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The last stage, run in the form of two loops around Nefta, allowed Cyril Despres to pull away from his rivals and take his 3rd OiLibya de Tunisie ahead of Marc Coma, a little ‘lost’ first time around. The battle for the third place between the Spaniard Jordi Viladoms and ‘Chaleco’ Lopez finally went in favour of the Chilean for just 13 seconds – incredible after 11 days of racing…
In the 450 class Olivier Pain achieved his goal and won his category after a hard fight with Bruno Da Costa and Luca Manca. After having dominated since the start of the rally, Lionel Laine wins ahead of Camelia Liparoti and the current world champion Karim Dilou. In the cars Orlando Terranova wins his first World Cup event at the wheel of his BMW X3 ahead of an incisive Christian Lavieille and his Proto Dessoude. Guerlain Chicherit puts the second BMW on the third step of the podium. In the 2-wheel class Pascal Thomasse and his MD Buggy pips Jean-Louis Schlesser, while Jerome Pelichet takes the Wildcat Trophy. The Russian pairing of Varentsov-Elagin wins the T2 class. Finally Alain Coquelle, Frederic Becart and Dominique Lefevre take the truck victory.
The end of 11 days of intense racing saw an explosion of joy. Right from the first loop this morning, Cyril Despres hit hard, taking advantage of a navigation error by his rival Marc Coma. On the second lap the Frenchman only had to control the situation to take the victory. The Spaniard finally finished 5’57 behind to take second place. Winning here for the third time, after 2002 and 2004, Cyril Despres was delighted with the result on a race of this quality. For the third place the battle was even closer. 4th yesterday evening, ‘Chaleco’ showed his tactical skill. Marking his rival Jordi Viladoms over the first stage he let him cross the finish line first. Then on the second lap, with the Spaniard in his sights, the Chilean attacked hard to win by just 13 seconds. In the 450 class Olivier Pain, very in form over these last few days, wins ahead of Bruno Da Costa, Luca Manca and the first lady home Virginie Premat. Mission accomplished for the 2008 winner , 9th overall. No last minute surprises in the quads. As since the beginning of the race, Lionel Laine won ahead of Camelia Liparoti, with whom he has run a team race these last few days. With the two KTMs in the first two places, Karim Dilou and his Yamaha made it to third place after a multitude of mechanical problems.
The 27th Rallye OiLibya de Tunisie was varied and demanding, both in terms of navigation and driving. An edition which continues in the great tradition of African rallies.
Quotes of the day…
Cyril DESPRES – KTM – 1st
I am especially pleased as my first rally was here back in 1998. A few years later I am still here with a great bike and a great team. To win here on a technical route where navigation takes on a real importance makes victory even sweeter. With Marc it is always extremely close but since the beginning of the year it has, up until now, gone his way. KTM have entered Marc and I on all the World Championship rounds. Marc won in Abu Dhabi and I win here. In three weeks we will be in Sardinia to fight it out again.
Marc COMA – KTM – 2nd
Even if I missed the win it was important to finish second so as to take as many points as possible for the World Championship. I am very happy to have participated on this Rallye de Tunisie where I felt good on the bike and navigated well. It was a big rally with 11 days of racing and very varied terrain. I would like to thank my team for all their hard work. To return to Africa is always something special and in Tunisia I have many friends and it is a pleasure to see again.
« Chaleco » LOPEZ – KTM – 3rd
It has been a fine rally and I have fought right til the end. It is so different to South America and I am satisfied with the result. I liked the terrain and enjoyed myself a lot.
Olivier PAIN – YAMAHA – 1st 450cc
I am satisfied with my result. The 450 class win was my objective before the start and I have achieved it. For the overall I could have perhaps done better, but I proved over these last stages that I was present with my little 450. I found the rally especially difficult this year – long specials and little time to relax. The rest of the season will depend on my budget as I am an amateur rider…
Bruno DA COSTA– HONDA- 2nd 450cc
I am happy to be at the finish. I had a scare when I broke my chain last Thursday and lost the lead in the 450 class as a result. This rally was hard and with a 450 I prefer technical pistes rather than fast ones. As far as the navigation I feel much more at east compared with my first rally in Morocco three years ago. I would even go as far as to say I actually like it now.
Luca MANCA – TM – 3rd 450cc
A good, hard race. This is my second event in Africa and feel I have made progress since Egypt, even if I need to be better at navigation.
Virginie PREMAT – YAMAHA – 1st Lady
Delighted – I made it to the finish and achieved my objective. Now I am going to set myself tougher goals. I have gained confidence on the bike, I have worked hard and been rewarded for my efforts and now I would like to do other rallies
