"On this sort of terrain, which resembled a round of the WRC more than typical cross-country rally terrain, I have to say how pleased I am with the runs of both Nani and Luc who succeeded in taking the fight to someone with as much experience of this sort of terrain as Carlos Sainz," recognised team director Dominique Serieys. "Before losing ground following his puncture on Saturday morning, Nani was snapping at his compatriot's heels and was only beaten on the first five stages by two former World Rally Champions as Sainz and McRae; not bad for someone who only recently switched from two to four wheels! We have to be lucid however. Both our cars ran extremely reliably, but beating Sainz on stages like this was never going to be easy. It's now up to us to keep working to try and turn the tables on our rivals the next time we meet..."

The next outing for the Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart team is Spain's Baja Espana (July 20-22), the second round of the FIA international Cup for Cross-Country Bajas for which the 2007 Dakar winner St�phane Peterhansel (France) will join forces with Nani Roma.

The team's FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup programme then resumes with the Por las Pampas Rally in Argentina (Round 3, August 27-September 5) and the series' final fixture, the UAE Desert Challenge (Round 4, October 27-November 2). Alphand will be partnered by Japan's Hiroshi Masuoka in South America and then by Nani Roma and Stéphane Peterhansel in the United Arab Emirates.

Press Release
Mitsubishi Motors