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Leg 10 : Inonu - Istanbul (Turkey) Three KTMs on the motorcycle podium MOTORCYCLE podium : Méoni, De Garvardo, Cox Fabrizio Meoni on his KTM n°1 wins the Master Rallye 2000 in the motorcycle category. Already at the top of the rating for the last few days, he finishes today on the highest step of the podium : " It was not easy every day and we had to deal with a lot of navigation, but René Metge’s Master Rallye is well-known for that. One of the rare rallies where you need all your concentration to avoid getting lost. Moreover this is why I love this event. Turkey is very beautiful, the race also. I have taken part in the Master Rallye twice, once finishing second, and breaking my engine the second time. Of course I am very happy this time to be on the highest step of the podium… " The Chilean Carlo De Gavardo KTM n°8 follows him on the second step of the podium. Carlo competed in the Master 2000 with the new KTM 660 Rally Factory Replica, which will be available to KTM customers for the next Dakar. Nothing to say, the result of the live-size test is conclusive… After having taken the lead in the provisional overall rating during the 6th leg, Carlo continued to do his utmost to stay in the top 3. It is largely due to electric problems which arose during the 7th leg that he lost three places. Today he is mounting the podium, radiant and smiling as usual : " It’s super, I am really pleased !! This is one of the most marvellous rallies and one of the most interesting. The types of terrain change every day, it is never monotonous. What I also deeply appreciated here is the familiarity of people and of things. Also we have time to discover the countries we cross… It is a really wonderful rally. Thank you ! " Alfie Cox KTM n°2 is climbing to the third step of the motorcycle podium, happy to finish the Master Rallye 2000 in which he participated for the first time. "It was really not easy. The landscapes were marvellous, but at the same time, we were always scared of coming across animals or people on the roads… Therefore you’re always on your guard… With regard to navigation, it is not so easy either. The road books are really made for the pros… and when you are not used to them, you are incapable of reading what René meant properly… But it is certain that I am very pleased to step up onto the podium for my first participation." CARS Podium: Servia/Lurquin, Kleinschmidt/Thorner, Delavergne/Dubois José-Maria Servia and Jean-Marie Lurquin win the Master Rallye 2000 in the car category with their Buggy n°201. By triumphing in this race on his second participation in the Master Rallye, Servia alo wins the seventh round of the off-road rallies world cup. "I can’t say it was an easy rally. There was a great deal of navigating, but for that I had a fantastic co-driver. It is he who made the difference… We functioned very well together right from the beginning of the rally. I am very pleased to win it this time". His co-driver, Jean-Marie Lurquin, who took part in René Metge’s race for the first time, is more than happy: "Even yesterday I did not want to think about it… I did not know what to think of the victory, so I pushed it out of my mind. Now we are climbing to the first step of the podium… it is a super-good feeling!!" Jutta Kleinschmidt and Tina Thorner are present at the rendezvous. They wished to score points, mission accomplished. Having succeeded in containing Delavergne and Dubois during the last days of the Master Rallye 2000, they are ascending with their Mitsubishi n°202 to the second step of the cars podium. " The Rally was very technical and I adore that, I really enjoyed myself throughout the course. Furthermore I discovered Turkey, I was agreeably surprised. There was a great deal of navigation and in some places, I would really have liked to have some steering indications on the road book… In the very last special, we almost gave ourselves a fright as we got lost and wasted 12 mn whereas we had only 14 mn advance on Delavergne… I am very pleased about Servia’s victory and I hope that it will be my turn next time!" The Nissan n°203 of Thierry Delavergne and Jacky Dubois of the Team Dessoude reaches third place in the overall rating. Having taken the departure of this Master Rallye 2000 with a new car, the team is quite satisfied with the result. Delavergne wanted to climb the podium, he has attained his objective! "I am very pleased to have been able to prove the potential of our new car! The Master course was very beautiful and well balanced. It is a rally where everyone, the driver and the co-driver, play their role to the full. I have been a fervent defender of this rally and of this discipline in general for many years but I am beginning to think that our fiendish machines go too quickly for the course we are doing. It becomes dangerous sometimes. Still, here we are on the podium and it is very satisfying! In addition we finished on a high note in the last special taking 10 mn from Jutta… She must have got a bit lost." A wink! Toyota n°232 driven by Olivier Cerutti and Didier Delouille could, if it existed, have won the "good humour whatever happens" prize… Indeed, each day of the Master Rallye 2000 brought them a bundle of hassles. It begun in Paris with a broken rear-view mirror… punctured tyre and broken wheel rims during the SS1 in Nancy… Windscreen wipers failure in the Hungarian storm, without referring to the navigating equipment which failed several times… We will not mention the brake pads borrowed from a competitor friend which of course had to be adapted to the car… Leakage of fuel, gear-box problems… And the batteries that a motorcyclist competitor managed to unearth in Turkey to give an extra bit of "juice" to the car which was nicknamed " La Charriotte " (farm cart) … Every evening Olivier and Didier got to the bivouac late and every evening they recounted their trials and tribulations of the day… with an enormous amount of humour! They finish the race, certainly in the 24th position, but still with a smile and contented with their own Master! Press Department MMG-MASTER RALLYE: [Return] [Top of Page]
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