Defending Dakar champs face unknown sufferings for ’09 race
By ROY MEDINA, Special to abs-cbnNEWS.com | 01/03/2009 10:52 PM
Printer-friendly version | 
Send to friend | 
Share your views
Stephane Peterhansel and Cyril Despres only know too well the ins and outs of the Dakar cross-country rally. After all, they’ve won it over and over for their respective teams.
Peterhansel, of Team Mitsubishi, is now on his 20th race and will be driving the new diesel-powered Racing Lancer. He has won the Dakar six times on a bike and three on a car.
Team KTM’s Despres, meanwhile, was crowned champ in 2005 and in 2007, before organizers shelved the race for the 2008 season due to terrorist threats in Africa.
Now on a new battleground in the wastelands of Argentina and Chile in South America, Peterhansel and Despres, both Frenchmen, are in the race of their lives as they try to defend their respective titles on tracks that may be familiar but will certainly pose challenges to them and their fellow racers.
For Peterhansel, he and his team are feeling cool and ready, having arrived in Argentina six days before the start of the race on January 3.
“I’m feeling really good and ready. We arrived on 28th December to acclimatize and avoid feeling too much pressure. I’m cool, rested and not at all stressed. We’re taking it nice and easy,” he said in an interview posted on the official Dakar Web site.
Peterhansel will be joined by co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret and three other Mitsubishi entries for the car category.
Despres, for his part, knows there are sufferings ahead and he would certainly take parts of it.
“I expect to suffer. This race is never easy, especially when you want to win it,” he said in a separate interview.
The French champ also said that like the past Dakars, the elements will be there to take their toll on the drivers.
“All the ingredients are there to make this challenge particularly hard: the heat, the length of the stages and the altitude,” he said.
Different from Africa
While Peterhansel has gained experience and relatively, confidence, test-driving the Lancer during the Dakar Series in Africa, he believes that despite these, the vehicle that was cross-bred with the Pajero would still face tough challenges for the race.
“But it’s difficult to know whether the car is right for this Dakar. It was designed for a Dakar in Africa,” he said.
As for the new challenges, the nine-time champ believes that the team will rely on various type of information, including first-hand knowledge, maps, to make their way through.
He also said that while he has been in Argentina in 20-05 for the Por Las Pampas race, he feels that the Dakar 2009 will be different from the races he’s been through, especially the Dakar in Africa.
“In Africa, we knew what to expect. By studying the map, we were already able to pinpoint the difficult or decisive stages. We don’t have enough experience here. There will be surprises every day,” he said.
Team size cut down
Despres has bared that KTM has cut down the team size for the race’s 2009 edition. However, he said that efficiency and smart-driving would be their keys.
“It is true that KTM has reduced the means of the team on the Dakar. But the current design is enough,” he said.
Alain Duclos will be Despres’ support driver. Each will have his own mechanic. KTM will also field two other motorcycle riders for the race.
Despite the small team that KTM has fielded, Despres remained optimistic.
“So the team is small, but we remain efficient. Anyway, to win the Dakar what you need is to use your brain.”
The 31st edition of the Dakar kicks off January 3 in Buenos Aires and will end 15 days later, also in the Argentinian capital after making its way through Chile.
