ALL PRESS RELEASES

After the punishing conditions of the past three days, the fourth leg of the 2007 Por Las Pampas Rally gave competitors a much freer rein today in the form of a fast, flowing stage that would have done justice to any gravel round of the World Rally Championship.

The third stage of the 2007 Por Las Pampas Rally had to be interrupted today when the bike competitors, who were first on the road, faced the risk of running out of beach as high waves and the rising tide forced them increasingly closer to the cliffface to their right.

Following Tuesday's gruelling start to the 2007 Por Las Pampas Rally, Mitsubishi's Luc Alphand and Gilles Picard (both France) contested the longest competitive section of the event today. The 704km run north along the Pacific coast from Valdivia to Concepcion featured 466km of against-the-clock action, including a 27km neutralisation at approximately mid-distance which gave competitors a chance to take a short but welcome breather.

The Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart team has emerged on top of the leaderboard at the end of the opening leg of the 2007 Por Las Pampas Rally which turned out to be one of the most gruelling days of Cross Country Rally competition ever.

The FIA Cross-Country Rally World Cup calendar continues with the international Por Las Pampas Rally which takes Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart to South America for the third round of the 2007 series.