PARIS, 9 January 2004 — France’s Stephane Peterhansel stormed into the lead of the Dakar Rally yesterday after mechanical problems cost Mitsubishi teammate Hiroshi Masuoka more than an hour.
The Frenchman, an early leader of the rally before collecting a five minute penalty, surged ahead to win the 355 km eighth stage and lead Belgian Gregoire De Mevius’ BMW by one hour four minutes and 38 seconds.
Masuoka slipped to third place previously occupied by Briton Colin McRae, the 1995 world rally champion, who was forced to wait for assistance after suffering serious mechanical difficulties in his Nissan at the 300 km mark.
Germany’s Jutta Kleinschmidt, the first woman to win the Dakar, was second fastest yesterday but looked likely to be disqualified after starting with a replacement engine in her Volkswagen Touareg.
In the motorcycle category, Spain’s Nani Roma took the overall lead from French rider Cyril Despres, who had a nightmare day. Despres, who dropped to seventh place, lost his way in the desert after falling and accidentally unplugging his GPS positioning system. He then ran out of fuel.
“It was the worst day of my life,” said Despres. “There are days when everything goes wrong.”
