The Fiat PanDAKAR's African challenge has crumbled in the heat and sand of Morocco, with both of the tiny cars retiring, Miki Biasion departing from the fray after hitting a donkey, while Bruno Saby succumbed soon after to his own technical problems. It was an inauspicious end to the exciting adventure, that was first announced at the Bologna Motor Show in December. Miki Biasion, who had taken part in the Dakar Rally several times previously at the wheel of an Iveco truck, was drafted in to lead the factory team, while the 1993 event overall winner Bruno Saby was brought in to provide his invaluable experience.

The two PanDAKAR rally machines safely navigated the slippery mud and steep mountain gradients that prevailed during the first two stages in Portugal; and through the opening Moroccan stage where they ran virtually together throughout the 648 km long third leg which started in Nador with a 205 km connection to the start of the 252 km timed test, and ended with a further 191 km connection into Er Rachidia.

However on Tuesday's leg 4 it all went wrong for both the PanDAKAR machines, with Biasion going out after hitting a donkey, although his French team mate struggled on further. Leg 4 had started with a 96 km connection before the marathon 405 km timed section, and then a final 178 km connection, making up a total distance of 679 km. The stage would also provide the first real navigational test for the bikes, cars and trucks with many dead ends being a hazard for the crews as they hit the rally's famous rolling sand dunes for the first time.
 

Saby however hung on in the event until today but was timed out at the start and his rally too was finally over, leaving the Panda desert challenge to wait for next year. At the front of the rally in the car category it was Carlos Sainz, who has admitted that he is still learning about the event, who picked up a sixth Dakar Rally special stage victory and his third on African soil. Having set off yesterday in third position, the Spanish driver took advantage of the fast winding tracks which most probably suited him better than the forthcoming Mauritanian dunes.

Once Sainz had overtaken desert specialists Jean-Louis Schlesser and Carlos Sousa on the way to Check Point 2 (located after 163 km), the former FIA World Rally Champion withstood the attacks of his closest rivals to cross the finishing line with a small thirty second lead over Stephane Peterhansel. Giniel De Villiers, in third place with his VW Race Touareg, finished 1 minute 41 seconds behind his team-mate.

However, the situation had been looking good for Guerlain Chicherit midway through the stage. But the best placed of the BMW X-Raid team members lost his advantage on the last part of the stage, finishing the special with the fifth best time, five minutes behind the winner. Sainz, who now has a lead of 3 minutes 36 seconds over De Villiers and 11 minutes 17 seconds over Sousa in the general rankings, must now deliver the guarantees of a successful career change in the dunes that will dominate today's stage. Nani Roma, in fourth place 16 minutes 16 seconds behind, is the best placed Mitsubishi driver to challenge the faultless performance of the Volkswagens, but Peterhansel, Alphand and Masuoka, although much further behind still, have enough experience on the rally to hope for a comeback on the sands.

Timed-out at the start of the day’s special stage and suffering from technical problems, Saby and Biasion thus both dropped out of the rally. However, there was some positive news for Fiat's many rally fans, as the two drivers and the factory team have decided to stay in the Foum-Zguid areas for several more days in order to carry out further desert testing with a view to coming back and taking part next year.