Here is the article in English (sorta)
From motomag.com, translated by babelfish.altavista.com:
David Fretigné gains the rally of the shamrock
6th edition of the rally shamrock
David Frétigné gained for the second time the rally of Shamrock to the handlebar of Yamaha with two driving wheels.
It is the second time that David Frétigné gains the rally of Shamrock to the handlebar of a WR450F with two driving wheels. Will Yamaha engage - T-it this kind of machine on more significant rallys?
The 6th edition of the rally of the shamrock, which was held in Morocco, of 1st at November 10, was gained once again by David Frétigné with the handlebar of a WR 450F 2trac.
The second machine of this type was with the hands of Jean Claude Olivier, in person, who arrived third behind Richard Chatelain.
" I knew a problem of GPS the first two days of this rally, which made me lose much time " explains Big boss of Yamaha France.
It is the second time that David Frétigné, quadruples champion of France of enduro, gains this rally which proceeds in Morocco, with this Yamaha with two driving wheels. The principle of this rally is simple: each day the rally traverses a loop which brings back it to its starting point. It is an extremely open ralllye.
The victory of David Frétigné is due to the great facility with which one can control this motor bike with two driving wheels " This motor bike is ideal to roll in sand: the dunes are crossed with a disconcerting facility ".
Where the standard motor bikes are enlisent in sand, the system "2Trac" compensates for the loss of motricity of the back forwards by the intermediary of a hydraulic system which sets in motion an engine located in the front wheel axle. This system is autorégulé: more the aft wheel loses in motricity plus the nose gear wheel is requested.
Result " the dash speed of the WR 450F 2 trac is 10% higher on sandy track still underlines Jean Claude Olivier.
But the victory of David Frétigné was also facilitated by the abandonment of Cyril Despres, at the third day of the test. The French specialist in the rally raid had quite simply forgotten to point during a control of passage. Before its abandonment, Cyril Despres carried out 14 seconds in front of David Frétigné.
The new WR 450F 2Trac will be available as from the 1st quarter 2004 at the price of 12,195 francs.
Thierry Leconte