Peugeot driver France’s Stephane Peterhansel, right, co-driver Jean Paul Cottret, left, with team director Bruno Famin, center cheers after winning the car category at the Argentina Dakar Rally upon arrival to the last stage between Rio Cuarto and Buenos Aires, Argentina Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017.(AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
French driver Stephane Peterhansel said luck played no part in his record-extending seventh Dakar Rally triumph on Saturday.
Peterhansel duly completed the 12th and last stage – a mere 64-kilometer sprint – on the road to Buenos Aires without incident to successfully defend his title by more than five minutes from countryman and Peugeot teammate Sebastien Loeb.
Another countryman, Cyril Despres, was third to give Peugeot a sweep of the podium.
The next best drivers, former champions Nani Roma of Spain and Giniel de Villiers of South Africa, were more than an hour behind.
Loeb won the last stage, and third straight, by 19 seconds from Peterhansel, but lost his chance of a maiden Dakar title when he punctured on Friday. At the time, Loeb, the former nine-time world rally champion, was attacking Peterhansel and had more than halved the time deficit on the leader.
“It was a high-stakes duel, we went fast,” Peterhansel said. “I’d like to thank Peugeot for providing us with awesome cars and, especially, for not issuing team orders, which is a great show of fair play because it puts us all on an even footing.
“We were fighting against a super-fast champion who knows how to race from the lead and isn’t easily impressed. Yesterday, it was decided by a flat tire, and that was probably the turning point in this Dakar. My strategy was to push Sebastien to his limits. This made him more likely to make mistakes, which he eventually did, so it’s not a matter of luck.”
Nobody has a better understanding of the world’s toughest rally than the 51-year-old Peterhansel. After winning a record six Dakars on a motorbike, he won another six in a car in 2004, ‘05, ‘07, ‘12, ‘13 and ‘16 before this month. He has three more car titles than anyone else, all of them with co-driver Jean Paul Cottret. He’s abandoned the Dakar only three times in 29 years.
Loeb was content with second after placing ninth on debut last year, but he still had unfinished business in the Dakar.
“We have what it takes to win the race,” Loeb said. “I don’t think I’m going to race in as many editions of the Dakar as Peterhansel, but my aim is to win it some day. We’ll have to keep on trying.”
Sam Sunderland became the first Englishman to win a Dakar when he topped the motorbike class, a half-hour ahead of KTM teammate Matthias Walkner of Austria. This was the first time both finished a Dakar; they abandoned both of their previous attempts.
Another KTM rider, Gerard Farres Guell of Spain, was third for his highest finish at his ninth attempt.
Sunderland dominated for the past week, but was still relieved to reach the end.
“When I crossed the line I felt all the emotion hit me,” he said.
“The weight on my shoulders of the race over the last week, leading the rally, has been really heavy. To finish here is incredible. It’s been difficult, especially in some of the moments with navigation mistakes or when things get stressful, to stay calm. It’s been really the most difficult thing to do, but we’re here, we did it, and I couldn’t be any happier.” AP
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