Gregoire de Mevius kept the Nissans in the hunt in the Dakar Rally, finishing second behind Hiroshi Masuoka in the desert stage in Morocco on Thursday.
Belgian driver Gregoire de Mevius kept the SA-built Nissans in the hunt in the Dakar Rally, finishing second behind Japan’s Hiroshi Masuoka in the first desert stage in Morocco on Thursday.
De Mevius (pictured) finished just 14 seconds behind Masuoka’s Mitsubishi after the special stage of 351km and 442km from Ouarzazate to Tan Tan.
Masuoka is still in the overall lead with a three minute and 25 second advantage over compatriot Kenjiro Shinozuka, also in a Mitsubishi.
De Mevius remains in third spot overall, four minutes and one
second behind. The Belgian could have put more pressure on the leaders, but was slapped with a four-minute penalty for speeding through a village.
Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel in the other Nissan Hardbody finished in 12th place. Last year’s winner Jutta Kleinschmidt of Germany finished in fifth place on Thursday and is in fourth place overall.
In the motor cycle section, Spain’s Joan Nani Roma remains in the top spot after finishing the stage in third place. He was 3min 41sec behind fellow KTM rider Carlo de Gavardo of Chile, who won in 3hr 33min 03sec. Spain’s Isidre Esteve Pujol was second and South Africa’s Alfie Cox was fourth.
Cox said he was more cautious during this stage. "I remember most of this stage from last year," said Cox.
"You are either going to crash, going to break or going to set a good time. I did not want to break the bike so I eased off and it worked. There is always the temptation to attack.
"It is not just a matter of surviving these sections. Just when I thought it was time to push, there would be a wadi or a jump and you would say to yourself slow down and don’t do it.
"I passed (Finland’s Kari) Tianen with a broken wheel, and that could have been me. To win this Dakar I have got to ride sensibly and not have any problems."
Tianen was second overall before the stage, but dropped out of the top ten after battling with wheel problems.
The race continues with a second 370km competitive section to Zouerat, due to finish on Friday.