ISUZU DIESEL MISSION TEAM NEWS

UAE DESERT CHALLENGE (October 25^th-31^st, 2008)

FIA World Cup for Cross-Country rallies, final round 

Leg 5: Moreeb Hill to Mina Seyahi: liaison, 118.50km; special, 118.60km;  liaison, 77.80km; special, 166.25km; liaison, 46.88km; total, 528.03 km. 

Friday, October 31^st, 2008 

TEAM ISUZU DIESEL MISSION FIFTH AND SIXTH FASTEST ON FINAL SELECTIVE SECTIONS OF UAE DESERT CHALLENGE 

• Isuzu D-Max crews complete UAE Desert Challenge on high note
• Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah cruises to UAE Desert Challenge win

MINA SEYAHI (UAE): Team Isuzu Diesel Mission’s Par Wallentheim and Dan-Olov Ohlsson set the fifth and seventh fastest times on Friday’s final two selective sections of the UAE Desert Challenge to end the event on a positive note, after an action-packed six-day test and development session in the deserts of the United Arab Emirates.  

Australian Bruce Garland and Harru Suzuki began the final leg behind their colleagues on the road and continued to gain vital experience in punishing conditions by setting the 19^th and 15^th fastest times on the two shorter desert stages. Time penalties for delays earlier in the week had pushed the two Isuzu D-Max crews out of contention for the podium.  

Qatar’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah won every stage of the event this year and clinched the FIA World Cup for the first time by becoming the first Arab driver to win the UAE Desert Challenge since 1993.  

Wallenthem and Garland started the first of Friday’s two special stages from ninth and 27^th positions on the road, but the Swede was handed further time penalties on Thursday evening and they pushed him down to 22^nd overall. Two days of delays had dropped Garland to 26^th place.  

The Swede was in inspired form over the opening special, which began at the same location as the finish of the first leg on Monday. He set the fifth fastest time in the D-Max, even beating the UAE’s Yayha Al-Helai, who lay second in the general classification. Garland was 21^st quickest through the passage control and reached the end in 19^th position.  

Wallentheim was again into a front-running pace through the final stage and was running as the third quickest driver after the PC, but eventually finished the section in sixth place after stopping for a few minutes with technical problems. Garland was 17^th at the PC and finished the stage in 15th.  

Garland is keen to emphasise the advantage of running a diesel-engined racer. “I feel that diesel cars will have greater performance when the circumstances to win relies more on car durability and reliability. For example, in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where the car needs to run for 24 hours with minimum service time, diesel cars dominated by taking first to sixth positions. Our good result on the Australian Safari Rally was another example of this trait coming to the fore.”

 The Garland Motorsport team is sponsored by the Isuzu Diesel Mission and Bridgestone and will continue its preparations for January’s Dakar Rally over the coming weeks. “Sometimes a private team faces difficulties in terms of budgets to compete, compared with the factory teams,” admits Garland.  “I guess, under the circumstances, a successful private team over more than a decade, like us, needs strong unity within the team members. Now we can look ahead to the Dakar Rally and what a great adventure that is going to be.”

2008 UAE Desert Challenge - positions on stage 5:                    

1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QA)/Tina Thörner (S) BMW X3 CC (3.0-liter diesel - 1.2)               1h 11m 13s

2. Ali Matar (UAE)/Mohab Mahrous (UAE) Nissan Patrol (4.0-liter gasoline – 1.1)                    1h 24m 41s

3. Krzysztof Holowczyc (PL)/Jean-Marc Fortin (B) Nissan Navara (3.5 V6 gasoline – 1.1)      1h 25m 01s

5. Par Wallentheim (S)/Dan-Olov Ohlsson (S) Isuzu D-Max (3-0 liter diesel – 1.2)                1h 25m 46s

21. Bruce Garland (AUS)/Harry Suzuki (J) Isuzu D-Max (3.0-liter diesel – 1.2)                   1h 42m 43s 

2008 UAE Desert Challenge - positions on stage 6:                    

1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QA)/Tina Thörner (S) BMW X3 CC (3.0-liter diesel - 1.2)               1h 52m 07s

2. Krzysztof Holowczyc (PL)/Jean-Marc Fortin (B) Nissan Navara (3.5 V6 gasoline – 1.1)      2h 04m 25s

3. Yayha Al-Helai (UAE)/Khalid Al-Kendi (UAE) Nissan Patrol (4.0-liter  gasoline - 2.1)          2h 15m 03s 

7. Par Wallentheim (S)/Dan-Olov Ohlsson (S) Isuzu D-Max (3-0 liter diesel – 1.2)               2h 27m 22s

18. Bruce Garland (AUS)/Harry Suzuki (J) Isuzu D-Max (3.0-liter diesel – 1.2)   2h             2h 47m 31s 

2008 UAE Desert Challenge – final positions after leg 5 (unofficial):                  

1. Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah (QA)/Tina Thörner (S) BMW X3 CC (3.0-liter diesel - 1.2)              18h 22m 46s

2. Yayha Al-Helai (UAE)/Khalid Al-Kendi (UAE) Nissan Patrol (4.0-liter  gasoline - 2.1)         22h 50m 31s

3. Krzysztof Holowczyc (PL)/Jean-Marc Fortin (B) Nissan Navara (3.5 V6 gasoline – 1.1)     23h 50m 14s 

21. Par Wallentheim (S)/Dan-Olov Ohlsson (S) Isuzu D-Max (3.0-litre diesel - 1.2)              49h 35m 17s

26. Bruce Garland (AUS)/Harry Suzuki (J) Isuzu D-Max (3.0-litre diesel – 1.2)                       85h 49m 26s

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