October 8, 2011 Rally des Pharaons 2011 Stage 6 Tibnya to Cairo
LIASON: 78.74 kilometers Special Stage: 350.16 kilometers Total drive distance: 414.28 kilometers

All we can say is that it is really too bad. If today’s driving had gone well then it would have been a smooth victory in the commercial car class with 2nd place overall following up on two consecutive victories from last year. However the goddess, Lady Luck did not smile upon Mitsuhashi today. Amidst a course where a lot of cars got confused and made course errors, Mitsuhashi and his navigator Alain proceeded correctly on course, and gradually edged ahead of all the other drivers including Schlesser’s buggy or in other words entered the sand dunes in No. 1 position. It was there that mechanical trouble occurred, and for Mitsuhashi, the Pharaons rally ended there.
Mitsuhashi comments, “There nothing else you can say except that it is really frustrating. There is nothing we could do about it, we didn’t break it ourselves, and all we could do was wait 4 hours on the sand dunes for assistance to arrive. I feel that these kind of things do happen. What make it really regrettable is that up until this point today, Alain had done some really great navigating on what was a really difficult route to find one’s way, on so we were running in top position. Though I can say its good if don’t run into this trouble on the Dakar rally, it is still really frustrating.”

Mitsuhashi eventually received road assistance and though greatly delayed, did arrive safely back at the finish point. Though ultimately he completely finished and did not have to retire from the race, Mitsuhashi still lost the overall standing he really deserved. Though it was an unfortunate Pharaons finish for Mitsuhashi it would be nice if it prevented any trouble from happening in Dakar.
In any case our sincere thanks to all those who supported us through the final race day.

October 8 Pharaons Rally 2011 Stage 6 Results
Overall standings Group standings Class standings Driver Number Competitor Team Vehicle Time Overall (accumulated) Time

1st Place 1st Place 1st Place 301 SCHLESSER JEAN LOUIS SONANGOL SCHLESSER 3:36:53 23:27:34
2nd Place 2nd Place 1st Place 311 NESTERCHUK VADYM 3:46:57 26:51:17
3rd Place 1st Place 1st Place 322 KUZNETSOV ILYA TOYOTA LandCruiser 4:27:37 33:19:38
4th Place 2nd Place 2nd Place 305 DE LORENZO DARIO TOYOTA LandCruiser 4:36:52 36:15:12
5th Place 3rd Place 1st Place 307 EL ZANATY KARIM RALLYRAID UK DESERT WARRIOR 5:06:40 42:09:51
–
13nth Place 5th Place 4th Place 304 MITSUHASHI JUN /
GUEHENNEC ALAIN TOYOTA LandCruiser 36:01:01* 57:58:00
*Including 29 hour penalty

Overall standings
Overall standing Group standings Class standings Driver Number Competitor Team Vehicle Time Overall (accumulated) Time
1st PLACE 1st PLACE 1st PLACE 301 SCHLESSER JEAN LOUIS SONANGOL SCHLESSER 23:27:23
2nd PLACE 2nd PLACE 1st PLACE 311 NESTERCHUK VADYM 26:51:17
3rd PLACE 3rd PLACE 2nd PLACE 302 GADASIN BORIS G FORCE PROTO 28:57:00
–
13nth PLACE 5th PLACE 4th PLACE 304 MITSUHASHI JUN /
GUEHENNEC ALAIN TOYOTA LandCruiser 57:58:00*
*Including penalties

October 7, 2011 Rally des Pharaons 2011 Stage 4 Sahl Baraka to Tibnya
LIASON: 96.39 kilometers Special Stage: 444.88 kilometers Total drive distance: 541.27 kilometers

Today’s course will be the longest portion of the rally with a total length of 541 kilometers. Mitsuhashi started out in second place and after a 90 kilometer drive entered the special stage section. Today’s conditions meant serious driving over a sandy road surface.

Mitsuhashi comment: “Honestly speaking, today was a really tough course for under-powered commercial class cars. It was so bad that 2 cars got stuck within a mere 30 minutes after the race started. Up through yesterday, we were overtook by others and then overtook them but on a day like today, that tactic was impossible. Luckily after passing the CP1, the sand dunes that were so scary yesterday turned out to be really easy today but the sand was really soft so we did get stuck one time which cost us a loss of about 15 minutes.”
As Mitsuhashi sees things, this stage did not have a good ending. Yet at the end of stage 4, he was in 4th place maintaining a top cumulative position. Well, tomorrow will be the final day of the race. Mitsubashi says, “Tomorrow’s course will be more than 350 kilometers so unless our rival runs into trouble we’ll be overtaken. Yet I am going to do everything possible to hold onto that overall 2nd place position!

October 7 Pharaons Rally 2011 Stage 5 Results
Overall standings Group standings Class standings Driver Number Competitor Team Vehicle Time Overall (accumulated) Time
1st Place 1st Place 1st Place 301 Schlesser Jean Louis SCHLESSER ORIGINAL 4:34:47 19:50:41
2nd Place 1st Place 1st Place 302 Gadasin Boris G-FORCE PROTO 5:08:26 22:13:01
3rd Place 3rd Place 2nd Place 311 Nesterchuck Vadym 5:17:14 3:25:02 23:04:20
4th Place 1st Place 1st Place 304 Mitsuhashi/Guehennec pair TOYOTO LANDCRUISER 5:18:02 21:57:00
5th Place 4th Place 1st Place 316 Merceij Peter RALLYRAID UK DESERT WARRIOR 5:53:09 28:14:53

Stage 5 Overall standings
Overall standing Group standings Class standings Driver Number Competitor Team Vehicle Time Overall (accumulated) Time
1st Place 1st Place 1st Place 301 Schlesser Jean Louis SCHLESSER ORIGINAL 19:50:41
2nd Place 1st Place 1st Place 304 Mitsuhashi/Guehennec pair TOYOTO LANDCRUISER 21:57:00
3rd Place 2nd Place 1st Place 302 Gadasin Boris G-FORCE PROTO 22:13:01

October 6, 2011 Rally des Pharaons 2011 Stage 4 Sahl Baraka to Sahl Baraka
LIASON: 22.58 kilometers Special Stage: 339.93 kilometers Total drive distance: 362.51 kilometers

In today’s high speed stage of the race, Mitsuhashi started out from the bivouac a little before 8 in the morning and arrived back there 3 hours later. During that time Mitsuhashi had a repeated hard duel with rivals and tasted the full flavor of tough race driving.

Mitsuhashi comments, “Anyhow today we just ran for it, and ran for it. We were overtaken once by the two G-FORCE PROTO cars just before entering the sand dunes, but after entering the large undulating sand dunes our rivals did not appear to follow. However on flat and level portions of the road where power is needed we were passed again by our rivals. We again passed the G-FORCE PROTO cars while they made a race stop at the CP2 for oil, in what turned out to be a repeating duel between us. One of the rival car pair was stopped for some reason so the last part of the route was a side-by-side battle with their remaining car. The duel continued in a region with large undulating sand dunes with our rival gradually building up a lead. Just when I thought catching up with them was now impossible, I spotted their car where it had apparently crashed after a jumping a sand dune up ahead. There didn’t seem to be any injuries but it didn’t look like their rival would be back in the race since their car had sustained a lot of damage. After that it was just a cruising race for us. During the racing duel, my navigator Alain said, ‘Don’t go any faster’ but I thought, if they gain a big lead then we’ll never catch them, so I said, ‘Sorry, today I’m going for it’ and floored the gas pedal. Even so, Alain just said, ‘Well I guess that pace is okay, but we’ll die if you go any faster’ as his final comment.”

Tomorrow is Stage 5 which is said to be the longest and toughest part of the course. Making a big error in Stage 5 could completely destroy their race lead. Mitsuhashi also showed his cautious side saying, “I want to make it a sure thing tomorrow, but that doesn’t mean I’ll be on the defensive.

October 6 Pharaons Rally 2011 Stage 4 Results
Overall standings Group standings Class standings Driver Number Competitor Team Vehicle Time Overall (accumulated) Time
1st Place 1st Place 1st Place 301 Schlesser Jean Louis Zhiltsov Konstantin Sonangol Schlesser 2:59:40 15:15:54
2nd Place 1st Place 1st Place 304 Mitsuhashi Jun Guehennec Alain Toyota Landcruiser 3:10:56 16:38:58
3rd Place 2nd Place 1st Place 316 Casuneanu Costel Zani Maurilio Mitsubishi Pajero 3:18:42 20:37:03
4th Place 3rd Place 2nd Place 302 Gadasin Boris Schemel Dan G-FORCE PROTO 3:20:12 17:04:35
5th Place 4th Place 3rd Place 311 Nesterchuck Vadym Lichtleuchter Laurent 5:45:37 3:25:02 17:47:06

Overall standings Stage 4
Overall standings Group standings Class standings Driver Number Competitor Team Vehicle Time Overall (accumulated) Time
1st Place 1st Place 1st Place 301 Schlesser Jean Louis Zhiltsov Konstantin Sonangol Schlesser 15:15:54
2nd Place 1st Place 1st Place 304 Mitsuhashi Jun Guehennec Alain Toyota Landcruiser 16:38:58
3rd Place 2nd Place 1st Place 302 Gadasin Boris Schemel Dan G-FORCE PROTO 17:04:35

October 4, 2011 STAGE3 Tibniya to SAHL BARAKA
Rally des Pharaons 2011
LIASON: 22.58 kilometers Special Stage: 286.64 kilometers Total drive distance: 310.64 kilometers

Today’s total drive distance is said to be 310 kilometers which is the shortest stage distance in this rally. The course which runs through the white desert national park has many place with strange rock formations and unlike yesterday has finally become a course with a more “pharaoh-like” view. However the road surface as usual has many sharp and craggy rocks so the driver can never relax.
Mitsuhashi comments, “Except for a slight course error right after the race started, we had no trouble today and of course no flat tires. However today’s course was the high speed course so I didn’t think we could beat the fast G-FORCE car which has the highest speed. In fact they overtook me at an early stage in the race but later on they ran into some kind of trouble and had to stop so and I was able to get ahead of them again. The G-FORCE car from Russia is certainly fast but looks kind of roughly built so I suppose that they may have had some type of mechanical trouble. If possible I just want to maintain my race position which is difficult in this high-speed stage that doesn’t rely much on driver skill. I don’t know about tomorrow, but the day after that is Stage 5 which is said to be tough sand dunes so that may be my big chance. The more difficult it is the better. What, you say I like “getting stuck” on sand? Never thought about it but I just have to keep going.”
Tomorrow Mitsuhashi will leave today’s bivouac area which is Sahl Barak on the outskirts of the Farafra Oasis and head south, returning once again to the same course of bedrock and sand dunes.

October 5 Pharaons Rally 2011 Stage 3 Results
Overall standings Group standings Class standings Driver Number Competitor Team Vehicle Time Overall (accumulated) Time
1st Place 1st Place 1st Place 301 Schlesser Jean Louis Zhiltsov Konstantin Sonangol Schlesser 2:58:28
2nd Place 1st Place 1st Place 304 Mitsuhashi Jun Guehennec Alain Toyota Landcruiser 3:22:55
3rd Place 2nd Place 1st Place 302 Gadasin Boris Schemel Dan G-FORCE PROTO 3:28:15
4th Place 3rd Place 2nd Place 316 Casuneanu Costel Zani Maurilio Mitsubishi Pajero 3:29:50
5th Place 4th Place 3rd Place 311 Nesterchuck Vadym Lichtleuchter Laurent 5:45:37 3:47:19

Overall standings Stage 2
Overall standings Group standings Class standings Driver Number Competitor Team Vehicle Time Overall (accumulated) Time
1st Place 1st Place 1st Place 301 Schlesser Jean Louis Zhiltsov Konstantin Sonangol Schlesser 12:16:14
2nd Place 1st Place 1st Place 304 Mitsuhashi Jun Guehennec Alain Toyota Landcruiser 13:28:02
3rd Place 2nd Place 1st Place 302 Gadasin Boris Schemel Dan G-FORCE PROTO 13:44:23

In standby mode before start of the race, and wearing fire-proof mask

Arriving at finish in SS-3 in 2nd place overall

October 4, 2011
Rally des Pharaons 2011 STAGE1 Tibniya to Tibniya
LIASON: 4.83 kilometers in Special Stage: 473.63 kilometers Total drive distance: 478.46 kilometers

In the commercial race car class, adjusting the tire air pressure during the race is an unavoidable task which means about 10 minutes of lost time. Race cars in higher classes don’t have to do that so that lost time really hurts. Today a lot of rival cars made errors or hit other cars or got stuck in the sand dune area. If the sand dune course gets even more difficult from tomorrow onwards then I think we might have a chance at a higher overall position. Today the sand dunes were easy and we were able to drive along hard at about 80 kilometers per hour. There were certainly a lot of rock crags and the course tires you out with the hard sand surface but compared to the Dakar rally this is really easy.
We do have a chance at an overall win but Schlesser’s buggy and the Proto from Russia are both much faster than my car. If we keep getting sand dunes like we had in Dakar then maybe there’s a chance but for now just staying at the top in my class has priority.

October 4 Pharaons Rally 2011 Stage 2 Results
Overall standings Group standings Class standings Driver Number Competitor Team Vehicle Time Overall (accumulated) Time
1st Place 1st Place 1st Place 301 Schlesser Jean Louis Zhiltsov Konstantin Sonangol Schlesser 5:01:24 9:17:46
2nd Place 1st Place 1st Place 304 Mitsuhashi Jun Guehennec Alain Toyota Landcruiser 5:30:48 10:05:07
3rd Place 2nd Place 1st Place 302 Gadasin Boris Schemel Dan G-FORCE PROTO 5:32:28 10:16:08
4th Place 3rd Place 2nd Place NESTERCHUK VADYM LICHTLEUCHTER LAURENT 5:45:37 10:52:14
5th Place 4th Place 3rd Place 321 Vasiliev Vladimir Yevtyekhov Vitaliy G-FORCE PROTO 6:10:12 10:26:04

Two Flat Tires, Course Errors A tough Pharaons Rally 2011 from the very first day!

Rally des Pharaons 2011 STAGE1 Cairo to Tibniya
LIASON: 89.96 kilometers in Special Stage: 356.01 kilometers Total drive distance: 470.35 kilometers

The first day of the Pharaons Rally is usually an excellent route with a great view sometimes called the “welcome stage” in some year. But this time it was different!
In the briefing on the previous day Mitsuhashi was told to expect a course with many sand dunes and sandy road surfaces so he set the tires to a really low air pressure. He intended to gain ground on sandy road surface by carefully driving the rock and crag strewn course while avoiding banks. However nearly the entire course turned out to be rocks and crags (steep rocks)! (and more!)
He comments, “I started out with the tires at extremely low air pressure so it was really tough driving over places with a lot of rocks and craggy points. This cost me 2 flat tires and lost a lot of time. Moreover a lot of places were gaps so my estimate of a mostly sand course was way off the mark. Another problem was that Alain, my navigator made a number of course errors so honestly speaking things in Stage 1 weren’t going very well. However after making a course error Alain quickly got us back on correct route which helped avoid a lot of trouble.”
However these kind of tough circumstances are fairly typical for Mitsuhashi as a top leader in his class and group, and since he is a defending champion he may be used to this type of trouble in Stage 1.
The first day of the Pharaons Rally turned out to be really tough Stage 1. Many competitors returned home by nightfall. Tomorrow they will start out from Tibniya which is the bivouac area and drive a loop route which takes them back to the same place. The rumors at the bivouac area are that the route will be even harder than today’s driving.

October 3 Pharaons Rally 2011 Stage 1 Results
Overall standings Group standings Class standings Driver Number Competitor Team Vehicle Time Overall Time
1st Place 1st Place 1st Place 321 Vasiliev Vladimir Yevtyekhov Vitaliy
G-FORCE PROTO 4:15:52 4:15:52
2nd Place 2nd Place 1st Place 301 Schlesser Jean Louis Zhiltsov Konstantin Sonangol Schlesser 4:16:22 4:16:22
3rd Place 3rd Place 1st Place 303 Zapletal Miroslav Ourednicek Tomas BMW X-3 4:26:41 4:26:41
4th Place 1st Place 1st Place Mitsuhashi Jun Guehennec Alain Toyota Landcruiser 4:34:19 4:34:19
5th Place 4th Place 2nd Place 302 Gadasin Boris Schemel Dan G-FORCE PROTO 4:43:00 4:43:00

Super busy before the race start due to commemorative photos and TV station interviews

Mitsuhashi checking his racing shoes just before the SS start

Mitsuhashi just before start of the race

Vehicle Inspection Day: Cairo
Total distance: 0 kilometers

The vehicle inspection turned out to be a long wait since the cars lined up ahead had a lot of problems. Yet Mitsuhashi’s vehicle inspection ended successfully. Jun Mitsuhashi was the center of a lot of attention because of good results last year in winning the commercial car class and placing 3RD overall. He is aiming for even better results this year but regardless of race class results there are many fast cars competing this year and getting a higher overall place may prove very difficult. He says, “You could say that tomorrow will be my first rally in a year and I wanted to tread carefully, yet with all of these fast cars to compete with, aiming for a higher place in the results looks really tough. I will have to move carefully yet keep pushing ahead.”

Tomorrow’s race starting with the Giza pyramids in the background will cover a movement zone of 90 kilometers followed by a SS (special stage) of about 360 kilometers. The first half of the course is a gravel road mixed with sand, along with high speed zone featuring a great many gaps and jumps. After passing a point marked by a single acacia tree suddenly appearing in the desert which is a well-known landmark for Egypt desert fans, the course becomes sand dunes. It then transforms into a sand road, a rocky section, and finally just a sand trail in what amount to a course with a lot of variety and surprises.
Due to the briefing (race meeting) scheduled for 8PM, dinner at 9PM was also quite late and after eating Mitsuhashi returned to his room right away to get some sleep. He is in top condition, and the car is in perfect shape yet though he feels relaxed, as one might expect, there is a lot of tension in the air. Well, the race finally starts tomorrow so give him all your support!

Rodriguez, a top rider from Portugal competing in the motorcycle class, talks to Mitsuhashi.

Mitsuhashi giving a live update on USTREAM at the vehicle inspection site

Feeling relaxed while lined up for the vehicle inspection

Riders who passed the document inspection have a wristband attached

Today we bring you a race report covering Jun Mitsuhashi, a top cross
country rally driver participating in the Rally des Pharaons 2011.

Sept. 30: Prep day: Cairo Egypt

After arriving at the suburban Cairo hotel serving as race headquarters,
Mitsuhashi spent the next 2 days relaxing including a few dips in the pool.
By the night of the 29th the other 14 team members also arrived and got
together there.

Sept 30: The race mechanics left that morning for Alexandria harbor to pick
up the race car and assistant’s cars. After arriving back at the hotel at
3PM in the afternoon the mechanics started tasks such aligning the driver’s
seat to match Mitsuhashi’s frame and bodily positions and finished prepping
the car.

Tonight they are scheduled to have dinner with the president of Toyota Auto
Body who just arrived in Egypt after flying in from Japan to provide backup
support.
Local media coverage of the event will start tomorrow morning with drivers
screening tests and vehicles inspections scheduled in the afternoon.

Mitsuhashi relaxing by the pool

After aligning the seat to match the driver’s body positions, the vehicle
prep was completed.