UAE, Oct 24: Today is the final day of the UAE Marlboro Desert Challenge and there will be two timed stages between Liwa and the finish near Dubai. The opening 202 kms section starts at Thanwaniyah and passes south of the Al Ain truck road and north of the Al Ain highway. The route then winds its way past Nahel Town and the 191.25 kms final competitive stage draws to a close on the Emirates Road, near Jebel Ali South. A short road liaison takes the surviving crews on to the finish ramp at the DIMC, Mina Seyahi.
Positions on SS3 - (unofficial): Bikes 1. Cyril Despres (France) KTM 660 Rally 4h 32m 22s 2. Marek Dabrowski (Poland) KTM 660 Rally 4h 36m 34s 3. Alfie Cox (South Africa) KTM 4h 38m 22s 4. Jacek Czachor (Poland) KTM 660 Rally 4h 40m 30s 5. Dave McBride (UAE) KTM 4h 43m 32s 6. Pal-Anders Ullesvalseter (Norway) KTM Rally 4h 47m 05s
Positions after Leg 3 - (unofficial): Bikes 1. Cyril Despres 12h 27m 46s 2. Alfie Cox 12h 37m 06s 3. Marek Dabrowski 12h 38m 51s 4. Jacek Czachor 12h 49m 46s 5. Pal-Anders Ullesvalseter 13h 03m 07s 6. Dave McBride 13h 05m 51s 7. Andy Caldecott (Australia) 13h 10m 41s 8. Francois Flick (France) 13h 23m 32s Positions on Leg 3 - (unofficial - top 5) Cars 1. Jean-Louis Schlesser/Jean-Marie Lurquin (France) Schlesser-Ford 4h 20m 55s 2. Stephane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret (France) Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution 4h 36m 26s 3. Obaid Bin Hathboor/Abdulhalim Bin Zayed (UAE) Chevrolet Tahoe 5h 03m 18s 4. Luc Alphand/Arnaud Debron (France ) BMW X5 5h 12m 17s 5. Ahmed Bin Soughat/Jassim Al-Kendi (UAE) Chevrolet Tahoe 5h 14m 58s


Positions after Leg 3 - Cars (unofficial) 1. Stephane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret 11h 37m 38s 2. Jean-Louis Schlesser/Jean-Marie Lurquin 11h 50m 30s 3. Carlos Sousa (Portugal)/Henri Magne (Andorra) Mitsubishi L200 Strakar Mitsubishi L200 Strakar 12h 38m 29s 4. Gregoire de Mevius (Belgium)/Alain Guehennec (France) BMW X5 12h 47m 28s 5. Andrea Mayer/Andreas Schulz (Germany) Mitsubishi Pajero 13h 26m 56s 6. Jose-Luis Monterde/Rafael Tornabell (Spain) Mitsubishi Pajero 14h 19m 25s 7. Amadeus Matzker/Dirk Von Zitzewitz (Germany) Land Rover 14h 31m 22s 8. Saeed Hamli/Ahmad Malik (UAE) Nissan Patrol 14h 40m 23s


FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies - positions before UAE Desert Challenge: Bikes 1. Despres 61 points 2. Dabrowski 58 3. Roma 57 4. Fabrizio Meoni (Italy) 48 5. Caldecott 47 (25 pts for winner of UAE Desert Challenge)


Cars 1. Sousa 155 points 2. Schlesser 114 3. Jean-Pierre Strugo (France) 84 4. Lukasz Komornicki (Poland) 66 (45 points for winner of UAE Desert Challenge)


Bureau Report