NEWS FLASH – SILK WAY RALLY
Peugeot has secured victory in the Silk Way Rally with Cyril Despres and David Castera in the Peugeot DKR #100, after Saturday’s final special stage was cancelled due to bad weather conditions. The crews will still travel by road to the finish podium in Xi’an tomorrow, where the celebration will take place, but the race is over.
Despres had earlier opened up a cushion of over an hour in the Peugeot DKR #100 over his nearest rival after setting the second best time on Friday’s 13th stage, which turned out to be the last competitive test.
After taking the 10th stage win out of a possible 13 for Peugeot, Stephane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret are set for fifth overall, recovering after they fell down the order because of a crash on the fourth stage.
QUOTE / UNQUOTE
Bruno Famin, Peugeot Sport Director / Team Peugeot Total Manager
“Huge congratulations to Cyril and David: they have driven well throughout and avoided major problems, which was not easy. It’s a good performance on a very tough rally! With just one remaining car in the run for victory from the race halfway point, it’s even more satisfying. This is the result of perfect teamwork. We managed the pressure brilliantly. The Peugeot DKR once again proved to be performing and reliable cars. I am proud of the team spirit we have within Team Peugeot Total and I would like to thank all the people who have worked hard to achieve another victory.”
Cyril Despres, Team Peugeot Total Driver / Winner of Silk Way Rally 2016 & 2017
“We started with the rain, and we finish with the rain, celebrating the victory in a very strange way tonight at the bivouac. I am so happy we made it again! I am proud of the work accomplished together with David Castera. I think we made it to victory pretty quickly, after both of us came from the two-wheel category. Thank you to Peugeot for giving me this great opportunity for my career. Thank you to the Peugeot Sport engineers and mechanics also, for building such a great car. I can’t wait to tackle Dakar 2018 with the Peugeot DKR Maxi. This is clearly my next goal now.”
David Castera, Team Peugeot Total Co-Driver / Winner of Silk Way Rally 2016 & 2017
“We did a clean rally with no major issues, either from a technical or a sporting point of view. I am glad we made it again! Hard work is paying off! We will take some good rest and then go back to testing. There is something even bigger waiting for us now, in the name of Peugeot DKR Maxi.’’
