The team's « boss », André Dessoude, drew up the final report of this very difficult race. « I am very pleased that Christian finished third. He could perhaps have finished second, but you have to consider that he set off under very bad psychological conditions. Over the early days, he could not have been thinking of the race 100%, after a difficult personal drama. He did everything he could, and that is excellent. There were no problems with the car. The mechanics worked well, and everyone was very motivated. Géraldine's accident, and the repatriation of the cars took up a lot of my time these last few days, and the whole team reacted perfectly. They were behind me, and behind Christian. I am really proud of my team. »

As André Dessoude mentioned, Géraldine Deshayes, his faithful assistant for many years, suffered an accident during the Idri /Idri loop in Libya, which meant she had to be repatriated back to France. After many uncertainties, she was finally diagnosed as having two broken cervical vertebrae. Back home, Géraldine will now begin a long convalescence before heading back to the rally raids. We wish her a speedy recovery as we are all waiting for her...

However, there was some disappointment concerning the T2 category: «Quite honestly, we could have won in T2. Three retirements on the same day is really bad luck. The law of Motorsport is very harsh. When I see the final classification, I think we could have managed a one-two-three. We had quite a few problems on this rally, but by the end, things became clear and fell into place. Géraldine's accident was difficult, as we had a quite a few questions about her health. Now, we have been reassured, and she will have to rest. It will be difficult for the team to work without her for a while, but the hardest thing will be to persuade her to look after herself!!

« To come back to the Proto 05, I am pleased with the work we have done. The car is reliable, and has no more problems. The work accomplished on the same car with Miguel Barbosa on the Portuguese Championship allowed us to move things along. Everyone does his share of the work, and when we put together the analysis from both drivers, we notice that plenty of things are confirmed, which allows us to validate this or that technical option. Two drivers, both good at setting the car up, with identical cars on different terrains, means that we have been able to make the Proto evolve very rapidly. It would be amusing to get one of the drivers from the official Team Nissan days to try it – I think he would really notice the difference. The field has evolved greatly in a short time, and we had to really move fast these last two years to remain competitive."

« The Team's programme over the coming months starts with the Transoriental rally, organised by René Metge, between St Petersburg and Peking. We will continue with the Portuguese Championship, with nine events. To date, three have taken place, and Miguel Barbosa has won all three. We will certainly go to Egypt, and we are waiting for more information on the new Dakar in South America. It will be brand new, and we will certainly head towards Argentina shortly to organise the logistics and to make some contacts. »

Last but not least, Pascal Lehuby and Laurent Levêque, who were taking part in the Desert Tracking regularity event, following the same itinerary as the rally, won this challenge hands down with their Team Dessoude Nissan Patrol. Our two friends from Saint Lô will have some fantastic tales to tell on their return, having been through plenty of joy and adventures. Well done, gentlemen!

The 27th Rally of Tunisia finished after nine days of intense racing for the competitors and assistance crews alike. Crossing two countries, this was a true desert rally, with breathtaking landscapes – unforgettable, even for the most unlucky of competitors.

© CAPSIS International