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97 motorcycles, twenty two quads, sixty three cars (including five SSVs) and thirty eight trucks —220 of the three hundred eighteen vehicles that left Asunción, Paraguay, on two January— reached the final podium set up in front of the Argentinian Automobile Club building in Buenos Aires. The 39th edition of the Dakar was marked by a long stay above Three,500 masl on the Bolivian Altiplano. Stéphane Peterhansel emerged victorious from his eleventh-hour duel with Sébastien Loeb, while Cyril Despres finished the Peugeot 1-2-3. Victory in the motorcycle category went to a fresh champ. Sam Sunderland became the very first British winner of the Dakar after hitting Austrian Matthias Walkner and Spaniard Gerard Farrés. The Russian armada took the spoils in the quad category, with Sergey Karyakin, and the truck category, with two thousand thirteen champ Eduard Nikolayev spearheading the Kamaz comeback.

Not so long ago, Jordi Viladoms and David Casteu were starlets of the Dakar, even managing to finish in 2nd place. This year, they came to the rally as the bosses of KTM and Sherco, respectively.

Jordi Viladoms and David Casteu are attempting their palms at a fresh job this year. The two former riders dangled their jumpsuits to become the bosses of the KTM and Sherco teams, respectively. What do they have to say about it? “It’s tedious”, says the man from Nice. “I think I’m getting back on my bike next year”, he adds jokingly. Jordi has also discovered the ever-present pressure. “This year I realised that the Dakar is hard for everyone and, perhaps, even more so for assistance crews. We’re 40-odd people at KTM with our Husqvarna cousins. It’s a lot of organisational work you need to manage and control.” David agrees: “You’ve got to manage everything: mechanics, riders, mechanical problems. You need to permanently adapt to switches, improvise, dispatch the assistance trucks and vehicles at the right time. The stress never stops. Back when I used to race, I left behind about all this once I hopped onto my bike. I only thought about the race. It’s fully different now. ” Sam Sunderland’s victory will make sure Viladoms never forgets this fresh practice. “The hardest part”, proceeds the Catalan, “is to know the rule book inwards out to avoid strategic mistakes. When you’ve got riders out there providing it their all and in the mix for the win, you can’t let them down with a management mistake.” Jordi can rest effortless: Sunderland and Walkner have no reasons to complain.

Mission accomplished

Toyota hired Christian Lavieille to win the T2В category and that’s exactly what he did. The Frenchman and co-driver Jean-Pierre Garcin posted an impeccable spectacle.

An uneventful Dakar is fairly a infrequent thing, but Christian Lavieille loved one this year. Our only setback was cracking a wheel rim during an off-track section”, points out the man at the wheel of Toyota no.В 327. “Apart from this, the 9,000В km course was totally uneventful. We didn’t even have to use the plates.” Ten years after his World Cup victory, Lavieille won the T2 category, a category reserved for production vehicles but just as requiring as the prototype category. “We drive differently because our cars are stronger and less powerful, but it’s just as hard”, explains Christian. The Frenchman recognises the role of Jean-Pierre Garcin, who navigated the stages flawlessly, as well as the entire Toyota team. “The key to winning the Dakar is a reliable and well-prepared car”, he stresses. This is exactly what the Lavieille-Garcin duo had in a quest which spotted them finish 23rd overall.

Better than expected

Toomas Triisa never thought he could even get a podium spot, but he ended up winning the malles-moto category. The Estonian capped it all with a 30th place in the general classification.

Toomas Triisa had a long face after stageВ two from Resistencia to San Miguel de TucumГЎn. 47th in that stage and 49th overall, the Estonian complained about the warmth and an excessively quick course which had put him against the ropes. “It was even dangerous”, he blurted out at the Argentinian bivouac. He did not know yet that Marc Coma had made the rest of the course even more arousing. Sand, off-track sections, navigation. All in all, lots of joy for fledgling riders looking for adventures and a challenge. Toomas, who was taking part in the malles-moto category this year, quickly achieved cruise speed and little by little climbed up the general classification until he seized the lead in the category and never relinquished it. The Estonian rider succeeds the unlucky JГјrgen van den Gorbergh. The Dutchman began the rally as the big favourite, but he was compelled to withdraw before the race even got to Bolivia.

Leandro Torres: everything for SSVs

After last year’s dry run, Leandro Torres took a giant leap forward this year by winning the freshly created SSV category.

Don’t mind Leandro Torres’s somewhat grumpy expression. The curvy Brazilian has just won the SSV category and it almost seemed unpreventable considering how much work he put into it. Not a trace of triumphalism or exuberance in him. It’s for a good reason! “We took part in the two thousand sixteen Dakar to run some tests. Understanding and witnessing the behaviour of our machine, our figures, our minds… We understood that the Dakar is a real venture, something fairly out of the ordinary. We analysed everything and came back this year with victory in our glances.” It’s mission accomplished for driver no.В 251, who produced a rock-solid spectacle to strike Chinese Wang Fujiang by four h 42’34”. He predominated the race via, with three stage wins and an metal grip on the lead from stageВ five all the way to the end in RГ­o Cuarto. Much like Torres spent lots of time preparing his Dakar triumph, he has also spent years working for the SSV cause: “In my very first race in Brazil, there were four of us. Two years later, there were already 33. I’m sure the same will happen at the Dakar.”

Sunderland wins his very first as Peterhansel loses count

Sam Sunderland took his very first Dakar win in Buenos Aires after two failed attempts in previous years, ensuring the trophy stays with the official KTM team. StГ©phane Peterhansel defended his crown at the wheel of an awe-inspiring Peugeot and wrote yet another chapter in the history of the Dakar.

At just 64ЦґВ km long and devoid of major obstacles, the closing stage just a formality before the long liaison section (>В 700В km long) leading to the podium ceremony in Buenos Aires. It was the final challenge for the Dakar survivors, who got a hero’s welcome to the Argentinian capital.

Adrien Van Beveren and Gerard FarrГ©s were the last riders locked in a battle for a podium spot at the embark of today’s stage. Ems of kilometres in which the two studs gave it their all came to nothing as they both finished with the exact same time. The Frenchman was proclaimed the official winner, while 27-year-old Sam Sunderland crowned his rally-raid career with his maiden Dakar victory, completing ahead of teammate Matthias Walkner. Ignacio Casale won the closing stage in the quad category, but Sergey Karyakin put in a commanding spectacle across the rally to grab the overall win in Buenos Aires. It was a well-known feeling for StГ©phane Peterhansel, who popped the champagne for the 13th time after a fierce two-week battle with SГ©bastien Loeb, who claimed his fifth special today. The man from Alsace came closer to his teammate this time round, but he was still incapable to loosen his metal grip on the category. Meantime, in the truck category, Eduard Nikolaev restored Kamaz to its former glory and took his 2nd victory in South America ahead of teammate Dmitriy Sotnikov.

StГ©phane Peterhansel was already a Dakar legend thanks to his victory records in the motorcycle (6) and car (6) categories. However, “Mr Dakar” is still thirsty for more. He was once again resourceful enough to see off SГ©bastien Loeb’s challenge and claim his 13th Dakar. For perspective, Michael Schumacher won seven titles in FormulaВ 1, Valentino Rossi nine titles in MotoВ GP and teammate SГ©bastien Loeb nine in the WRC…

Nikolaev in imperial form

Eduard Nikolaev has confirmed his supremacy over the end of the rally with another victory today, even however he was already assured of winning his 2nd Dakar. His team-mate Dmitry Sotnikov has also given Kamaz the runner-up position in the general.

Despres gets a 1-2-3 for Peugeot

Far behind Peterhansel and Loeb, Cyril Despres finishes 3rd in the GC and gets a 1-2-3 for Peugeot.

Nikolaev wants to finish on a high note

Eduard Nikolaev wants to win his 2nd Dakar with a last special stage victory. The Kamaz driver reached CP1 with a 22-second lead over his team-mate Airat Mardeev.

De Villiers in 3rd place

Giniel de Villiers finishes the last special stage in 3rd place and 5th in the GC behind his team-mate Nani Roma.

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