Deep water causes Brandenburg/Preuss to loose the lead

It was the wettest stage of the Transsyberia Rallye 2007. Several river crossings gave the teams difficulties, and cost the all-round leaders Erik Brandenburg and Stephan Preuss their leadership. Their Porsche 911 Safari had tremendous problems in the hip-deep water. „We drifted 98 feet through the river. I felt like a child in a bathtub." said Brandenburg in the evening at the driver's camp. During one river crossing the car was up to its windscreen in the water. "The first stages were as if made for our car, but today was the day where it was unsuitable.", said Preuss. The Hamburgers crossed the finish-line almost three hours after this stage's winners Rod Millen and Richard Kelsey. In the overall evaluation they fell back to the 8th position.

The winners of today's stage Millen and Kelsey also took the lead in the all-round evaluation. They managed the evaluation test in their Porsche Cayenne Transsyberia in 5 hours and 42 minutes. They were followed by Antonio Tognana and Carlo Cassina (+ 9 hours and 27 minutes) as well as Adel Abdulla and Norbert Lutteri (+ 17 hours and 51 minutes). After his arrival at the winning-post, Rod Millen said: "It was very difficult. We were really nervous before every river crossing." The third placed Abdulla was also impressed by the track's course: " I have never experienced something as difficult. In parts it was too hard." Heavy rainfalls in the past days made the rivers along the stretch rise.

The overall leaders Millen and Kelsey start the last stage of the Transsyberia Rally 2007 with a 17 minutes and 20 second advantage ahead of Tognana and Cassino. Abdulla and Lutteri, in third place, are 23 minutes and 15 seconds behind. The decisive evaluation test will take place just a few miles from the Monglian capital of Ulanbaatar.The remaining 29 teams have to cover 14 miles.

The roadbook provides a difficult river crossing again.

The hopes for victory of Armin Schwartz are crushed

During today's Transsyberia evaluation test an accident occured, which destroyed the hopes for victory of the former European Rally Champion Armin Schwarz and his co-pilot Oliver Hilger. Team Germany 1 turned over in their car several times after they drove into a hole in a very fast segment of the stretch. Oliver Hilger was uninjured except for some bruises, and Armin Schwarz was not injured seriously either. Following teams rushed to help the injured, who were apparently under shock, until the emergency doctors arrived. Saeed Al-Hahjiri and his co-driver Tim Trenker were together with the ladies' team Katja Poensgen and Dr. Erik Brandenburg at the scene of the accident.

The victims were able to speak, and the team of doctors was at the scene very quickly. Schwarz was transported to the hospital in Ulaanbaatar via helicopter where he will be x-rayed as a precaution. Oliver Hilger was treated on the scene. The Porsche Cayenne is damaged soo badly that it cannot continue its participation in the rally. For a long time Armin Schwarz was in the lead, and yesterday he was in 5th place of the overall evaluation, with just 22 minutes difference. All chances for a victory were still present. Team Brandenburg and the ladies'team weren't able to complete the evaluation test and drove back to the camp together.

The special test is still taking place to this hour. Inofficially Rod Millen from the USA is in the lead,and Lars Kern apparently has worked himself to the front, and is in 2nd place. Dr. Bandenburg had already lost time beforehand. Brandenburg: "The car couldn't get through the water during two river crossings. It was 6.6 feet deep, but I still tried! The 911 was too light, and simply floated. Then it sank! Only the shovels on the roof

were visible, so we were better off to leave the car. A unimog pulled us out, and after 3 minutes the 'sow' was running again." The stretch is difficult, with many river crossings running through it, and many participants are stuck, so that you can expect the rescue efforts to take hours. When results and more information will follow is unclear at this time.