Dakar: Peterhansel, Price and Patronelli celebrate

Peterhansel and his co-driver celebrate

After a grueling Dakar journey of 9,500km through Argentina and Boliva a trio of Red Bull Desert Wings have emerged victorious across the car, bike and quad categories. Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel cemented his title of Monsieur Dakar with his sixth car win while Australian biker Toby Price won the rally for the first time.

The crowds at the finish line in Rio Cuarto, Argentina also had a local hero to cheer home as Marcos Patronelli won the quad category for a third time.

Stephane Peterhansel is a man who has been there and done it when it comes to the Dakar. After winning the bike race six times he made the switch to four wheels. Little time was wasted in mastering the new discipline and his victory today makes it six wins in the car race and 12 Dakar triumphs in all.

[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]Peterhansel’s latest win came behind the wheel of the fearsome Peugeot 2008DKR16, the car that has led the contest since the first day thanks also to fellow Team Peugeot-Total drivers Sebastien Loeb and Carlos Sainz.

Pulling up behind the Peugeot of Peterhansel and co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret on the finalized car podium were a pair of former champions: Nasser Al-Attiyah/Mathieu Baumel in second and Giniel de Villiers/Dirk von Zitzewitz in third.
The recent withdrawals of five-time Dakar winners Cyril Despres (seventh overall this time in cars) and Marc Coma (now the event’s sporting director) from the bike race left the category wide open heading into this year’s contest.

Toby Price

Stepping up to the plate for the Red Bull KTM Factory Team and securing the Austrian manufacturer a 15th consecutive Dakar win was Toby Price. A podium finish during his Dakar debut 12 months ago had already marked Price out as an exceptional talent. Now the Australian has picked up his first Dakar victory: the only question that remains to be answered is how many titles will he go on to win in the future?

Just like Peterhansel and Price, Argentine quad biker Marcos Patronelli used the second week of the Dakar to build up an unassailable lead at the front of the race. There was an outpouring of emotion at the finish line as Patronelli got his hands on his third Dakar title and was followed home by his brother Alejandro in second place.

Over in the truck race Team Kamaz Master ended up running out of stages as they attempted to reel in long-time race leader Gerard de Rooy. Ayrat Mardeev offered a fine defense of the title he won last year but when the race was run the Russian had to settle for second overall.

Our final congratulations has to go to all the competitors, event organizers and fans that make the Dakar Rally a truly special event. In the world’s toughest race things are always being pushed to the very limit and the Dakar remains motorsport’s ultimate test of endurance.

2016 Dakar Rally Stage 13 Results
CARS
1 Sebastien Loeb (F)/Daniel Elena (MC) Peugeot 1h46min51sec
2 Mikko Hirvonen (FIN)/Michel Perin (F) Mini +1min13sec
3 Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Mathieu Baumel (F) Mini +1min36sec
4 Cyril Despres (F)/David Castera (F) +1min36sec
5 Leeroy Poulter (ZAF)/Robert Howie (ZAF) Toyota +2min04sec

BIKES
1 Pablo Quintanilla (CHL) Husqvarna 1h51min27sec
2 Kevin Benavides (ARG) Honda +1min41sec
3 Helder Rodrigues (POR) Yamaha +2min37sec
4 Toby Price (AUS) KTM +4min22sec
5 Stefan Svitko (SVK) KTM +6min24sec

TRUCKS
1 Hans Stacey (NLD) Man 2h06min08sec
2 Pieter Versluis (NLD) Man +1min45sec
3 Eduard Nikolaev (RUS) Kamaz +2min08sec
4 Martin Kolomy (CZE) Tatra +2min52sec
5 Ayrat Mardeev (RUS) Kamaz +3min13sec

QUADS
1 Brian Baragwanath (ZAF) Yamaha 2h07min18sec
2 Giuliano Giordana (ARG) Yamaha +7min44sec
3 Sergei Karyakin (RUS) Yamaha +7min55sec
4 Jeremias Ferioli (ARG) Yamaha +11min45sec
5 Walter Nosiglia (BOL) Honda +12min43sec
6 Marcos Patronelli (ARG) Yamaha +15min37sec

2016 Dakar Rally Overall Standings
CARS
1 Stephane Peterhansel (F)/Jean-Paul Cottret (F) Peugeot 45h22min10sec
2 Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT)/Mathieu Baumel (F) Mini +34min58sec
3 Giniel de Villiers (ZAF)/Dirk von Zitzewitz (D) Toyota +1h02min47sec
4 Mikko Hirvonen (FIN)/Michel Perin (F) Mini +1h05min18sec
5 Leeroy Poulter (ZAF)/Robert Howie (ZAF) Toyota +1h30min43sec

BIKES
1 Toby Price (AUS) KTM 48h09min15sec
2 Stefan Svitko (SVK) KTM +39min41sec
3 Pablo Quintanilla (CHL) +48min48sec
4 Kevin Benavides (ARG) Honda +54min47sec
5 Helder Rodrigues (POR) Yamaha +55min44sec

TRUCKS
1 Gerard De Rooy (NLD) Iveco 44h42min03sec
2 Ayrat Mardeev (RUS) Kamaz +1h10min27sec
3 Federico Villagra (ARG) Iveco +1h40min55sec
4 Hans Stacey (NLD) Man +2h23min01sec
5 Ton van Genugten (NLD) Iveco +2h30min59sec

Marcos Patronelli won in Quads

QUADS
1 Marcos Patronelli (ARG) Yamaha 58h47min41sec
2 Alejandro Patronelli (ARG) Yamaha +5min23sec
3 Brian Baragwanath (ZAF) Yamaha +1h41min53sec
4 Sergei Karyakin (RUS) Yamaha +1h44min25sec
5 Jeremias Ferioli (ARG) Yamaha +2h02min08sec

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