Two-time defending champion Stephane Peterhansel, driving a Mitsubishi, won the gruelling seventh stage of the Dakar Rally between Zouerat and Atar, Mauritania, on Friday.
The Frenchman clocked five hours, 52 minutes and 18 seconds over the 499km timed section, 4:23 ahead of teammate and compatriot Luc Alphand, and 11:49 clear of Germany’s Jutta Kleinschmidt in a Volkswagen.
Alphand, however, grabbed top spot overall with a 3:12 lead over Peterhansel and 5:58 ahead of Kleinschmidt.
”It was a very difficult stage with many sand dunes and some camel grass,” said Peterhansel.
The Frenchman was fastest through the opening passage control and maintained his momentum through the gruelling latter part of the first all-desert stage of this year’s rally to leap from ninth to second overall.
”The emphasis was on good navigation and not getting stuck,” he said. ”I had a puncture and we lost some time inflating and deflating the tyres. It was necessary. But it was a very positive day for us.”
Alphand expressed his pleasure at being in front after the first real desert stage.
”But there is a long way to go,” he warned. ”I hurt my neck a little and suffered a strain after a heavy landing, but it’s not too serious.
”I got stuck four times today in total and I think we lost around 15 minutes in the camel grass. But I am very happy to have arrived in Atar at this time without serious problems when there are so many teams still in the desert.”
Kleinschmidt said she was relieved to get to the finish after a testing day.
”Holding on to third place after suffering three tyre failures means that we got off lightly,” said the 2001 champion. ”We didn’t only have to reduce the tyre pressures before the climbing the dunes, but also had to inflate them again after as we had no more spare tyres.”
Volkswagen teammate Giniel de Villiers of South Africa, who had been the overnight leader, was fourth on the stage and is now fourth overall.
”The navigation was really difficult today,” admitted De Villiers. ”We got lost, along with the two buggies in front of us, after 20km. We only got back on track again after spotting a helicopter on the horizon. We also suffered a rear left puncture.”
The motorbike section was won for a second successive day by Chile’s Carlo de Gavardo, riding a KTM.
De Gavardo clocked 6:28:11 over the special, 1:27 ahead of Spaniard Marc Coma and two minutes clear of Italy’s Giovanni Sala, both riding KTMs.
Reigning champion Cyril Despres of France, who was riding with a dislocated left shoulder after a fall on Thursday, finished 30:23 behind the winner.
In the overall competition, Coma retained the lead by 4:30 from De Gavardo, and by 7:27 from Spaniard Isidre Esteve Pujol.
Saturday’s eighth stage, the final special stage before Sunday’s rest day in Nouakchott, Mauritania’s commercial capital, comprises a 568km run with a 508km timed section. — Sapa-AFP