Dakar – Romain Dumas exceeded his objectives

While he hoped to conclude his 3rd Dakar by finishing around the top ten, Romain Dumas and his co-pilot Alain Guehennec managed to reach the finish line in 8th place with the Peugeot 3008 DKR, finishing as the first private crew of this edition with its RD Limited team.

It’s a success for the double winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans who had abandoned during his first participation in 2015 and who had to be content with a top 20 the following year. The Frenchman simply regrets having lost several minutes by getting stuck in camel grass during the marathon stage where the navigation was particularly delicate.

“This second part of the Dakar leaves me with a somewhat special feeling, commented Romain Dumas. On the one hand I'm a little disappointed because I wanted to show more and I know that we had the potential to appear higher on certain stages. We never managed to have a perfect day. There was always a small navigation error or a stop in the sand. It's a shame. On the other hand, we didn't make any big mistakes and that allowed us to move up the rankings. We didn't have the wrong objective, we didn't skip the steps and this certain wisdom bore fruit. I know where I need to improve. Nothing replaces driving rally-raid and in particular racing. You have to practice to do better. »

“We wanted to finish in the Top 15, then we were talking about Top 10. We are in eighth place so the contract is more than fulfilled, nuanced Romain Dumas. RD Limited is capable of fielding a car like the 3008 DKR and finishing first in structures that I consider completely private. The guys did a great job. We were also lucky to have an excellent car, efficient and reliable. I had more fun than during my two previous participations and, inevitably, it gives ideas and desires. Now for the rest…”

Romain Dumas is already preparing for the Monte-Carlo Rally which he will compete this week at the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0l where he will be co-driven by Gilles de Turckheim.

“It’s great to do Dakar and Monte-Carlo with my own team. To do this a few days apart, I think it's quite rare and it shows the strength of the team, which is able to race on all terrains. Going from the sand of South America to the snow of Monte Carlo is quite a challenge”, recognized the reigning champion of WEC.

Find the full report of the second week of the Dakar, produced by our special correspondent in South America, in issue 2097 of AUTOhebdo, available from this Monday evening in digital version, and from this Wednesday on newsstands.