8/3/2019 Press CS 9jan ETAPA8 Dakar2012 - Ingl

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Monday, 9th January 2012

Carlos Sousa consolidates eight place and

puts Novitskiys MINI under pressure

In the longest stage of this Dakar so far, with 477 km between Copiap andAntofagasta, in Chile, Carlos Sousa guaranteed, for the second time in this edition, a

place among the seven fastest drivers of the day with his SUV Haval of Great Wall.

This result allowed him to consolidate his eight position and recover about two

minutes and a half from the Russian driver Leonid Novitskiy, first leader of the rally

and currently seventh overall

After a well-deserved rest day in Copiap, which the drivers took to regain strength

and reevaluate the mechanics of the SUV Haval of the Chinese Team Great WallMotors, Carlos Sousa returned today to the competition and got an excellent seventh

place in the longest stage of this 2012 Dakar so far, in a total of 447 km of special

stage.

In a stage driven on very tough paths and four hours and a half long, Carlos Sousa

overcame all difficulties and beat two of the five official MINI in the race, namely the

Russian driver Leonid Novitskiy, the first leader of the rally and currently seventh

overall, to whom the Portuguese driver recovered today about two minutes and a half.

We started the track cautiously, trying to understand if it was everything alright

with the car after the general car servicing from yesterday, during the rest day.

Although I still feel some difficulties, due to the still unstable rear end, I increased

the pace gradually, forcing it in the fastest parts and defending myself a little in the

areas of worse path, where I could easily get a puncture, explained the best

Portuguese overall when he arrived at Antofagasta.

Six days away from Lima, it is hard to predict what is still to come in terms of final

result in this Dakar, considering the apprehension felt towards the two first stages in

Peru. In normal conditions, it will be difficult to get a higher place overall But the

result from today was particularly motivating, giving us some hope to still put

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8/3/2019 Press CS 9jan ETAPA8 Dakar2012 - Ingl

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Novitskiy under some pressure, admitted Carlos Sousa, who still has to recover 16

from the Russian driver of the official team MINI.

For now, we increased our advantage to our main follower and overcame another

long and strenuous stage. For now on, I believe that the difficulties will increase even

more, so we will have to be very focused on our race and avoid any problem that

may compromise this fantastic result for the team Great Wall Motors, concluded

Carlos Sousa, on a day on which his team mate Zhou Yong came in 18 th overall andplaced himself among the first 30 car drivers overall.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, another long day is expected for the drivers, considering the 566

km of the special stage, divided into two sections. In the first part, the traditional fesh-

fesh ought to be the main difficulty on the track along the Pacific coast. In the second

part, the co-drivers orientation will be put to the test, as well as the drivers expertise,

in the famous (and vertiginous) descent to Iquique, where the bivouac of this eighth

stage will be placed.

STAGE 8

Cl. Driver/Co-driver Car Time/Dif.

1st Roma/Prin MINI 4h25m44s

2nd Gordon/Campbell Hummer + 5s

3rd Holowczyc/Fortin MINI + 2m04s

4th Peterhansel/Cottret MINI + 5m38s

5th Al-Attiyah/Cruz Hummer + 8m09s

()

7th SOUSA/GARCIN GREAT WALL + 39m48s

18th ZHOU/MAIMON GREAT WALL + 52m47s

OVERALL AFTER STAGE 8

Cl. Driver/Co-driver Car Time/Dif.

1st Peterhansel/Cottret MINI 20h04m15s

2nd Gordon/Campbell Hummer + 7m36s

3rd Holowczyc/Fortin MINI + 7m48s

4th Roma/Prin MINI + 12m27s

5th De Villiers/Von Zitzewitz Toyota + 37m45s

()

8th SOUSA/GARCIN GREAT WALL + 1h23m29s28th ZHOU/MAIMON GREAT WALL + 7h51m14s

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