Good start for Volkswagen works drivers Kankkunen and Kleinschmidt





For Volkswagen works drivers Juha Kankkunen and Jutta Kleinschmidt the first leg of the UAE Desert Challenge marked a good beginning.



The Finn and his co-driver Juha Repo finished the 352-kilometre stage, clocking the fourth-best time. The German and her Italian co-driver Fabrizia Pons reached today's destination in the Mooreb desert in fifth place. On the extremely quick sandy stretches alternating with dune crossings the Volkswagen drivers' intuitive feel for choosing the right tyre pressure paid big dividends. Equally good were their navigating skills while searching for GPS points they needed to head for precisely in order to avoid penalties. Having noticed some mechanical noise, Bruno Saby interrupted his drive after the fourth control point.



Kris Nissen (Volkswagen Motorsport Director)



"Jutta and Juha managed to pull off a nice start. They achieved a good result compared to those rivals, who are equipped with tyre pressure systems and special sand tyres. In the interest of preparing ourselves specifically for the Dakar Rally, we decided not to use this system, which is prohibited in the ‘Dakar'. By the same token, we're relying on the same type of tyre supplied by our partner, BFGoodrich, that is supposed to be used in the Dakar Rally. Needless to say, the set-back suffered by Bruno is regrettable."



#205 – Jutta Kleinschmidt/Fabrizia Pons (D/I)



"We're satisfied with the first leg. We're still experimenting with tyre pressure, which we have to determine prior to the stage, but which keeps rising due to the heat while we're driving. Nevertheless, we've already developed a good feel for the pressure and didn't get stuck even once."



#207 – Bruno Saby/Michel Périn (F/F)



"At first, things were going very well, until we noticed some mechanical noise. We kept on driving slowly for a while but then decided to stop to avoid the risk of any serious damage. "



#209 – Juha Kankkunen/Juha Repo (FIN/FIN)



"We've had a very good day. The primary challenge today was for me to adapt my driving style to the stretches across dunes upon returning to the desert. My co-driver, Juha, and I found a very good rhythm right from the start."



Positions after leg 1, Abu Dhabi (UAE) – Moreeb (UAE); 352/557 km SS/total



Pos., Team, Vehicle, SS 1, Total



1. Khalifa Al-Mutaiwei/Alain Guehennec (UAE/F), BMW X5, 3:22.39 hrs (1.), 3:22.39 hrs



2. Grégoire de Mevius/Jacky Dubois (B/F), Nissan Pick-up, 3:23.04 hrs (2.) + 25.0 sec



3. Colin McRae/Tina Thörner (GB/S), Nissan Pick-up, 3:23.13 hrs (3.) + 34.0 sec



4. Juha Kankkunen/Juha Repo (FIN/FIN), Volkswagen Race-Touareg, 3:28.59 hrs (4.) + 6.20 min



5. Jutta Kleinschmidt/Fabrizia Pons (D/I), Volkswagen Race-Touareg, 3.29.57 hrs (5.) + 7.18 min



...19. Bruno Saby/Michel Périn (F/F), Volkswagen Race-Touareg, 8.30.00 hrs (19.) + 5:07.21 hrs

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