Stéphane Peterhansel: “A stupid mistake”

We cannot take away Stephane Peterhansel his sportsmanship and the desire to play a team game on this one. But it is clear that the Mini – X-Raid driver’s decision to want to help Nani Roma, then stuck in the sand, backfired.

Second in the general classification behind Nasser Al-Attiyah (Toyota), Peterhansel lost 16′ to his rival during yesterday’s stage and thus saw his delay peak at 41′, Sébastien Loeb (Peugeot ) having moved up to second position in the ranking, after his new stage victory.

“Another stupid mistake. asserts “Mister Dakar”. We weren't too bad in the first special, until I saw Nani crashed five kilometers from the finish. He didn't signal me for help, but after the helping hand he gave me two days ago, I felt obligated to go help him.

As a result, I found myself in a bowl and we lost twenty minutes. It's not a mistake, it's complete bullshit. Too many cumulative errors, victory slips away. »

To add insult to injury for the Mini driver, Peterhansel saw his progress slowed down after this twist of fate, despite starting out with good intentions. “After that I attacked hard. However, we suffered two punctures. It wasn't a good day. It will now be very difficult to catch Nasser. »

The latter remains in an ideal position to win a third Dakar, and finally offer Toyota a victory in the event.