ge5439541256817125617
Geoffrey Harris28 Mar 2014
NEWS

MOTORSPORT: Peugeot eyes new Dakar glory

After its Pikes Peak record last year there was only one challenge big enough for Peugeot – to recapture the magic of winning the world's longest and toughest rally.

Peugeot, which won the Dakar Rally all four times it entered the event in the late 1980s, is returning to the world’s toughest torture test – with its 2008 DKR and a superstar driver line-up.

Having obliterated the record for the climb up Pikes Peak in Colorado in the US last year, with Sebastien Loeb blitzing the 20km course in its 208 T16 in 8 minutes 13.878 seconds, Peugeot turned its sights on the marathon rally, which is to be run for the 37th time next January.

Already it has announced Spanish legend Carlos Sainz as one of its drivers, while French motorcycle ace Cyril Despres – a five-time Dakar winner on two wheels – will begin what he has called “a new life” in the 15-day, 9000km event on four wheels.

And Peugeot is expected to announce at the Beijing Motor Show on April 20 that it has caught the biggest “fish” of all, French rally-raid superstar Stephane Peterhansel, who has won the Dakar 11 times – the first six on Yamaha motorcycles, then four times at the wheel of Mitsubishi wagons and last year in a Mini Countryman prepared by Germany’s X-raid. He could have scored a 12th victory this year, leading in the final stage, but he was controversially ordered to let Spanish teammate Nani Roma overtake him and win.

Another possibility for Peugeot’s Dakar raids could be Loeb, although he is concentrating on touring car racing for now after winning a record nine world rally championships.

Sainz won the Dakar in 2010 for Volkswagen and two world rally titles in the early 1990s with Toyota. Renowned for his car development skills and exceptional enthusiasm and will to win, Sainz said Peugeot’s invitation was “too good to resist”.

The Dakar Rally was originally run from Paris to Senegal, the capital of Dakar in Africa, but after terrorism fears the event was moved to South America in 2009 – although it retained its name. The 2015 route has just been announced and will be a loop starting and finishing in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, but passing through Chile and Bolivia while avoiding Peru.

Peugeot chief executive Maxime Picat said Argentina was a key market for Peugeot, where it had “a strong foothold”.

“The Dakar is an event which enjoys extensive coverage globally,” Picat said. “It is well known in Europe, as well as in such important markets as South America and China. The 2008 conveys a strong image on every continent. It is our latest crossover and is proving a big hit in Europe, ahead of its launches in China and Latin America in 2015.

“The 2008 DKR stood out as the obvious choice. Our Pikes Peak program was a success because we succeeded in bringing together an outstanding driver, a remarkable team and a car of the very highest quality.

“We have set our sights high for the Dakar, too, and the team will once again be able to count on all the necessary talent and skills.

“Our intention is to have everything in place for next year’s Dakar, even though our strategy is based on a longer term than was the case for Pikes Peak, since we will be involved for several years.

“We are perfectly aware that the Dakar is a very difficult event but our aim is nonetheless to win at the first attempt in 2015.”

Peugeot won the Dakar in Africa four years running from 1987 to 1990 – first with its 205 Turbo 16 Grand Raid, then with the 405 T16 Grand Raid. Its victorious drivers were Finns – Ari Vatanen and Juha Kankunen. The first year an accident on the prologue near Paris dropped Vatanen’s 205 T16 to 274th but he fought through the field to win. The next year Vatanen’s 405 T16 was stolen in Bamako, the capital of Mali, was recovered too late and disqualified and Kankunen won in a 205.

Vatanen and Jacky Ickx – of Formula One, Le Mans and Bathurst fame – had an enthralling battle in 405 T16 Grand Raids in 1989 but Vatanen won after a coin was tossed and despite him rolling twice.

In 1990 Vatanen put a big hole in the bodywork of his 405 when he hit a tree and had a particularly difficult day’s navigation in Mali, but a two-hour cushion he had built up enabled him to complete Peugeot’s four-peat.

While Dakar will be its sporting priority again now, the manufacturer has said it will do “a certain number of other events” as preparation.

Share this article
Written byGeoffrey Harris
See all articles
Our team of independent expert car reviewers and journalistsMeet the team
Stay up to dateBecome a carsales member and get the latest news, reviews and advice straight to your inbox.
Download the carsales app
    AppStoreDownloadGooglePlayDownload
    App Store and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc. Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.
    © CAR Group Ltd 1999-2024
    In the spirit of reconciliation we acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.