00:00Hello, I'm Christian Lavier, Dakar Copeta, entered in the ultimate category, but in the
00:13T1-2 class.
00:14What does that mean?
00:15T1-2 means two-wheel drive, and that's exactly why we have a small advantage.
00:20We're allowed a very specific system, an inflation-deflation system controlled from
00:24inside the car.
00:30So here we have a small control panel for our inflation and deflation system.
00:41As soon as we start, we switch it to automatic mode, now we're at 1.4 bar, I'm going to set
00:46it to 1.8, and my compressor will bring the pressure back up to 1.8 on my two rear wheels.
00:56And as we approach the dunes, we'll drop down to 1.4, 1, or even as low as 0.6.
01:05What you need to know is it takes time.
01:07Going from 1 bar down to 0.6 will take between 4 and 5 minutes to reach a pressure of 600
01:13grams, so you really have to anticipate in order to enter the dunes smoothly.
01:18From the dashboard, we have hoses that run back here.
01:30The air goes into the hub, passes through the center of the hub, then comes out here,
01:35goes back through a line, and connects to the rim valve.
01:41There's a quick connector.
01:42In case of a puncture, you can remove the wheel and reconnect it here.
01:48So we've deflated automatically, we're at 600 grams.
02:01The tire takes on a bit of a balloon shape, which gives me flotation in the dunes.
02:05Here, you have a tire inflated to 1 bar 8.
02:09When I put my hand on it, it's almost flat.
02:12If I compare the two, you can really see the balloon effect, which gives flotation
02:17and allows the tire to ride up and stay on the surface of the sand.
02:22That also helps us to build speed, and it allows us to get through almost like a four-wheel-drive
02:28vehicle in the sand.
