Summary (2000 - Paris - Dakar - Cairo)

The Dakar 2000 was intended to be one of the most challenging rallies ever, and so a completely new route was planned, leading from Dakar in Senegal right across the African continent and ending in Cairo. In between, 7,626 km of special stages and 10,905 km of total distance, with passages over 800 km long, had to be overcome. After the cars had been shipped from Paris to Dakar, it seemed as if the Pajeros would once again put their stamp on the race. Despite the high speeds the route was demanding, and so technique and driving skill were in greater demand than the car. The Mitsubishis took turns at the front, separated only by minutes. For Fontenay, misfortune took its course when he took a wrong turn near Burkina Faso and got completely lost. On top of that, his Pajero was plagued by brake problems. After the sixth stage, Shinozuka led by 6m 15s over second-placed Jean-Louis Schlesser. From then on the rally changed its face, for now the stages began in the Sahel pre-desert, where the dusty bush ends and the first sand dunes along the Niger appear. The Mitsubishis fought doggedly, but then the first of two disasters occurred. Heavy terrorist activity was reported from Niger, and the organisation, concerned for the safety of the rally community, cancelled the next five days of the rally. That was the first time in the 22-year history of the Dakar that such a thing had happened. Three Russian Antonov 127 aircraft were brought in and the 336 vehicles and 1,365 participants were flown within five days to Sabah in Libya, where the rally was continued on 17 January with the real desert stages. The second misfortune occurred when, on the 12th stage, enormous downpours and cold turned the sandy route into solid motorways. The Dakar transformed from a rally into a high-speed race, and so two or three hundred kilometres were covered at top speed. A catastrophe for the Mitsubishis, for the buggies, more than 600 kg lighter, were now vastly superior and pulled away. The high speed soon demanded a price, however, and four vehicles rolled over while jumping the crest of a dune. Among the crashed cars were three Mitsubishis, piloted by Shinozuka, Sousa and Prieto. The fourth car was a Nissan with Gregoire de Mevius at the wheel. A helicopter of the medical team took the drivers and navigators to hospital and the rally continued without the four. Team Mitsubishi France celebrated a very good third place at the Dakar 2000 on arrival in Cairo, after pushing their Pajeros to the limit, for the Dakar 2000 was one of the fastest there had ever been, which above all benefited the light Schlesser buggy, which then also rolled through the finish first. After the rally, the drivers agreed that the rally was unfortunately one of the fastest there had ever been. Driving skill was neglected after the first half. Nevertheless, the Dakar 2000 was a spectacular event with as many highs and lows as a thriller.

Final standings

Pos.	No.	Driver	Manufacturer	Overall time
1	250	Schlesser	Schlesser Renault	45.06.03
2	270	Peterhansel	Mega Desert	+ 00.12.33
3	251	Fontenay	Mitsubishi Pajero	+ 00.27.33
4	253	Servia	Schlesser Renault	+ 00.38.50
5	256	Kleinschmidt	Mitsubishi Pajero	+ 01.09.00
6	271	Masuoka	Mitsubishi Pajero	+ 01.41.12
7	252	Saby	Protruck	+ 02.43.15
8	255	De Lavergne	Nissan Terrano	+ 03.39.28
9	276	Pescarolo	Nissan Terrano	+ 05.03.10
10	283	Vila Altimir	Nissan Patrol	+ 06.46.26