X-Country - Jutta Kleinschmidt second in Volkswagen Race-Touareg
Apr-07 2005 / 18:18 EDT

Wolfsburg (7th April 2005). Volkswagen works driver Jutta Kleinschmidt set the second best time on the fourth stage of the Tunisian Rally, the second round of the Cross Country World Cup. The German lady, and her Italian co-driver Fabrizia Pons, were only beaten by stage winner Luc Alphand (Mitsubishi) on the 315 kilometre loop, characterised by the genuine desert conditions, extremely slow speeds, heat, dune crossings and challenging navigation, around the Douz desert oasis. As a result, Kleinschmidt jumped to fourth place overall behind her team mate Bruno Saby, who finished the stage in fourth place with co-driver Michel Périn, after the fourth of a total of eight stages. The teams are also expecting challenging off-road terrain and sand dunes on the 229 kilometre fifth stage from Sabria to El Borma on Friday.

Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director) "Jutta and Fabrizia drove fantastically today. It’s satisfying to finish in second and fourth, but the difference in time to the stage winner Luc Alphand is too big. Our suspicions have been confirmed, we lose the most time in the sand and camel grass. Only after our next test, where we will work on the suspension settings for these conditions, can we hope to close the gap on such sections.”

#201 - Jutta Kleinschmidt (D), 2nd place (leg) / 4th position overall "I’m very satisfied with the result of the first genuine desert stage and second longest stage of the rally. The day started with 70 kilometres of camel grass and dunes. Luc Alphand was quicker in these soft conditions. I had to overtake Jean-Louis Schlesser later. At the 80 kilometre mark I was behind Bruno Saby who was running quickly and it was good to follow him to the finish.”

#203 - Bruno Saby (F), 4th place (leg) / 3rd position overall "Today’s stage was really hard and demanding. The sand was very soft. For these conditions we still have a little to work on the suspension.”

Standings after leg 4, Sabria (TN) - Sabria (TN); 315/408 km stage 4/total

Pos., Team, Vehicle, Stage 4, Total time 1. Luc Alphand/Gilles Picard (F/F), Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution, 3:55.35 hrs. (1.), 8:34.24 hrs. 2. Hiroshi Masuoka/Pascal Maimon (J/F), Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution, 4:05.57 hrs. (3.) + 5.23 min. 3. Bruno Saby/Michel Périn (F/F), Volkswagen Race-Touareg, 4:08.08 hrs. (4.) + 11.15 min. 4. Jutta Kleinschmidt/Fabrizia Pons (D/I), Volkswagen Race-Touareg 4:03.06 hrs. (2.) + 13.58 min. 5. Jean-Louis Schlesser/François Borsotto (F/F), Schlesser Ford, 4:16.31 hrs. (5.) + 22.22 min.