STAGE 12  | CHILECITO – SAN JUAN

On this challenging stage for the cars, the longest of the rally at 522 kilometres, Team PEUGEOT Total managed the situation perfectly to defend its lead. With two stages remaining, Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz and Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret still occupy the first two places overall.

  • The goal of Stéphane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret on stage 12 was to manage their advantage over Nasser Al Attiyah. After completing this long test, the crew of the PEUGEOT 3008DKR n°300 are still 21 minutes ahead of third place in the overall standings. 
  • Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz adopted a cautious pace to avoid any problems. The Spanish duo had a slightly more hectic second half of the stage (due to a gear selection problem) but he finished in ninth place and remains comfortably in the overall lead, 44 minutes ahead of his team-mates. 
  • After yesterday’s stage, where their starting position had given them the opportunity to drive at their own pace, Cyril Despres and David Castera waited for their team-mates in order to take up their role as ‘guardian angels’. They recorded the tenth best time: not fully representative of their potential. 

CLASSIFICATION ON STAGE 12

  1. Nasser Al Attiyah (QAT) / Matthieu Baumel (FRA), Toyota 4WD, 5h49min57s
  2. Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA) / Jean-Paul Cottret (FRA), PEUGEOT 3008DKR Maxi, +2min3s
  3. Giniel de Villiers (ZAF) / Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZAF), Toyota 4WD, +4min33s
  4. Orlando Terranova (ARG) / Bernardo Graue (ARG), Mini 4WD, +5min56s
  5. Bernhard Ten Brinke (NLD) / Michel Perin (FRA), Toyota 4WD, +7min53s
  6. Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) / Andreas Schulz (DEU), Mini 2WD, +12min15s
  7. Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi (ARE) / Xavier Panseri (FRA), Peugeot 3008DKR Maxi, +12min33s
  8. Jakub Przygonski (POL) / Tom Colsoul (BEL), Mini 4WD, +14min51s
  9. Carlos Sainz (ESP) / Lucas Cruz (ESP), PEUGEOT 3008 DKR Maxi, +18min7s
  10. Cyril Despres (FRA) / David Castera (FRA), PEUGEOT 3008DKR Maxi, +21min37s 

CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE 12

  1. Carlos Sainz (ESP) / Lucas Cruz (ESP), PEUGEOT 3008 DKR Maxi, 42h24min31s
  2. Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA) / Jean-Paul Cottret (FRA), PEUGEOT 3008DKR Maxi, +44min41s
  3. Nasser Al Attiyah (QAT) / Matthieu Baumel (FRA), Toyota 4WD, +1h5min55s
  4. Bernhard Ten Brinke (NLD) / Michel Perin (FRA), Toyota 4WD, +1h17min21s
  5. Giniel de Villiers (ZAF) / Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZAF), Toyota 4WD, +1h26min31s
  6. Jakub Przygonski (POL) / Tom Colsoul (BEL), Mini 4WD, +2h51min2s
  7. Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi (ARE) / Xavier Panseri (FRA), Peugeot 3008DKR Maxi, +3h20min45s
  8. Martin Prokop (CZE) / Jan Tomanek (CZE), Ford 4WD, +6h4min26s
  9. Sebastian Halpern (ARG) / Edu Palenta (ARG), Toyota 4WD, +9h1min15s
  10. Lucio Alvarez (ARG) / Robert Howie (ZAF), Toyota 4WD, +9h29min43s

TBC. Cyril Despres (FRA) / David Castera (FRA), PEUGEOT 3008DKR Maxi, +45h00min53s 

LIVE FROM THE BIVOUAC… 

Stéphane Peterhansel (PEUGEOT 3008DKR Maxi n°300)

2nd on stage 12 / 2nd in overall classification

“We’re not thinking about the overall victory. It is important to keep this second place and to manage the gap to our main pursuer. We lost some time to them, but by staying in front of them all day we were able to control the race. Overall, we are happy to finish this long stage. The navigation was complicated, with some very tricky parts as well as magnificent scenery. There were also some tracks similar to WRC stages which were very nice to drive. Tomorrow will be a long stage. In 2015 this stage between San Juan and Cordoba was quite stressful because of the heat. It could be a difficult stage. We will try to manage our advantage and to enjoy it. The PEUGEOT 3008DKR Maxi is very pleasant to drive.” 

Carlos Sainz (PEUGEOT 3008DKR Maxi n°303)

9th on stage 12 / 1st in overall classification      

“It was a really difficult stage. We were cautious in the first part of the stage, and we had to stop in the second part. I had a slight physical problem and had to take a brief break. We set off again and then got a puncture. Cyril and David gave us a hand to finish changing the wheel: thank you to them for that. At the end of stage we were stuck in third gear, but fortunately we were able to finish the stage!” 

Cyril Despres (PEUGEOT 3008DKR Maxi n°308)

10th on stage 12 / TBC in overall classification

“It’s never easy to spend a whole day in the dust. We had a day of teamwork. We have nothing left to play for so we stayed behind Carlos. You don’t see as much of the the scenery and it’s harder to see the danger, so you have to be very careful. Physically, it starts to take it out of you a little bit. We helped Carlos and Lucas to change a wheel: we played the role of Peugeot Assistance!” 

DID YOU KNOW?

41% of PEUGEOTs sold in Argentina are produced on Argentine soil in the Palomar factory near Buenos Aires. In the first 11 months of 2017, PEUGEOT’s bestsellers in Argentina were the PEUGEOT 208 (25,170 sales), PEUGEOT 2008 (11,108 sales) and PEUGEOT 3008 (9,522 sales), the latter two models having served as the basis of PEUGEOT SPORT’s rally raid beasts: the PEUGEOT 2008DKR (winner of the 2016 Dakar) and the PEUGEOT 3008DKR (winner of the 2017 Dakar). 

WHAT’S NEXT?

STAGE 13 (FRIDAY 19 JANUARY): SAN JUAN > CÓRDOBA. 927 KILOMETRES OF WHICH 368 ARE COMPETITIVE.

The first timed section of the day (162 km) will play out entirely on sand in the dunes of San Juan and a tricky section of fesh-fesh. After a long liasion of 419 km, the second timed section (206 km long), held near Cordoba, will take in WRC-style tracks.

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