Masuoka Takes Maiden Dakar Victory
in Historic Mitsubishi Clean Sweep

Masuoka, delighted at putting last year's disappointments behind him when he lost the lead in the dying moments of the 2000 event, dedicated his famous victory to former Mitsubishi team manager Ullrich Brehmer who lost his battle with cancer last year.

Masuoka spoke of his long, hard struggle over the past few years to reach the top, revealing; "At the beginning I had a problem with the language. I needed French to talk to the mechanics. For two and a half years I worked at a garage with the mechanics. I was very hungry and worked very hard. So now I am so happy to win the Dakar. I am on top of the world. Mr Brehmer looks down over me. He helped my programme at the start and I'm sure he is watching now".

Team Mitsubishi Ralliart Pajeros/Monteros filled the top four places at the finish with last year's winner Jutta Kleinscmidt of Germany this year's runner-up, and Japanese ace Kenjiro Shinozuka third. Frenchman Jean-Pierre Fontenay completed the Pajero/Montero quartet in fourth, while Portuguese driver Carlos Sousa was fifth in his Mitsubishi L200 (Triton).

Kleinschmidt, although disappointed not to win, was delighted for her teammate Masuoka, commenting: "We had problems with the transmission during the race and I am happy with second place under the circumstances. For sure, we will come back next year and try and take a second win on the Dakar. I am pleased for Hiroshi and for the team".

Former Downhill World Skiing champion Luc Alphand of France contributed to Mitsubishi's domination of the Dakar with victory in the Super Production Diesel class and seventh overall in his Pajero/Montero, while Dakar first-timer Saeed Al-Hajri of Qatar brought his Mitsubishi L200 home in sixth place, despite rolling his vehicle just before the half-way mark in Atar, Mauritania. Completing the all-Mitsubishi top eight was Klever Kolberg of Brazil in his Pajero/Montero.

Although the Mitsubishis were hot favourites for victory from the start, their dominance was far from guaranteed. Stiff competition was expected from the Renault Kangoo buggies driven by archrivals Jean-Louis Schlesser and Jose Maria Servia. Nissan had also put up a strong entry with Gregoire De Mevius and ex-biker Stephane Peterhansel both capable of victory, while there was additional competition from Seat, Mercedes and Toyota among others. It was not a foregone conclusion, and before the rally reached Africa, de Mevius found himself in the lead for Nissan after two very muddy stages at La Souterraine in France and Madrid in Spain, and the dry bumpy stage at Chateau Lastours.

But once into Africa, Mitsubishi's gloves were off and Masuoka moved into an immediate lead on the 85km stage between Rabat and Er Rachdia in Morocco. And from that point on, the Japanese Mitsubishi driver led right to the finish.

The threat from the Kangoos never materialised, with Schlesser's buggy developing engine problems early on.

De Mevius wasn't about to give up, however, and the Belgian Nissan was constantly biting at Mitsubishi's heels all the way to Zouerat in central Mauritania. But after holding third position for most of the first half, his challenge died at Zouerat when the Nissan developed severe engine problems and dropped out of contention.

From that point forward, it was almost certain that a Mitsubishi would win the event, but which one? Fontenay's costly delays in Morocco meant that victory was almost certainly out of reach, but Kleinschmidt, Shinozuka and Masuoka soon became embroiled in an epic battle for victory. With no team orders, it was every man and woman for his or her self!

On the three stages leading to the halfway point in Atar, Shinozuka's attack was hampered by power steering problems, but once this was solved on the rest day, he was soon on the march to victory, hoping to catch Masuoka. Likewise, Kleinschmidt had had minor problems, but soon she too was on full throttle in an effort to take the lead.

A huge battle raged between the three leading Mitsubishis from Atar to Tidjikja. Kleinschmidt won the first leg after the rest day that looped around Atar, but Shinozuka lost time with a navigational error. The following day, a flat tyre knocked him back again. All the while, Masuoka was creeping further and further ahead. Then on the stage to Tidjikja, Shinozuka ploughed into a small tree and suffered another punctured tyre. Kleinschmidt moved into second at Tichit and still maintained hope that she could overtake the rally leader.

With that sort of pressure, something was bound to give, but it wasn't Masuoka. By the time the surviving crews reached the desolate former salt trading post of Tichit, it was all but over. Shinozuka dropped to third from second after becoming stuck in sand while descending a high dune, and on the stormy, difficult loop stage around the village the following day, the result was just about decided on the hardest day of the event when Shinozuka broke a ball-joint and Kleinschmidt had to stop and repair her transmission which had dropped onto two-wheel drive. Masuoka survived near-disaster when he glanced against Fontenay's car as they drove side-by-side over the dunes, but by the end of the leg his lead was virtually unassailable at over 52 minutes.

From that point onward, it should have been easy for Masuoka, but this was the Dakar and anything can happen. Kleinschmidt still held out some hope and refused to admit defeat, and her chance nearly came soon after on the following leg. After storms had ripped through the bivouac at Tichit, rain followed and all the competitors were amazed at the first totally rain-soaked stage they had ever experienced in the Sahara between Tichit and Kiffa. The road was slippery and treacherous, and navigation was difficult. Almost everyone missed a badly marked junction on the road-book and got lost, except Kleinschmidt who won the stage. Masuoka dropped 20minutes and it could have been much more. Fortunately, he still had enough of a lead to remain relatively comfortable, and after the final "real" stage from Kiffa to Dakar, Masuoka's victory was in the bag, barring total disaster, which was very unlikely on the final 31-km drive around the Rose Lake of Dakar.

Battered, worn-out and exhausted, Masako's look of grim determination soon gave way to a huge smile on the finish ramp in Dakar as he celebrated victory. As an indication of just how tough this year's event was, it's worthy of note that just 45 cars, 15 trucks and 53 bikes reached Dakar out of the 117 cars, 34 trucks and 167 bikes that set out from Arras in northern France. As he well knew from last year when certain victory had been snatched from his grasp at the last minute, the most extraordinary things can happen on the Dakar and the crown would not be his until he crossed the finish line. But finally, with a mixture of relief and elation, he cracked open the Champagne to celebrate his own, and Mitsubishi's, finest hour in the history of the Dakar.