Dakar:Peterhansel, Despres win

[Plex]

France's Stephane Peterhansel, driving a Mitsubishi, and compatriot Cyril Despres, riding a KTM, were crowned champions of the 2007 Dakar Rally after the 15th and final stage on Sunday.

It was Peterhansel's third Dakar Rally car crown and ninth overall while for Despres this represented a second title after his win in the 2005 edition.

Despres crossed the line after two gruelling weeks of competition which claimed the lives of two competitors more than 34 minutes ahead of team-mate and countryman David Casteu.

The United States biker Chris Blais was 18 minutes further adrift.

Peterhansel and his co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret registered victory with a near seven-and-a-half minute cushion over his Mitsubishi teammate Luc Alphand, also of France and the defending champion.

Another Frenchman, Jean-Louis Schlesser, came in third in a Schlesser buggy, one hour 33 minutes 57 seconds behind.

Latvia biker Janis Vinters (KTM) and South African driver Giniel De Villiers (Volkswagen) took the honours on the final 10km special stage at Lac Rose, the pink-coloured lagoon 30km north of the Senegelese capital.

Peterhansel, delivering his Mitsubishi team with its seventh straight Dakar crown, took it easy on the final show stage, the last instalment of a race that started in Portugal and passed through Morocco, Mauritania, Mali and Senegal.

The French champion said: "I was really stressed in the last major stage on Saturday, and so I drove very gently on the beach this morning.

"It's not worth putting on a show for the public and television on the final stage � it's not important to win this one in Dakar, the important thing is to finish top of the overall standings."

He added: "Our new MPR13 car is very fast but I'm sure we can improve it further before coming back here to try and win the 2008 Dakar."

Alphand said the atmosphere around the Lac Rose was festive for the final day's action.

"It was like a party on the beach with friends, the ocean and the win," the former ski champion said.

Mitsubishi dedicated the win to the memory of two-time Dakar winner Henri Magne, who died after an accident in last year's Rally of Morocco.

Of the 432 cars and bikes that set out from Lisbon on January 6 only 109 cars and 132 bikes made it to the finish line after 7915 kilometres of rough desert racing.

The 2007 Dakar was as in so many previous editions marred by tragedy.

South African motorcyclist Elmer Symons (29) suffered fatal injuries in an accident in the fourth stage and French rider Eric Aubijoux (42) died of a suspected heart attack in the penultimate stage on Saturday.

Aubijoux was the 49th death in the race since the inaugural Dakar Rally set out from Paris in 1979.

Motoring.iafrica.com