Some 26 years since previous success, Peugeot has won the epic Dakar Rally for the 5th time in the French marque’s history, with Peterhansel, now crowned “Mr Dakar”, driving his number 302 Peugeot 2008 DKR to victory. The 4 two-wheel drive Peugeot 2008 DKRs triumphed in the two-week South American event, claiming 9 stage wins out of a possible 12, including 7 one-twos and 2 one-two-threes, thanks to an incredible performance from the formidable Peugeot Sport Dream Team, one of the most accomplished line-ups ever seen in Dakar history; with 17 Dakar victories between them, the crews of Stéphane Peterhansel / Jean-Paul Cottret, Carlos Sainz / Lucas Cruz and Cyril Despres / David Castera were joined by 9-time world rally champions Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena, who made their maiden debuts on the event.
Exactly 25 years since his first Dakar victory, then on a bike, Stéphane Peterhansel sealed his 12th Dakar success for Peugeot Sport, together with co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret. Cyril Despres / David Castera and Sébastien Loeb / Daniel Elena finished 7th and 9th respectively. Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz were overall leaders, with just 4 days to go, but were not able to join their team mates on the finish ramp.
With a 9500-kilometre route through Argentina and Bolivia, taking in extreme weather and altitudes that peaked at 4800 metres, Team Peugeot Total took on the fearsome 2-week, 13-stage challenge. Peugeot’s engineers had learned several valuable lessons during their first participation in South America in 2015 and worked non-stop ever since to improve the car. Lower, wider, longer and more powerful, the new Peugeot 2008 DKR didn’t take long to show the extent of its potential. The car kept faith with its two-wheel drive configuration against the traditional 4x4s, and was instantly at ease on every type of surface, underlining the effectiveness of the technical choices that were originally made.
The Team Peugeot Total crews claimed the lead of the rally right from the first stage. Using all of his traditional rallying expertise, Sébastien Loeb was the 1st to claim a stage win, with Stéphane Peterhansel and Carlos Sainz close behind. During the first week the Peugeot 2008 DKRs consistently occupied the top 3 places. By the time the rally reached the rest day at Salta, following some challenging stages at high altitude in Bolivia, the top-3 line-up consisted of Loeb, Peterhansel and Sainz.
The 2nd week of the rally offered further adventures with a more varied route, taking in an increased amount of off-piste action through dunes. Through this hazard strewn terrain, both Sebastien Loeb and Carlos Sainz bid farewell to their hopes of victory, because of a roll and a mechanical breakage on stage 10 respectively. Cyril Despres had already been delayed on stage 5 with a turbo problem, so it was Stéphane Peterhansel who emerged as Team Peugeot Total’s main contender for victory. The Frenchman won a crucial stage through the famous Fiambala dunes, and then seized the advantage on the 10th of 13 stages, with a cushion of one hour at the head of the field. He then had to manage that advantage all the way to the finish.
Bruno Famin, Peugeot Sport director said, “The results have surpassed our expectations because we came here just to show the performance of the car. And we’ve achieved that objective well throughout all different types of conditions. That goes to show that we have accomplished the technical mission that we set ourselves. We’ve nonetheless found a few small mechanical issues, which show us that there is still a margin of progression left in our Peugeot 2008 DKR. We’re absolutely delighted with this result and we hope to confirm it again next year – maybe even by aiming for a one-two-three.”
The Dakar 2016 victory is the latest chapter in a compelling story of motorsport success for Peugeot, to include 4 Dakar wins in Africa between 1987 and 1990, and success at the Le Mans 24 Hours, Pikes Peak and the World Rally Championships. The Dakar win will go down in history for Peugeot, when the lion-brand triumphed at only its 2nd participation in South America.
Next stop: Dakar 2017!
Pictured centre of podium are Jean-Paul Cottret, co-driver, Bruno Famin, Head of Peugeot Sport and “Mr Dakar” himself, Stéphane Peterhansel
DAKAR 2016 FACTS:
• Peugeot 2008 DKR Stage wins: 9 out of 13 (stages 2, 3, 5 and 13 for Loeb/Elena; stages 4, 6 and 10 for Peterhansel/Cottret; stages 7 and 9 for Sainz/Cruz)
• Leaders: Loeb (stages 2 to 5 and stage 7), Peterhansel (stages 6 to 8 then stages 10 to 13) and Sainz (stage 9)
• Stéphane Peterhansel’s Dakar wins: 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1997, 1998 (motorbike); 2004, 2005, 2007, 2012, 2013, 2016* (car)
Provisional final classification*
1. Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA)/Jean-Paul Cottret (FRA), PEUGEOT 2008 DKR, 45h22min10s
2. Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Matthieu Baumel (FRA), Mini, +34min58s
3. Giniel De Villiers (ZAF)/Dirk Von Zitzewitz (DEU), Toyota, +1h02min47s
4. Mikko Hirvonen (FIN)/Michel Perin (FRA), Mini, +1h05min18s
5. Leeroy Poulter (ZAF)/Robert Howie (ZAF), Toyota, +1h30min43s
7. Cyril Despres (FRA)/David Castera (FRA), PEUGEOT 2008 DKR, + 1h49min04s
9. Sébastien Loeb (FRA)/Daniel Elena (MC), PEUGEOT 2008 DKR, +2h22min09s
* Subject to appeal
-Ends-
