Team Peugeot Total confirmed a superb one-two finish in the car category of the China Silk Road Rally with the quickest two times on the 13th and final Dunhuang loop stage on Friday.
Stéphane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret finished 31min 27sec in front of their fellow French pairing of Cyril Despres and David Castera to give the evolution version of the 2008 DKR a first outright victory. The success was an excellent confidence boost for the team as it prepares for a second Dakar Rally with the 2008 DKR in January 2016.
“This is a fantastic result for our team as we continue the development of the 2008 DKR,” said record-breaking 11-time Dakar Rally winner Peterhansel. “The win is a reward for all the hard work put in by members of the team over recent months and will give everyone confidence heading into the next Dakar.”
Despres clinched the final stage to record his second win on four wheels since making the successful switch from motorcycles to cars. Peterhansel won seven of the 12 stages.
Spanish rider Armand Monleón Hernandez stayed clear of trouble on the final stage to ensure that his Red Bull KTM 450 Rally finished at the top of the podium in the motorcycle category. The Spaniard won eight of the 12 timed tests, with runner-up Su Wen Min winning the remaining four on his factory Jincheng. Monleón’s winning margin was 33min 41sec.
The final 222.42km special stage started at Dang He and finished at Hanxia, before a liaison of 66.35km returned teams to the bivouac to prepare for the prize giving and ceremonial finish.
Chinese SUV manufacturer Haval could not match the factory Peugeots on this occasion and was unable to complete a hat trick of victories on the former China Grand Rally. Han Wei shadowed the French cars to the finish in third place to complete the podium and last year’s winner, Christian Lavieiile, was fourth with Jean-Pierre Garcin reading his notes.
Lui Kun dropped over 35 minutes on the final stage, but still managed to secure fifth place in his Mitsubishi MPR11. Fellow Chinese driver Gong Liangliang was a distant sixth.
Hu Ai Dong finished fifth in the motorcycle category and was the first quad rider home on his Bombardier 1000. Zhao Hong Yi (KTM) and Zhou Tien (Jincheng) were third and fourth on two wheel machines.
Zhang Guoyu and Sebastien Delaunay clinched victory in the T3 category in their Polaris 900. The Chinese and his French navigator completed the rally in 18th overall and were well clear of T3 runners-up, Liu Hailong and Zhang Jianfeng, who hit trouble near the finish and slipped to 31st.
The South American crew of Leonidas Marmolejo and Maximiliano Blanco survived the rigours of the Chinese wilderness to bring their 4WD Jaton Racing Team Toyota Hilux home in 24th.
The Australian duo of Adrian Di Lallo and Harry Suzuki finished 34th in the Red Earth Motorsport Isuzu MU-X. They overcame several teething problems on the early stages and set some competitive stage times as the event progressed.
“We started today with 80km of sand and dunes and then it transitioned through some extremely rough wash away country and into a long, dry river bed, which is where we were able to pass a few cars,” said Di Lallo. “The final sector of the stage was a rough and rutted, high-speed sand track. We enjoyed competing in the event. We are obviously disappointed with the result, but we came away with a wealth of knowledge.”
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