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This 8th leg of the rally of Tunisia, between El Borma and Ksar Ghilane, had more than its fair share of surprises as far as the overall classification was concerned. While the leader, Terranova, suffered mechanical problems, a final sprint is now on for the final podium, just one day before the finish in Djerba.

Christian Lavieille and François Borsotto, with the Dessoude Proto, are now lying third overall, 16 minutes 24 behind Eric Vigouroux and his Trophy Truck, who is 12 seconds behind the new leader, Dominique Housieaux. Over today's special stage, Team Dessoude set the third-fastest time, three minutes behind Monterde's Schlesser Buggy.

Under the continuing heat, the 282 km timed stage between El Borma and Ksar Ghilane could have been a pure formality. But tonight, the overall classification has been changed, just one stage before the finish. While Orlando Terranova's BMW suffered a pierced radiator, Dominique Housieaux took the lead, 12 seconds ahead of Eric Vigouroux. Christian Lavieille is now third, 16'24" behind. Anything is possible. The driver from the Var set off for the eighth stage in good spirits:

“The first part of the special stage was very fast. Going through the first Erg, with plenty of camel grass, we were pretty shaken up. But there was no question of taking things easy, we wanted to pull out a bit of lead over Holowzcyk. On the fast part, Monterde caught up with us and overtook. The track alternated fast sections and ditches. Eric Vigouroux got a puncture on that section, and when he caught up with us, we let him go by. In the small dunes, we were up against his bumper, and we were even slightly faster than him. The car handles significantly better than it did before over small dunes and camel grass."

"We really enjoy that sort of terrain; we can jump over obstacles a metre high, while before, that was impossible. The vehicle was perfect. I just had one temperature warning, for the drive. But it was just a faulty connection. At the finish, plenty of spectators came to congratulate us, which was great. This stage went really well. The navigation was quite tricky in places, but I really enjoyed myself. We finished three minutes behind the buggies, and over this sort of stage, we can really be satisfied with our performance,» Christian Lavieille added.

François Borsotto, Christian's navigator, also seemed particularly enthusiastic about this stage. « We drove well. It was a really beautiful stage: fast sections, rough ground, small dunes, camel grass, all the ingredients for a varied and interesting route. Christian did a good job! »