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NEWS
MOTORSPORT: Dakar cruels its 11-time winner
A top 10 finish in the Dakar looks beyond Stephane Peterhansel now as Peugeot discovers just how tough it now is and MINI's Nasser Al-Attiyah heads for his second winAny prospect of a miracle from "Monsieur Dakar" Stephane Peterhansel for Peugeot in its return to the Dakar Rally has gone, while the man who has dominated this year's ultra-marathon in South America, Qatar's Nasser Al-Attiyah, is now 24 minutes clear of the nearest Toyota Hilux in his MINI.
Peterhansel, a six-time winner of the Dakar on motorcycles and five times on four wheels, had been in the top 10 before the rest day in the two-week event but lost almost 3½ hours through the failure of the front-right hub carrier on his diesel two-wheel-drive Peugeot 2008 DKR on the day it resumed.
He struggled slowly to the end of the stage through the Atacama Desert between Iquique and Calama in Chile, was classified 54th for the day and now finds himself more than five hours off the lead in 14th place overall – and 85 minutes out of the top 10.
Spaniard Carlos Sainz crashed his Peugeot out of the rally late last week and, while having his best day in his Dakar debut after winning five times on motorcycles, Frenchman Cyril Depres in the third 2008 DKR is 39th and almost 15 hours behind leader Al-Attiyah.
Although the Qatari stretched his advantage over South African Giniel De Villiers and his Toyota Hilux by about 15 minutes on the ninth stage Al-Attiyah said it had been "the most difficult stage of the Dakar so far" as he nears a repeat of his 2011 victory.
Saudi Arabian rookie Yazeed Al-Rahji remains third in another Toyota Hilux but is 39½ minutes behind Al-Attiyah. The next MINI is another 40 minutes back in fourth.
Czech-born Australian Peter Jerie is 44th overall in his Toyota, while in the motorcycles Aussie rookie Toby Price is an amazing fourth, little more than half an hour behind Spanish leader Marc Coma – both on KTMs. Portugal's Paulo Goncalves is second on a Honda and within 5½ minutes of the lead.
Four stages and almost 2800km remain before the finish in Buenos Aires on Saturday, with the next stage over the Andes mountains, where the altitude peaks at 4970 metres, as the field re-enters Argentina in that country's north-west for the next overnight stop at Salta.
MINIs have won eight car stages so far, with the only other daily victory by Al-Rahji in his Toyota immediately before the rest day at Iquique.
On stage nine powdery fesh-fesh sand and high winds made visibility and navigation extremely difficult, with drivers having to fight their way through a virtual sandstorm.
Last year's Dakar winner, Spaniard Nani Roma, won the stage in a MINI, six minutes ahead of Al-Attiyah, who said the conditions were as bad all day as anybody had experienced on the Dakar for a long time.
The fesh-fesh can bog a car in an instant and obscure views, making the role of the navigator crucial – and it was a navigation error that cost De Villiers heavily on the latest stage.
"This was the most difficult stage so far ... we are so very happy to get to the finish," Al-Attiyah said.
"The main thing was just to be calm and easy, as the wind and the dust meant that we couldn't see the road."
Peterhansel was on the pace early in the day but the hub carrier failure 285km into the 450km special stage delayed him. He did not get on the move again until 4.15pm, then only slowly, and limped into the finish at 7pm.
"That's racing," said Peugeot Sport director Bruno Famin.
"Despite this problem we are very happy to come back to Argentina with two cars in good shape. The target is now to reach Buenos Aires."
Famin was putting on a brave face. Peugeot has found the modern Dakar, now in its seventh year in South America, much tougher than it did those in Africa, where it won four times in four attempts last century.
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Written byGeoffrey Harris
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