Peugeot’s Stéphane Peterhansel was confronted by a number of challenges on the tenth stage of Dakar, including getting lost in a riverbed and knocking one of KTM’s riders out of the competition – quite literally, in fact.
The drama began during the 406 km stage, which took place after the previous stage had been cancelled.
Peterhansel claims he was doing only 60 km/h when he came across Slovenian Simon Marčič on his KTM. When the biker spotted him through some vegetation, he reacted by swerving out of the way.
Peterhansel apparently reacted by slamming on his brakes, but contact could not be avoided, causing Marčič to break his leg. Peterhansel furthermore claimed to have seem roughly 20 other bikers riding in the opposite direction during the course of the stage.
By the end of the chaotic stage, Sebastian Loeb had finished in first place, with Despres less than three minutes behind him. However, Peterhansel had been awarded 14 min 13 sec for pulling over to assist the injured biker.
Other mechanical casualties included Mini’s Mikko Hirvonen, who has lost all chances of achieving a podium finish after colliding with a truck and damaging a radiator.
The final stage will see drivers travel from San Juan to Rio Cuarto. The 759 km route will include a 292 km competitive stage, split into two along the way.
The current overall standings are as follows:
- Peterhansel (Peugeot) 24 h 58 min 43 sec
- Loeb (Peugeot) +5 min 50 sec
- Despres (Peugeot) +25 min 40 sec
- Roma (Toyota) +1 h 00 min 55 sec
- De Villiers (Toyota) +1 h 42 min 54 sec
- Terranova (Mini) +1 h 45 min 21 sec
- Garafulic (Mini) +3 h 26 min 34 sec
- Przygonsi (Mini) +3 h 53 min 40 sec
- Dumas (Peugeot) +3 h 57 min 43 sec
- Al Qassimi (Peugeot) +4 h 24 min 17 sec
