10 January 2003 - 12:10 Kenjiro Shinozuka injured Dakar 2003 Stage 8 - 497 km

he Telefonica Dakar 2003 was the scene of a very bad crash for Kenjiro Shinozuka who was taken, with co-pilot Delli Zotti, by helicopter to the rally medical center in Sabha for further examination. The Japanese 1997 rally winner was very seriously injured and transferred to Tunis. On four wheels, Masuoka beat Mitsubishi team mate Peterhansel to stage win and came back within 7 minutes of the Frenchman in the overall. In the day's bike race, Giovanni Sala took advantage of a late start to claim victory while Meoni moved to top of the overall ahead of Sainct. In the trucks, Tchaguine flew to victory as well as race leadership ahead of De Rooy Junior.

Winner in 1997 of the Dakar, Japan's Kenjiro Shinozuka (Nissan - n.201) was still third overall before km 373 of the stage between Ghat and Sabha. At that very place, the Nissan car flew off a dune before tumbling and crashing ten metres further. The driver and his co-pilot Thierry Delli Zotti were immediately taken to the rally medical center where exams revealed that 'Shino' was suffering from serious facial trauma injuries while his navigator was in a more satisfactory state. Both men were to be taken to Tunisia for further examinations.

The first examinations of the team gave the following results. Kenjiro Shinozuka : extremely serious condition, suffering most notably from cranial- facial traumatism. The driver is being artificially respirated, and has been evacuated to Tunisia. He will then be transported to Paris as soon as his condition is stable. Thierry Delli Zotti is in a satisfactory condition ; he has been evacuated to Tunisia in the same medical plane as Kenjiro Shinozuka, for a precautionary scan.

Ari Vatanen, suffering from engine problems for a number of kilometres, was overtaken by both Kenjiro Shinozuka and Giniel de Villiers during this stage. He was among the first to stop and help the nr 201 team, setting off his own distress beacon :

“We arrived on the scene, and saw Thierry, who was suffering from shock. We got Kenjiro out of the car to put him in the shade. I know that he recognised me, he gave me a sign, but I also understood that it was serious. I tried to reassure him by saying that we would see him this evening, and that it wasn't serious. I stayed with him for around 15 minutes, by which time Thierry was more himself again, and who was able to stay by his side to stop him sinking. Help was on its way, and there was nothing else we could do. We carried on, and our problems continued. We did not have enough power to get over the dunes, it was a very long day … But what happened to me today is not important. What happened to Kenjiro, that's important.”

The latest information from the Tunis hospital where Kenjiro Shinozuka and Thierry Delli Zotti are medicated, are reassuring. Shinozuka is considered out of danger. He had surgery during the night and his state of health is satisfactory. Thierry Delli Zotti's health is now considered not a problem. He will soon be taken back to France.

In these sad circumstances, the race went on. In the car race, the battle between the two Mitsubishi pilots continued and what a fascinating duel it is. Winner yesterday of the longest stage of the rally, Stephane Peterhansel (n.206) had to settle with second spot, leaving the special victory to Masuoka (n.200).
"It was like in a Formula one race and the Mitsubishis are a bit like the Ferraris of the sand," admitted Masuoka.

The Frenchman had explained 24 hours before that the 10 minutes he had in his advantage meant 'two punctures'. Well after being car to car for most of the stage, 4kms from the finish, a first puncture troubled 'Peter' who eventually finished 5min42s adrift. "It's part of the race. An average day but what is a puncture on the full distance of the rally?"

Third place on the day went to Jean-Pierre Fontenay (n.202) who finalised an all Mitsubishi special podium, finishing however over 15 minutes adrift. De Mevius (BMW - n.205) took fourth place in Sabha and moved up to third of the rally, 1h07min behind the leading Evo. Nissan team mate Ari Vatanen (n.205) who stayed with Shinozuka after the crash, finished close to four hours behind.

A great big "Champagne" shout by KTM boss Heinz Kinigadner welcomed the day's hero, Sala (KTM - n.6), back to the bivouac. As usual in the bike event, the riders leaving later were the most advantaged. Taking off in 6th position in Ghat, Sala rapidly caught up the other members of the official KTM teams... and the job was done!
"I had worries at the beginning because there was a lot of dust and then had no problems in the sand. I had a great feeling on the bike. I went 'tranquilo'".

Cool like the other bike favourites today who stuck together and avoided being in front. "We went slowly because no-one wanted to be in front. The one who leads takes maximum risks and all the others have to do is follow", explained Fabrizio Meoni (KTM - n.1), sixth on the day. And while some went slowly, others like Jean Brucy (KTM - n.9) flew to second spot of the special.
"It's a bit of a surprise. But I knew I was doing well when I caught up the leaders at refuelling despite leaving well after them. Winning a special? Why not... But second for a "water carrier" like myself is already excellent."

And in such a tricky tactical race, the big loser of the day was Alfie Cox (KTM - n.2) losing himself before CP1 before eventually falling over and injuring his shoulder while trying to catch his rivals. The South African was forced to pull out of the race. Meanwhile Meoni took advantage of the situation to grab an overall leadership that he doesn't really care about... for the moment: "Time has not come yet to look at the overall standings." Anyhow, the Italian now has a 34sec lead on Sainct (KTM - n.3) and 2min07 on Roma (KTM - n.4).

In the trucks, Tchaguine (Kamaz - n.207) put aside the mechanical incidents he had suffered a day before to fly to stage victory. After a fierce battle with Gerardus De Rooy (DAF - n.414), the Russian overtook the young Dutchman to finish 8min16 clear. A gap that gives him overall leadership, just 32sec ahead of De Rooy Junior. Despite finishing third, over 13 minutes behind, Jan De Rooy (DAF - n.209) stormed through this special despite massive suspension problems after a big jump on Wednesday. The 1987 winner remains almost two hours adrift in the overall.

raid-live.com, 09/01/2003