Stéphane Peterhansel: “A few minutes, but not enough”

“Lost” yesterday with Nasser Al-Attiyah in the first part of the marathon stage, Stéphane Peterhansel (Mini) had let precious minutes slip away in front of his teammate Carlos Sainz. The Frenchman was more than 18′ away this morning, and to see any hope of victory, there is only one option: headlong flight.

Chose réussie par « Monsieur Dakar », avec une victoire à l’arrachée pour 10″ face à Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota) vers Haradh aujourd’hui, et 8′ reprises à Carlos Sainz, 3e. Mais l’Espagnol peut encore voir venir avec plus de dix minutes de marge avant la dernière étape demain.

“It’s so difficult to gain minutes on the track regularly, recalls Peterhansel upon arrival. On the other hand, as soon as we start filming, loads of minutes go by, with huge gaps being created.

We fought and attacked all day, and we gained a few minutes but obviously not enough. Yesterday, when we got lost, it was a navigation error, it was not the fact that we were going ahead.

Carlos was a bit lucky to arrive at the right time, but when you get lost, you get lost, whether you're in front or behind. To gain ten minutes on the track, you really have to put the knife to your throat, push hard and it's not easy. »

A good player, Peterhansel nevertheless believes that the possible final victory of the double world rally champion would be a great reward for the collective work provided by Mini to improve a very lively JCW buggy this year on the Saudi course.

“Carlos has done a great job from the start and if he can confirm it by winning the race, it would be good for Mini and for the team because we have been involved all year to prepare and develop the car. » recognizes the Frenchman.

With ten minutes to spare, Sainz is heading towards a third Dakar. But watch out for the pitfalls of the last day. For Peterhansel, securing the Mini double against Al-Attiyah would undoubtedly serve as a small consolation.