Hold 11th position in his Pajero EvolutionPrivately-run Mitsubishis completed the second special stage of the 2009 Dakar Rally between Santa Rosa de la Pampa and the Patagonian coastal resort of Puerto Madryn without major problems on Sunday.
Guilherme Spinelli
and Marcelo Vivolo (both Brazil) were running just outside the top 10 in an excellent 11th place in their ex-factory Mitsubishi Pajero/Montero Evolution. The pair were a mere 1m 11s behind the powerful Hummer of 10th-placed Robbie Gordon (USA), but Spinelli lost a little time on the third special stage between Puerto Madryn and Ingeniero Jacobacci on Monday morning, although he recovered quickly to set the 13th fastest time and maintained 11th place.
"Everything is going very well so far and we are extremely happy with the position we have," said Spinelli's team manager and former Bike and Mitsubishi Pajero driver Klever Kolberg.
Mitsubishi Thailand-backed Mana Pornsiricherd (Thailand) was tackling the Dakar once again in a Mitsubishi Pajero sport this time and held 96th place with co-driver Thierry Lacambre (France) after the stage into Puerto Madryn. But he lost time when he was stuck in the sand and a rival competitor collided with the rear of his car.
This delay forced him to start further down the field on the long stage across Patagonia into Ingeniero Jacobacci and Mana held 83rd position on the stage at PC1 on Monday evening.
