Peterhansel wins Dakar; First podium for Villeneuve Trophee Andros
Rally Raid Dakar 2012 ended yesterday, Sunday, after a journey of more than 8000 km and two weeks of competition through Argentina, Chile and Peru. Favorite this edition, the French Stephane Peterhansel and co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret on Mini Countryman All-4 is required before his teammate Team Mini X-Raid Team, Spaniard Nani Roma.
Promises to be a duel between the Mini and Hummer, 2012 Dakar has kept its promises but Nasser Al-Attiyah and Robby Gordon encounter too many problems with their mechanical Hummer H3 hoped to be able to beat the Mini, reliable from one end to the side of the ordeal. Finally, Gordon is only on arrival in the Hummer clan in fifth place overall but with more than two hours late, ahead of the South African Giniel De Villiers (Toyota) and the Russian Leonid Novitskiy (third on the Mini X-Raid team). For the former winner Giniel De Villiers, he is a true feat of bringing a pickup Toyota Hilux vehicle built there less than three months and no real testing session with the ordeal on the podium final.
Note also the victory of the French Cyril Despres (KTM) in category bikes and Dutch Gerard De Rooy (Iveco) in the truck.
In Europe, the Trophee Andros had the fifth of seven appointments of the 2011-12 season on the circuit Lans-en-Vercos, south of Lyon (France). And as the Dakar is a new Mini driver was honored as a defending champion, Jean-Philippe Dayraut (Mini Countryman) has won the first two races on the program before the Skoda drivers Olivier Panis and Jacques Villeneuve. For the Quebecois, it is a first podium this season in the discipline.
Fourth of the first race, Alain Prost and Team Daccia took their revenge in the second ordeal, Prost finishing second behind his teammate Evans Stievenart. Jean-Baptiste Dubourg (Renault Clio 3) has finished third while Panis and Villeneuve, first pilot Skoda Team Oreca, could do no better than seventh and eighth.
Championship leader Alain Prost remains strong. Only him, Jean-Philippe Dayraut and Benjamin Riviere (Skoda) can still claim to the title. Jacques Villeneuve occupies the eleventh place.
This week, the actuality of international motorsport will be marked by the Rallye Monte-Carlo, which is again on the calendar of the FIA World Rally Championship. An edition which promises to be exceptional with an expected three manufacturers struggle or Citroen DS3 Sport and ASSIGNED has mainly Sebastien Loeb and Mikko Hirvonen, Ford Motorsport with its multitude of Fiesta RS WRC with two "official" cars in the hands of Jari -Matti Latvala and Petter Solberg still popular, and align Mini which however only one driver to compete in the entirety of the season, the Spaniard Dani Sordo.
