Peterhansel “actually lucky” to complete Dakar Stage 7 right after double mechanical difficulty

Stephane Peterhansel suggests he considers himself “truly lucky” to have completed 2nd on Phase 7 of the Dakar Rally following getting hamstrung by two distinct troubles.

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Peterhansel

Peterhansel was fighting for the stage victory with the Overdrive Toyota of Yazeed Al-Rajhi when a wheel rim on his X-raid Mini broke 40km from the complete.

After fixing the issue and resuming the phase, 20km later on the French driver felt a thing “actually peculiar” in the motor vehicle and it was only right after arriving in the bivouac that he found out the suspension was damaged.

Despite the double mechanical issue, the 13-time Dakar winner concluded just 48 seconds driving stage winner Al-Rajhi, and crucially forward of his two primary rivals Carlos Sainz Sr and Nasser Al-Attiyah.

Peterhansel, who has held the general lead due to the fact the 2nd phase, admitted that he would have “struggled” to make it to the end experienced those people problems propped up previously in the day.

“Now we were being actually lucky,” Peterhansel told Autosport. “We experienced two challenges that could have price us a large amount. Firstly, we experienced a big effects with a wheel and we ruined the rim [40km before the end]. It was not probable to take away the wheel [easily], so we misplaced five minutes just to take away it.

“After we fixed the rim we restarted, but 20km before the complete the vehicle felt seriously weird. We ended up sliding a large amount, so we concluded the stage at the speed of a taxi driver.

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Peterhansel

“Arriving at the bivouac in Sakaka, we realised that the rear [suspension] arm was damaged and we have to have to transform it. We had a standard seem at the vehicle, we commenced to work on the motor vehicle waiting for the assistance truck in the race, the T4, with the spare parts. When the truck comes, it will just take a utmost 30 minutes to repair the dilemma.

“We had been fortunate for the reason that if it took place 100km right before the stop, I feel we would have struggled to complete. With 20km to the close, on the contrary, we managed to complete.”

Next his sixth end inside of the top rated-3, Peterhansel prolonged his direct about Al-Attiyah to 7m53s, attaining exactly two minutes on his Toyota rival, although Sainz slipped 41m06s driving him in the other Mini buggy.

Though Peterhansel remains inside of striking distance for Al-Attiyah, the French driver says he can be relieved that the rally failed to “take an additional change” in the initial element of the marathon phase.

“We remaining Ha’il, we ended up leading the overall with a six-minute hole on Nasser, and right now much less than eight minutes, so we are nevertheless in entrance,” Peterhansel explained.

“We are very assured for the reason that the gap is not significant, but it is even now a hole. We are a little bit discouraged for what occurred, but actually the reduction is more substantial due to the fact if the problems was even bigger the race could get a further change.”

Peterhansel, Al-Attiyah and Sainz have dominated Dakar for a lot more than a decade, getting gained all but two editions of the party concerning them since it moved away from its African-European roots in 2009.

Asked why they have been so significantly ahead of their rivals in new a long time, Peterhansel, who has added seven wins to his tally given that switching to cars in 1999, stated: “The three of us share the exact mentality, the similar willpower.

“In a way it is not standard that there aren’t new motorists capable to challenge us. Perhaps it is the kind of self-control, but actually, I don’t see it as regular. As we get older, also the physics responds in different ways, but we are however listed here, chasing the earn.”