ABU DHABI/LIWA, 11 November 2005 — The first day of Dubai Desert Challenge, and final round of FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies, roared into life yesterday with a 300km stage that involved a mixture of fast desert track and loose sand. After the ceremonial start at the Emirates Palace hotel, the competitors headed to the start of the fist stage, a race against the clock.
Professional factory backed teams dominate the race with Repsol-sponsored world champion Stephane Peterhansel, blasting ahead of the competition in the first day in his Mitsubishi Evo. Jose Louis Monterde ran in second in his BMW X5 and Joan Roma third in the Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution.
However, the race produced several casualties — mechanical failure preventing several cars finishing the first stage and very soft sand on the latter legs of the first day catching several drivers and piling on time penalties. Ellen Lohr, driving the factory Mercedes M3 lost considerable ground when she lost her co-driver. “I’m really happy to have finished having lost my co-driver,” she said. “He was airlifted out at PC3 (the third checkpoint) because of extreme dehydration and am glad that I will be able to start tomorrow.” Lohr finished the stage on her own and will be driving the whole of day two solo. This year’s first day shock was provided by a team running a 19-year old Landrover that head been completely reworked by a mixed bag of enthusiasts and backed by Pepsico under the banner of Mountain Dew. Team Saluki, as the group calls itself, none of them professional racers — and with occupations ranging from printer through advertising to spare parts management, roared in to fifth place, the chunky V8 sounding as crisp as when it started, out of a field of 36 cars in the race.
