Three Fiats in PanDAKAR

An official Fiat team, comprising two Fiat Panda Cross cars and an Iveco Eurocargo truck, is taking part in the Dakar rally, which began yesterday week in Lisbon.

The drivers of the two cars are the Italian veterans Miki Biasion and navigator Tiziano Siviero; and the Frenchman Bruno Saby and Italian navigator Rudy Briani; the Iveco truck will be driven by Livio Diamante, Giorgio Albiero and Nicola Montecchio.

From the very first leg of the competition participants had to face various difficulties. In fact, Portugal was the scene of the first special trial of 117 km that set off over sandy terrain to gradually become a tortuous dirt track.

The first leg ended that same evening in Portiamo, in the very south of Portugal, from where the second leg got underway last Sunday for a 67-km-long special trial. Competitors then crossed the border into Spain and boarded a ship in Malaga, heading for Morocco.

In Africa (in addition to Morocco, the race itinerary wound through Western Sahara, Mauritania, Mali and Senegal), drivers and vehicles tackling some really challenging conditions.

"The toughest legs," explains Biasion, "are the ninth and tenth in Mauritania, scheduled for tomorrow and Tuesday, immediately after our rest day in Atar. Two long legs with a lot of sand and high dunes to tackle and where the right lines have to be selected.

"Navigation is all-important in these situations as there's no road or track to follow. We'll just be driving by compass and clearly it's important to travel over firmer ground to avoid being bogged down in the sand."

Saby, who won the Dakar rally in 1993, agrees that the 2007 edition is a gruelling one. "Even though the Mali section has been cancelled," he commented, "there are still some huge difficulties owing to the great variety of terrain we'll have to face.

"In Morocco there's the constant risk of punctures because of the stony mountain road surfaces along the Atlas Mountains. Instead the arch-enemy in Mauritania is sand, and in the closing legs there's a bit of everything - kilometres of really tricky dirt roads and sandy tracks."

To tackle these difficulties the Fiat Panda Cross cars have been fitted with anti-sand footplates and jacks, winches, three spare wheels and a host of other features essential in these conditions.

Assistance for participating vehicles will be guaranteed by a Fiat Sedici for rapid interventions and two other Iveco trucks that will carry spares and all the necessaries for organising a camp at the end of each leg. The race ends in Dakar on Sunday.

For more details on the Fiat PanDAKAR and the entire Fiat range visit the Fiat showroom in Psaila Street, Birkirkara, www.ucim.com.mt/fiat or call 2382-3100.