Dakar – Sébastien Loeb: “We have the potential to get there”

Never Sébastien Loeb has been this close to winning the Dakar. Leader before the tenth stage with a little less than 2' ahead of Stéphane Peterhansel, the Frenchman had lost control of the race on Thursday evening, and was almost 6' behind his teammate. Peugeot Sport yesterday before the decisive special.

Setting out to strike a big blow, the nine-time world rally champion had lost all hope of catching up with Peterhansel after a puncture. Second at the finish, the Alsatian wants above all to remember the gross result.

“This is progress, and we have already stayed on track, explained Loeb yesterday in Buenos Aires. We made a few navigation errors but ultimately we came out well, on a Dakar as complicated as this one. »

At the wheel of a formidable 3008 DKR, the Loeb – Elena duo accumulated five stage victories and also showed themselves to be rather inspired during the navigation sections, the result of intense preparation work ahead of the event. Enough to give hope of one day winning the Dakar.

“It’s certain that in terms of speed, we were above it, and when we attacked hard, we managed to make significant gaps. We have the potential to get there.

I don't think I'll do as many Dakars as Peterhansel, but the goal is to win it one day: we'll have to persevere. For the moment, we have three Peugeot cars on the podium, so we will savor that, and we will see for the rest. »