Peterhansel retains Dakar Rally title

French driver Stephane Peterhansel (R) and his French co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret hold up their trophies on the podium at Lac Rose, north Dakar January 16.

France's Stephane Peterhansel finished the short final stage without any problem to take his second successive Dakar car rally on Sunday.

The Frenchman had won six victories in the motorcycle event.

His compatriot Cyril Despres, won the motorcycle crown. He said the triumph was also a tribute to KTM teammate Fabrizio Meoni,who died after a crash in Mauritania last week.

"It was difficult to know yesterday how I would feel when I crossed this final finish line, whether the sadness would be greater than the happiness and in fact the two are mixed together," Despres said after the race.

Peterhansel finished the race 27 minutes 14 seconds ahead in the overall standings of compatriot and fellow Mitsubishi driver Luc Alphand, a former World Cup skier.

"We made steady progress so that we were ahead last night but there was still this small stage. We were very, very stressed this morning and everything went well so it's really a big, big relief," Peterhansel said.

Despres holds up his trophy and helmet on the podium at Lac Rose, north Dakar January 16. Despres wrapped up the overall motorcycle title by 9:17 from team mate Marc Coma after cruising in 16th on the final stage, which was won by American Kellon Walch.

After some 9,000 km from Barcelona to Dakar, the 16th and finalstage was largely a scenic procession along the side of the Atlantic and round the picturesque Lac Rose lake.

France's Bruno Saby, driving a Volkswagen, won the stage in thecar event while American Kellon Walch was the first motorcyclist to cross the line on his KTM.

Mauritania, with its treacherous dunes, proved the toughest part of the 2005 race. Italian Meoni, twice a Dakar winner, and Spanish rider Jose Manuel Perez died in their respective races in the country.

Peterhansel won his six Dakar motorcycle titles between 1991 and 1998 before switching to cars. "Last year with my first victory, I had the impression of now being a real driver, no longer a former motorcyclist," he said.

"This year that's been confirmed," he added.

Source: Xinhua