KAYES, Mali, 14 January 2005 — Defending champion Stephane Peterhansel of France, driving a Mitsubishi, and Australian motorcyclist Andy Caldecott, riding a KTM, won the 13th stage of the Dakar Rally yesterday.
Peterhansel came home to win his fourth special of Dakar-2005 — a 370km run from Bamako en route to Kayes, Mali — in three hours, 30 minutes and seven seconds.
He was 4:17 ahead of compatriot and teammate Luc Alphand and 7:59 ahead of Giniel De Villiers, driving a Nissan.
In the overall standings, Peterhansel increased his lead to 27:33 over Alphand, and 1h 30:55 over Germany’s Jutta Kleinschmidt, driving a Volkswagen.
Caldecott completed the special in three hours, 51 minutes and 41 seconds, more than two minutes ahead of France’s David Fretigne on a Yamaha and 3:32 ahead of American Chris Blais, also riding a KTM.
Frenchman Cyril Despres finished seventh, 8:18 off the pace, but remains at the top of the overall standings, 16 minutes ahead of Spain’s Marc Coma and 20:39 ahead of Alfie Cox of South Africa.
Meanwhile, Senegalese firefighters said yesterday that two Belgian motorcyclists following the Dakar Rally were killed in a crash east of the capital. The pile-up between the motorbikes, a truck and a taxi occurred at 1300GMT Wednesday at Mboro, national fire service spokesman Senghane Diagne told AFP.
Seven others, including six Belgians, were injured in the crash, Diagne said, without giving any further details.
In Brussels, the Belgian Foreign Ministry said the two dead riders — part of a group following KTM rider Rene Delaby — hailed from southern Belgium and were not part of the official Dakar-2005 caravan. The accident happened, the ministry added, when the group they were traveling with stopped to change a punctured tire.
