BAMAKO, 14 January 2004 — Stephane Peterhansel stayed in control of the Dakar Rally thanks to his third place finish in the 12th stage which was won by fellow Frenchman Luc Alphand here yesterday.
Alphand, the 1997 World Cup Alpine skiing champion, won the 213km special between Bobo and Dioulasso in a time of 1hr 54min 53sec ahead of French Schlesser-Ford driver Jean-Louis Schlesser who finished 1min 28sec behind. Peterhansel finished 5min 40sec off the pace ahead of Japanese challenger and fellow Mitsubishi driver Hiroshi Masuoka at 6:23.
Peterhansel, bidding to become only the second competitor to win the race on four wheels as well as two, now has a 1hr 4min 43sec overall lead on defending champion Masuoka with Schlesser 2hr 18min 16sec behind. Colin McRae, who scrambled to beat the deadline on Monday, finished 24 min 12 sec behind in 13th place.
The 1995 World Rally champion’s hopes were effectively ended when he lost his four-wheel drive last Thursday, and gearbox problems on his Nissan struck again on Friday.
French KTM rider Cyril Despres won the motorbike section comfortably in 1hr 43min 13sec ahead of Spanish KTM riders Marc Coma, at 10min 47sec, and Nani Roma, at 11:25. Roma increased his overall lead on Frenchman Richard Sainct, the defending champion and three-time winner, to 10min 06sec, with Despres moving closer to the third spot which is currently held by South African KTM rider Alfie Cox.
Today’s 13th stage heads for Ayoun El Atrous in Mauritania and includes 478km of specials.
