News from Stage 7
10/01/09 13:17
A much shortened stage, finishing at the 236km mark, it nevertheless provided an interesting mix.

Robby Gordon started directly behind car 327 on stage 7 and the first 50km straight with big bumps and jumps was sure to see the American catch the T1 Nissan. However it was not until the second straight and nearly 18 minutes into the stage that the Hummer caught up.

After letting the Hummer past Ivar and Quin caught up and passed the stricken Mitsubishi of Peterhansel. They were then re-passed by Peterhansel but they finally overtook the Mitsubishi a second time as it suffered a minor engine fire. The Nissan performed flawlessly to the end.

Later in the stage heavy mud provided its own problems, damaging the windscreen wipers and requiring three stops to clear the windscreen by hand. This caused Ivar and Quin to drop a few minutes that would have seen the crew in the top ten once again, otherwise clocking a reasonable time.

Kristoff and Jean Marc in car 317 had another clean run through the stage, setting a time 7 minutes faster without the wiper problems that car 327 experienced. The sandy bumps early in the stage were tackled fervently and the crew clearly relished arriving at the finish in their comfortable position.

News from Stage 6
10/01/09 13:17
The stage started in the dunes that were sampled the previous day and many crews faced similar problems in getting through. Happily this was not the case for the Nissan cars 317 and 327 which once again had a clear run.

The superior cooling and power of the Nissan meaning that despite the huge dunes, once again neither member of the 327 crew had to exit the car to help it along. This was not the case for many crews, many of whom spent the night in the dunes.

Later in the stage the faster road allowed flowing driving and the 317 car of Kristoff / Jean Marc pulled out a slight lead again on the 327 car of Tollefsen / Evans.

News from Stage 5
10/01/09 13:17
The rally entered the Dunes for the first time at the end of this stage. This posed no problems to the Nissans 317 and 327, neither crew even needed to stop and push/dig/tow.

This was not the case for many crews however. With three fired vehicles on stage there were numerous that were not so lucky. Later vehicles struggled significantly to get through the stage at all.

As it was the 327 car of Ivar Tollefsen/Quin Evans was able to creep into sight of the top ten and car 317 firmly entered the top ten.

This was a long day for many but the 327 car was again prepared fantastically by Michael, Rocco and Mac with direction from by Glyn Hall. The South African built Nissans are clearly a force to be reckoned with!

News from Stage 4
07/01/09 09:07
Things start to get challenging...
As the stages start to get tougher and the smoother rally type tracks change to rougher and more technical sections, the results are beginning to shift. The spread of times is widening and the top cars are pushing harder to maintain and advantage and taking ever bigger risks.

Stage 4 was very rough in parts, even under soft sand, so some crews were not arriving at Neuquen until late into the night. During the 4th stage dust was a problem. The coming 5th stage offers challenging dunes, if only in a short portion.

327
The Tollefsen/Evans car made good time through the stage considering the condition of it. No punctures today, but parts of the track provided their own challenge.

A few points in the roadbook were slightly out and a few mistakes were made, overshooting corners, missed calls and in a challenging stage this took a few chunks out of the stage time.

A heavy hit to the front right in a hole was sustained well, but with such fine powdery dust hanging in the air following other cars, radiators for many are becoming blocked. Ivar and Quin were no exception and in the soft sand temperatures were rising in the engine.

317
Managing a relatively clean run to the end of the stage, but close to the finish Holowczyc and Fortin saw temperatures soar in the engine. This was partly due to a similar problem to Ivar and Quin (dust/blockages), but also a potential engine problem that was to be addressed in the bivouac. Kristoff and Jean-Marc continue to pace themselves awaiting the bigger challenges...

339
Another smooth run through this stage. The car is suffering bodywork damage from earlier on the second day, but Loomans is keeping his car on the road and in competition.

News from Stage 3
07/01/09 08:59
Stage 3 was mainly a fast and technical rally, only becoming rough for a small section.

Punctures slowed progress for Ivar and Quin (327), but the crew were focussing on a clean run - which they achieved.

Holowczyc and Fortin (317) pushed hard during stage 3 whilst also playing it safe. They were overtaken by a works car catching up the field, but with no damage the crew were happy with their time.

06/01/09 16:10
Ivar and Quin (327) suffered two puncture during the third stage but have still managed to hold onto a top twenty position.

News from Stage 2
05/01/09 10:08
Stage 2 was short but presented Tollefsen and Evans (327) with plenty of difficulties.

They lost at least 15 minutes due to a navigation road book error which also affected many other crews.

The Nissan’s hydraulic jack pipe failed mid-stage. The jack dropped to the floor and shattered on high impact when Tollefsen was jumping a concrete block. This eventually led to the loss of all power steering fluid consequentially slowing the car.

Stage 2 was followed by a 600km, 6 hour liaison. Temperatures in the car were approaching 50 degrees – at least helmets did not need to be worn. Following this the crew worked on all three cars till 5am.

05/01/09 10:20
Holowczyc and Fortin (317) had a fast and almost trouble-free stage 2. They did overshoot one corner causing body damage as they tried to reverse.

However Loomans and Lauwers (339) had a more problematic stage as did many vehicles due to the very short but sandy section.

This was the car that assigned the most work during the night. There wasn’t much on the car that didn’t need attention but Mac Michael and Rocco laboured hard through the night even though this was not their direct responsibility, with Glyn directing operations and mucking in as well.

News from Stage 1
04/01/09 02:10

Car 327 Tollefsen & Evans
A good starting position and committed driving saw a fantastic first stage result for Ivar and Quin.

Despite catching the slower car of Yvan Muller after around 50km and following in dust for nearly 100km, they were able to make back time and make an almost perfect time so early in the race. The coming stages will be a challenge to maintain the pace with such clean driving.

A couple of minor niggles remain with the car, but otherwise it and certainly the team are performing amazingly.

Car 317 Holowczyc & Fortin
Pushing hard yeilded results for Kristoff and Jean-Marc - a top ten finish was well deserved and they are sure to maintain their pace in the coming days.

The crew were frustrated by being held up for considerable time by two wheel drive cars ahead - but kept their head for a good result.

Car 339 Loomans & Lauwers
With no testing time in the car the crew did well to achieve the time they did - suffering an unfortunate roll mid-stage (Dakar biting early) they continued on to a lower placing than their efforts deserved - but lots of chance to pull back time before the end of the race itself.