Stéphane Peterhansel: "Everything was smashed up"

Dakar 2018 | Stage 7 | La Paz > Uyuni
January 13 ^th 2018 - 17:35 [GMT -4]

A rock hidden in a puddle cost the former overall leader almost two hours and his hopes of a fourteenth Dakar victory.

"We were on a long straight with big puddles. A quad was stopped nearby, so I moved to the side and I heard a deafening crash. The entire rear was in bits and pieces: suspension, transmission shaft, shock absorbers… Everything was smashed up. What we did was cannibalise Cyril's car. We spent 1 h 50 patching it up. But my smile stays on, this wasn't a make-or-break moment for my career. It's just a blow to our morale and some damage on the 3008."