PETERHANSEL Stéphane FRA 06/08/1965

COTTRET Jean-paul FRA

Vehicle

MODEL	MAKE
X3 CC	BMW

RANKING

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14
Scratch	3	6	1	2	33	1	2	1	6	2	6	4	1	4
Stage	3	6	1	2	33	1	2	1	6	2	6	4	1	4	-
Overall	3	3	1	1	10	8	5	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	-

“We were able to bounce back’’

Stéphane Peterhansel is one of the drivers that have made the Dakar what it is. His rally raid apprenticeship, where the combination of wisdom and panache has proved to pay off, dates back to 1991, the year of his first motorcycle category win on the Dakar. “I finally understood how to ride”, explains Peterhansel. The rider with the blue bandana won six times in eight years at the controls of a Yamaha. When he made the switch to four wheels, his motorcycle skills quickly paid dividends: 7th on his first attempt, he stepped onto the second step of the podium the following year, already in the company of Jean-Paul Cottret. The consecration came in 2004, the year where “Peter” became only the second competitor in Dakar history after Hubert Auriol to win in both the motorcycle and car categories. A complete master of his domain, Peterhansel dominated the rally in 2005, controlling from distance his lone rival, which was none other than team mate Luc Alphand. In 2006, he ran into a tree in Guinea that cost him three hours and any chance for another victory. Revenge came the following year in 2007 when the “Mitsu” drivers showed incredible patience in the face of Volkswagen’s insolent domination in the first half of the rally. In Mauritania, his terrain of predilection, Peterhansel was back in the race for the win, taking advantage of the series of bad luck that struck Sainz and De Villiers. The lessons of patience and perseverance learned in the Sahara over a period of nearly 20 years paid off. In 2009, the switch to diesel was rather painful for the “Mitsus”. That of Peterthansel left the race after six stages. And a month later, the car constructor decided to bid farewell to its long adventure in off-road rallies. The new situation was however fairly interesting for the record-holder of victories on the Dakar who was offered a new challenge in the X-Raid squad: “With Nani Roma we were able to bounce back with them and since our arrival we have already managed important work. The experience gained at Mitsubishi allowed us to improve the X3 after many tests, both on a performance point of view and in terms of little details that help gain in reliability. Actually on the Morocco rally, I drove as quickly as possible to push the car to its limits. And in 6 days we didn’t have the slightest problem. That doesn’t mean that we won’t have any on the Dakar but it’s a good sign”. Settled in the driver’s seat of his X3, “Peter” should have quite some assets to try and claim a 10th victory, “a number that attracts me and that this year would mark the achievement of an even bigger challenge”. The first feelings concerning the capacities of the car to fight with the Volkswagen team are indeed encouraging: “The engine is so powerful that I have never felt so comfortable climbing up the dunes”.

Dakar start photos on line: www.maindruphoto.com

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