Zoom

Christian Lavieille is second overall, 34 seconds behind the leader, while Laurent Rosso takes the lead in T2.

Today, between Nalut and Al Q aryat, th e OPTIC 2000 rally went deeper into Libyan territory. During this stage, the competitors drove through grandiose scenery, where the immensity of the desert became a reality. Over this extremely fast stage, Christian Lavieille set the second-fastest time, having suffered a puncture, as well as losing some time due to a mistake in the road-book. This evening, he is currently second overall, just 34 seconds behind his rival Krzysztof Holowczyk. Despite some navigation problems, Laurent Rosso took the lead of the Production category ahead of his team-mate Jean-Pierre Strugo.

Those taking part in the Rally of Tunisia had the great privilege of going through grounds never previous included in any competition. Between Nalut and Al Qaryat, this 3rd stage was undoubtedly the fastest of the event. Over the 359 km stage, the main problem consisted in making the right navigational choices, due to the many parallel routes available. Half-way through the stage, the competitors had to go into a small canyon, and follow a narrow sandy track through the vegetation. Over nearly one hundred kilometres, they then had to follow cliffs, on stony, but fast, tracks. At the 296 km point, the final descent from the plateau took them through a winding pass to reach the finish line.

Christian Lavieille was opening the stage this morning. Although he was enjoying the task, he was suddenly halted, as were many other competitors, by a mistake in the road-book. A bad heading in today's notes gave serious problems first to the bikers and then to the cars.

«There was a lot of navigation on this stage. Around the 280 km point, a note in the road book w as wrong. We stopped to check, and François told me to head in the direction that would take us back to the track. We were at the top of the cliff, with lots of big rocks, and I had perhaps lost my concentration a bit, as I drove over a big rock with the front wheel. But, unluckily, I got a puncture at the rear. We lost some time while changing the wheel, and we saw Holowczyk go past. We got going again, in a very technical descent, and at about 30 km from the end, we passed him again. François did a good job, as it was far from simple.»

François Borsotto's skills were much in demand today : «Despite our result, I am pleased, as we led the stage for much of the day. But this mistake on the road-book really bothered us. I prefer to be driving at the front, especially on this sort of terrain, where the dust can really be a problem. » The overall classification is extremely close, and nothing has yet been decided at the front.