Desprès wins his first stage at the China Silk Road Rally

Cyril Desprès and his co-driver David Castera won their first step in Rally-Raid by winning the 11th stage of the China Silk Road Rally. The pilot Peugeot completed the 244km timed link between Jiuquan and Dunhunag in 2h31'13 and thus regained a 2-minute lead over his closest opponent Han Wei (Haval) despite being hampered by the dust raised by Lui Kun, on a Mitsubishi Pajero MPR11).

“We quickly felt that we were in good shape, that everything was going well and that we would be able to fully exploit the Peugeot 2008 DKR”, explained Cyril Desprès. “But at the 57th km, we arrived at Him. We took advantage of a limited speed zone to warn him of our presence but at no time did he play the game despite the overtaking warning (sentinel). We endured its dust for more than 150 kilometers and lost our rhythm. We nevertheless won our first stage victory but there was a little frustration because we couldn't express ourselves over the entire kilometer of a special. Tomorrow we go ahead! »

Stéphane Peterhansel maintains a lead of almost half an hour over his teammate, even ifhe was slowed down by a puncture causing it to fail half a minute from the reference time. “We didn’t start at a high pace. It was a very enjoyable stage. In Africa or South America, this type of dry wadis is brittle. Here, this is not the case. It's a pleasure to drive there, fast with few dangers. I think this is the stage with the highest average since the start. 60km from the end, I saw a lump of earth that seemed soft? It was a pointed stone. We had a puncture on the right front and lost 5 minutes changing the wheel. There are 2 days left! »

SS11 (Provisional)
 
1. Cyril Despres (FRA)/David Castera (FRA) Peugeot 2008 DKR 2h31mn13s
2. Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA)/Jean-Paul Cottret (FRA) Peugeot 2008 DKR +30s 
3. Lui Kun (CHN)/Liao (CHN) Mitsubishi Pajero MPR11 +1?28 
4. Han Wei (CHN)/Pan Hong Yu (CHN) Haval+2?08
5. Christian Lavieille (FRA)/Jean-Pierre Garcin (FRA) Haval+5?26
 
General Ranking after SS11 (Provisional)
 
1. Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA)/Jean-Paul Cottret (FRA) Peugeot 2008 DKR        
2. Cyril Despres (FRA)/David Castera (FRA) Peugeot 2008 DKR +27?25
3. Han Wei (CHN)/Pan Hong Yu (CHN) Haval +43?47 
4. Christian Lavieille (FRA)/Jean-Pierre Garcin (FRA) Haval +54?12
5. Lui Kun (CHN)/Liao (CHN) Mitsubishi Pajero MPR11 +1h15:55