On the first major African stage of the 2003 Dakar, in Tunisia between Tozeur and El Borma, the battle for the title was a Mitsubishi in-house affair between Masuoka and Peterhansel. Further back, the adversaries were hanging on, with Nissan, who coaxed Ari Vatanen out of retirement, and Volkswagen, which brought on Jutta Kleinschmidt for the beginning of its rally-raid involvement. And it was these two 4x4s that got caught out in the high water and were found stopped in a very deep ford. Far from victory this time, the Finn all the same managed to win four stages in the second half of the rally on dry terrain. At Sharm-El-Sheikh, Vatanen and Kleinschmidt finished 7th and 8th respectively in the general classification.

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