It
is fantastic, incredible--I can hardly believe it. I slept
very badly last night, my stomach was in knots and I was
worried about throwing it all away. I'm a little sad for
Hiroshi but I took my chance. To be the first woman to win
the Dakar is not the most important thing for me. Above
all, I am a driver. Mitsubishi gave no team orders this
morning--we had carte blanche."
Masuoka lost the lead on the final day of the
race after leading for 9 of the 20 stages. His navigator,
Pascal Maimon, evinced team spirit in commenting on the
results: "We had been in the lead since Atar and always
thought the victory was ours ... This morning, however,
we no longer believed in our chances. Jutta was the most
regular driver and she took advantage of that fact. ...
The disappointment of being second is compensated by seeing
Jutta win."
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Hiroshi Masuoka entered the race as the favorite
and very nearly lived up to expectations, capturing
9 of the 20 stages. |
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Legendary driver Kenjiro Shinozuka confers with
Mitsubishi teammate Hiroshi Masuoka. Shinozuka, a
former winner of the Paris-Dakar Rally, suffered a
series of mishaps and finished far back in the pack.
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Not everyone in Mauritania crosses the dunes
in a Pajero/Montero. |
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