) had unique head-gear!



World Champion in waiting, French rider David Casteu on his KTM.



The X-raid GmnH BMW X5 of Brazilians Paulo Nobre and Luiz Palu.



Nasser Al Attiyah and Alain Guehennec in the X-raid GmnH BMW X3.



The Toyota Prado of Ronan Chabot and Gilles Pillot.



The all female team of Jutta Kleinschmidt and Tina Thorner.



Volkswagen's Ari Vatanen with Italian co-driver Fabrizia Pons.

Vatanen is of course a rallying legend, having won the Drivers' World Championship in 1981, the Dakar Rally four times and a host of WRC and FIA titles in a brilliant career. That career, and Vatanen's life, was almost cut short in 1985 by an accident during the Rally of Argentina. It left him close to death and he spent 18 months battling serious injury and depression heightened by the fear that he had contracted AIDS. On his return to action in 1987 he won the Dakar Rally, while the following year he was again at the centre of drama when his car was stolen while leading the event!



Carlos Sainz and Michel Périn in the works Volkswagen Motorsport Race Touareg 2.



Japan's Hiroshi Masuoka and Frenchman Pascal Maimon with the works Repsol Mitsubishi Evo.





While the VWs and Mitsubishis are the favourites to win, their strongest challenge will come from Jean Louis Schlesser in his familiar buggy. The sports prototype racing legend, winner of the WSC title in 1989 and 1990 for Sauber-Mercedes, has won the UAE Desert Challenge five times, the Dakar Rally twice and the World Cross Country Rally Championship from 1998 to 2002.



The mighty Team Kamaz 4911 pulls up to the start.



The Land Rover of Belgians Patric Derdaele and Yvo De Ceuster.



Germans Dr Thomas Schunemann and Sandro Wallenwein with their Evo 2.



Prime Minister Rustam Minnikhanov hammers the 4911 to the finish.



Already crowned 2006 World Drivers' Champion, Russian Sergey Shmakovthe and co-driver Konstantin Meshcheryakov will attempt to win the manufacturer's championship for Zil. Zil lead Mitsibushi and Volkswagen by 5 points in the title chase.

Ahead for the 116 cars, trucks and bikes from 30 countries lies five days of desert driving, with two world titles at stake.


With kind regards,

Russell

[bleep]

As usual Russell great photos, but not all your reports inspire as much as this one has just done, I was thinking of building a new track and this has maybe just swung the balance I will have to get some of those Ninco Offroaders though this could be another project for next year.

Thanks for the inspiration.

Ian

[scaleymatt]

Thanks for the write-up Russell, as informative as ever!! I want someone to bring out those 'service vehicles!!'

Matt

[pace1970uk]

Great pictures, right in the middle of the action.

I would like to see the Equip Raid Volkswagen of Jean-Claude and Emmanuel Reboux as a Ninco Raid car next year, very cool!!

[zipp]

Cracking photo's Russell

Thanx for sharing them, and bringing some colour and warmth, into this miserable, cold night shift.

[Phil Kalbfell]

Another hard weekend in the "OFFICE" Russell. Thanks for the great pics.

Phil

[Scott]

Zil beating VW and Misubishi - bet that is playing well in budget revue meeetings in Germany and Japan.

[New Number 2]

Great pictures! I really like the Team Kamaz vehicles. They remind me of the STS Puch Pinzgauer made by SCX in the late 80's.

Pitty we cannot decide which cars will be produced as slot miniatures. My votes would go to the Nissan and the Schlesser buggy.

[Russell Sheldon]

With the second stage having been run, things are getting exciting!

Former world champion downhill skier Luc Alphand proved that that he is just as much at home on sand as he used to be on snow as he swept into the lead in dramatic style in the UAE Desert Challenge. Alphand grabbed a 14 mins 24 secs cushion over veteran Jean-Louis Schlesser as Carlos Sainz saw his overnight lead destroyed.

Two-times former World Rally Champion Sainz and Alphand had been fighting out a thrilling battle for the lead but the Spaniard’s hopes of a Desert Challenge victory was shattered by a broken drive shaft.

While he was eventually able to re-start following a delay of more than three hours, after his Volkswagen Race Touareg 2 prototype had been repaired at the service area, he was later to collect massive time penalties plunging him down the field.

Finishing the day in third place in another Volkswagen was Portugal’s Carlos Sousa. His team-mate, former World Rally Champion Ari Vatanen, France’s defending champion, Stephane Peterhansel, in a Mitsubishi, and Spain’s Jose Luis Monterde in a BMW, completed the top six.

In the bikes battle, Spain’s Marc Coma finished the leg leading Frenchman Cyril Despres by just over five minutes, with another Frenchman, David Casteu, still in fifth place and edging closer to the FIM Cross Country Rallies world title.

Sainz was just one of a stream of casualties claimed by the 304-km special stage, which took the cars, bikes and trucks on a meandering journey across a sea of giant dunes.

Qatar’s Middle East rally champion Nasser Al Attiyah slipped from third overnight to seventh when transmission problems in his BMW X3CC cost him an hour in lost time.

Japan’s Hiroshi Masuoka also lost an hour because of mechanical problems with his Mitsubishi Evolution and dropped from sixth to tenth by the end of the day.

First-time visitor Mark Corbett of South Africa, winner of the opening Dubai super special stage in his Nissan Navara, held on to his top-ten place despite reporting that the passage through the dunes left him feeling “sea sick.”

More later.

Kind regards,

Russell

[Russell Sheldon]

Former world champion downhill skier Luc Alphand drove to his first victory in the UAE Desert Challenge, while Spain’s Marc Coma clinched the bikes title.

Alphand finished 15 mins 58 secs ahead of Mitsubishi team-mate Stéphane Peterhansel. Peterhansel, winner of the event three times in the previous four years and twice before on a bike, was pleased to take second place after his first-day disaster when a crash in the dunes finished his hopes of another victory.

Finishing third overall was five-times Desert Challenge winner Jean-Louis Schlesser. Portugal’s Carlos Sousa in a VW, Qatar’s Middle East rally champion Nasser Al Attiyah and Germany’s Jutta Kleinschmidt in a BMW completed the top six.

Rustam Minnikhanov, Prime Minister of the Russian Republic of Tatarstan, won the trucks title for the fourth time in five years.

Provisional Results

Cars

1. Luc Alphand / Gilles Picard (F) Mitsubishi Evolution 16:51:15
2. Stephane Peterhansel / Jean-Paul Cottret (F) Mitsubishi Evolution 17:07:14
3. Jean Louis Schlesser / Emmanuel Guigou (F) Schlesser 17:27:42
4. Carlos Sousa / Andreas Schulz (P/D) Volkswagen 17:32:12
5. Nasser Al Attiyah / Alain Guehennec (QA/F) BMW 18:02:09
6. Jutta Kleinschmidt / Tina Thorner (D/S) BMW 18:25:34
7. Hiroshi Masuoka / Pascal Maimon (J/F) Mitsubishi Evolution 18:28:16
8. Jose Luis Monterde / Jean-Marie Lurquin (E/B) BMW 19:03:50
9. Yahya Alhelei / Khalid Alkendi (UAE) Chevrolet 20:44:43
10. Carlos Sainz / Michel Perin (E/F) Volkswagen 21:12:45

Bikes

1. Marc

Former world champion downhill skier Luc Alphand drove to his first victory in the UAE Desert Challenge, while Spain’s Marc Coma clinched the bikes title.

Alphand finished 15 mins 58 secs ahead of Mitsubishi team-mate Stéphane Peterhansel. Peterhansel, winner of the event three times in the previous four years and twice before on a bike, was pleased to take second place after his first-day disaster when a crash in the dunes finished his hopes of another victory.

Finishing third overall was five-times Desert Challenge winner Jean-Louis Schlesser. Portugal’s Carlos Sousa in a VW, Qatar’s Middle East rally champion Nasser Al Attiyah and Germany’s Jutta Kleinschmidt in a BMW completed the top six.

Rustam Minnikhanov, Prime Minister of the Russian Republic of Tatarstan, won the trucks title for the fourth time in five years.

Provisional Results

Cars

1. Luc Alphand / Gilles Picard (F) Mitsubishi Evolution 16:51:15
2. Stephane Peterhansel / Jean-Paul Cottret (F) Mitsubishi Evolution 17:07:14
3. Jean Louis Schlesser / Emmanuel Guigou (F) Schlesser 17:27:42
4. Carlos Sousa / Andreas Schulz (P/D) Volkswagen 17:32:12
5. Nasser Al Attiyah / Alain Guehennec (QA/F) BMW 18:02:09
6. Jutta Kleinschmidt / Tina Thorner (D/S) BMW 18:25:34
7. Hiroshi Masuoka / Pascal Maimon (J/F) Mitsubishi Evolution 18:28:16
8. Jose Luis Monterde / Jean-Marie Lurquin (E/B) BMW 19:03:50
9. Yahya Alhelei / Khalid Alkendi (UAE) Chevrolet 20:44:43
10. Carlos Sainz / Michel Perin (E/F) Volkswagen 21:12:45

Bikes

1. Marc Coma (E) KTM 18:02:17
2. Cyril Despres (F) KTM 18:16:36
3. Jordi Viladoms (E) KTM 18:26:10
4. David Casteu (F) KTM 660 18:32:48
5. Christopher Blais (USA) KTM 18:33:21
6. Pal Anders Ullevalsetter (N) KTM 18:34:15
7. Frans Verhoeven (NL) KTM 18:37:36
8. Sean Linton (GB) Honda 20:19:46
9. Janis Vinters (LV) KTM 20:34:16
10. Oscar Polli (I) KTM 20:51:46