Stéphane Peterhansel scores points

Stéphane Peterhansel almost succeeded on Wednesday, he succeeded this Thursday. During the 423 km of this 5th stage, the Frenchman occupied pole position from start to finish, at each intermediate stage. For a few dozen kilometers, the former biker saw his lead disappear before once again widening the gap on the best Volkswagen drivers, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Carlos Sainz.

In the end, “Peter” finished with 1:24?? ahead of the Qatari and 3?15?? on the Spaniard, defending champion. Carlos Sainz remains in control of the general classification but only has 2?26?? ahead of Peterhansel, who can continue to believe in final victory. Al-Attiyah slips to third, seven seconds behind the BMW driver of the X-Raid team.

Note that Leonid Novitskiy (BMW) encountered a serious problem. Handicapped by a return of the steering wheel, he injured his wrist and turned around in the middle of the special to have the condition of his wrist checked. The Russian then reached the Iquique bivouac by the traditional route.