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French legend Stéphane Peterhansel kept main rival Nasser Al-Attiyah in sight on Stage 12 in Saudi Arabia to wrap up a record 14th Dakar Rally victory on Friday - 30 years after his first one.
Peterhansel first contested the world's most fearsome off-road race in 1988 on a Yamaha motorbike and won six titles on two wheels before switching to cars to reel off another seven desert victories in Africa and South America.
This time around for Saudi Arabia's second edition, the 55-year-old had to keep three-time champion Al-Attiyah at bay with the Qatari only able to take seconds out of his 15m05s overnight lead by the Jeddah finish line.
It is Peterhansel's third car victory in a Mini with Al-Attiyah second and last year's winner Carlos Sainz of Spain winning the final stage to round out a star-studded podium with Poland’s Jakub Przygoński fourth, South African Giniel De Villiers eighth and Frenchman Cyril Despres 10th after the 8,000-kilometre odyssey.
Peterhansel also now stands alone as the biggest winner in a single category with eight car wins after Monsieur Dakar had previously shared that record with Vladimir Chagin, winner of seven truck titles.
He revealed: "It was a really tough one this year and there is always more pressure when you are the leader for so long. We had everything to lose but we did a really precise race, almost perfect. It's working really well inside the cockpit, it's a good feeling to have Edouard (Boulanger) sat next to me. This was his first Dakar in a top car and he did a really excellent job."
#dakar2021 #rallyraid
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