"Peter", times 10

His victory in Lima at the end of his 23rd Dakar earned Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel a place in the history of the race, with a total of ten wins across all categories: six on motorcycles and four in cars. The star of the global rally raid scene revisits the ten victories which turned him into a legend.

1991
Paris-Tripoli-Dakar: Everyone got lost in a sandstorm in the stage before the rest day in Agadez. I was the only one who found the right course and got a 45-minute advantage. That's when I won my first Dakar.
1992
Paris-Sirte-Cape Town: I'll always remember the demise of Gilles Lalay, right in front of me on a short liaison stretch. The loss of a friend and a period of introspection: is racing really the most important thing in life? I win, but I'm not sure I'll keep on going.
1993
Paris-Tangier-Dakar: I'm battling Arcarons and take a wrong turn on purpose to make him miss a CP. Then I backtrack and go through the CP myself. The penalty he incurs is a fatal blow to his chances...
1995
Granada-Dakar: I'm leading the race when I make a mistake at a refuelling station. Arcarons lodges a complaint and I'm handed down a 15-minute penalty. I feel somewhat discouraged, but in black Africa I go on an all-out attack throughout an entire stage and win with a 20-minute margin... That's when the balance is tipped in my favour.
1997
Dakar-Dakar: A very fair race! I was under a lot of pressure and was forced to ride quite fast every day. But, one by one, my rivals start to make the wrong moves: falls, mechanical problems, navigational mistakes... I didn't need to beat them, they "self-destructed". It was quite an easy win.
1998
Paris-Granada-Dakar: I've got mixed feelings about this one. Although I'm happy to break Cyril Neveu's five-win record, I've also got a sinking feeling when I think this is the last time I'll reach Lac Rose on a motorcycle. I bring one of the most beautiful chapters of my life to a close: the motorcycle competition...
2004
Auvergne-Dakar: The end of a long period without winning (five years). A long overdue win. It was my first victory in the car category, with the new sensation of sharing this success with someone, Jean Paul [Cottret], whereas my previous ones were very personal. I'm also happy to show the Mitsubishi team they were right to trust me.
2005
Barcelona-Dakar: It was a great battle with Luc [Alphand], my teammate at Mitsubishi. There was always a lot of respect between us. I came out on top in the end, but it was an amazing duel in which I had to give it everything I'd got at all times.
2007
Lisbon-Dakar: A new duel with Luc. But the most remarkable thing for me was winning the Dakar after having to change the clutch on the course. Twice. We lost 45 minutes, so it came down to the wire, but Jean-Paul's mechanical skills made the difference and in the end we were able to win all the same. This genuine team win was an immense satisfaction.
2012
Mar del Plata-Lima: A huge relief after five more years in the wilderness. That's how long it took us to build a "real" racing team with X-Raid. We left an extremely well structured team at Mitsubishi and joined another team, X-Raid, which still wasn't up to the task. It took us three years to restructure the team and improve it with our experience, opinions and ideas. Sven Quandt was very open and heeded our advice. This year really showed the difference between our first Dakar with them and what the team has grown to be today, with eight finishers out of eight cars on the starting line. This is also our first victory in South America, so we're happy to get back to our winning ways...
And if you had to choose just one of them?
Without a shadow of a doubt, my first win on a motorcycle, in 1991! When I started racing at the Dakar, I dreamt of participating in this race with Auriol, Neveu and the rest... So winning it was the culmination of a great effort! It was a childhood dream come true...

A special type of challenge

The Dakar is a challenge for all the competitors. But the chosen vehicle or the context in the relevant category can sometimes add a special touch to the pilot's performance. When all is said and done in Lima, certain pilots can be proud of having accomplished an extra-difficult mission...

The Dakar in a golf cart!
He was sniggered at by sceptics both in the aisles of the scrutineering area and on the first days of the rally. But general amusement turned to encouragements and then to admiration. In the final stage, Willy Alcaraz was even applauded for finishing the Dakar in a single-seat Polaris 900 RZR buggy designed this same year by the team Xtreme Plus: "I swallowed a lot of fesh-fesh. Driving without a windscreen isn't pleasant at all. We managed to prove our vehicle could make it to the end and I even won my category ahead of Tim Coronel. With this new type of vehicles, I see us as trailblazers."

A fantastic debut for Aubert
Two-time enduro world champion Johnny Aubert did not come to the Dakar just to test himself. He wants to begin a second career in the world of rally raid in 2013, and certainly not just to make up the numbers. Therefore, his first start at the race was extremely important to confirm his ambitions. He reached Lima in fourteenth place overall and having clocked the fourth best time in one of the toughest specials. He has obviously learnt a lot of things: "It's starting to sink in. I've still got a lot of work to do in the navigation department, something I noticed on the day I started fourth. I've still got time to learn, but I'm sure my future lies in the world of rallies."

Adam Małysz, take two
A living legend of ski jumping, Poland's Adam Małysz stopped his international career in March 2011 and immediately turned to a new challenge: taking part in his first Dakar. Like all great champions, aware of the difficulty of being successful in the world of sports, he did it humbly, with reaching Lima as his sole objective. Mission accomplished with a Top 30 place to boot. "This Dakar was just what I expected it to be. The first two days were very hard, but then I started to have fun and experience incredible moments, such as crossing the dunes at night. You bet I'll come back. But I'll return with a better car so that I can actually compete in the race."

The Dakar in an electric car: it is possible!
Having finished the Dakar several times at the wheel of "conventional vehicles", Latvia's Maris Saukans and Didzis Zarins took up a historic challenge in 2012: finishing the toughest rally in the world at the wheel of a 100% electric car. A daring bet they ended up winning, although they are awaiting a decision from the sporting jury, which will rule on the fact that they missed several points, as seen by rally officials. "Our goal was simply to reach Lima, so we did what we had to do. Moreover, we didn't have any problems with the electric engine itself. But our cooling system broke down on the second day, forcing us to start all following stages late and, therefore, to do most stages at night. We didn't sleep a lot and often reached the bivouac in the morning, but proving the feasibility of finishing the Dakar with an electric car was worth this small sacrifice!"

Miss Dakar with style
Her almost-perfect Dakar last year earned her a 39th place in the overall classification, the first among the ladies. Involved in a new project with Team Gas-Gas and working together with Marc Guasch as her water carrier, her goal was to confirm last year's performance and finish a second Dakar straight in a new environment. Despite hurting her hand and losing her teammate along the way, the Catalan pilot still produced a great performance on the South American courses and dunes: "The conditions were tougher than last year. I fell and hurt my hand, while Marc was forced to withdraw. I did the last six stages alone, so I had to focus even more. I'm finishing the rally less tired and even more confident for next year."