Right from the start of the 39th edition of the Dakar in Asunción this coming January 2nd, all eyes will be focused on the confrontation between the Peugeot crews, led by defending car category winner Stéphane Peterhansel, the Toyotas who have a new team leader in Nasser Al Attiyah, and the Minis who will be spearheaded by 2016 revelation Mikko Hirvonen, who finished 4th in his first Dakar.
He still has what it takes. “Mr. Dakar” could yet again come up big this year and go for a 13th title (the 7th in the car category), which would put him in a nearly inapproachable stratosphere. With a 3008 DKR that in principle has expunged the imperfections of the 2008 with which he nevertheless triumphed with last January, a driving style based as much on consistency as outright speed and an equally impeccable motivation, Stéphane Peterhansel is perhaps once again the overwhelming favourite for the 2017 edition. But the defending champion is also among the best placed to know that the vagaries of the Dakar are multiple and sometimes cruel. Especially with the level of the competition, which has become more and more imposing and he need look no further than his stable mates in the Peugeot Dream Team. Carlos Sainz is still a rival not to be taken lightly, and his two younger team mates have made clear cut progress. For his third participation in the car category, Cyril Despres comes into the 2017 Dakar with an impressive victory on the Silk Way Rally in July, where Sébastien Loeb won one of the most demanding special stages. Taking a look at their respective abilities, both are close to a certain maturity that could see either aiming for a win some day… and why not this year?
Driving faster than “Peter” is not enough to win the 2017 Dakar. And the Peugeot team also finds itself up against a deep Toyota squad that has no less than three former winners of the world’s toughest rally-raid. Giniel de Villiers, who won the maiden Dakar of the South American era with Volkswagen, has placed the Hilux in the top three overall on four occasions and his two team mates pose perhaps an even greater threat. Because 2004 winner, Joan “Nani” Roma, has 20 years of experience to rely on and because Nasser Al Attiyah, the only driver to rival Peterhansel last year, might be able to make the most of his transfer, as he demonstrated in winning the Morocco Rally. While the two-time champion from Qatar (2011 and 2015) left the X-Raid team, the new Mini John Cooper Works doesn’t lack of potential victors. This will be the goal of Mikko Hirvonen who turned in a stellar performance in finishing 4th in his first Dakar outing in 2016. And while Bryce Menzies will not be competing due to injury, it is certain that Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed Al Rajhi (3rd overall when forced to retire three days before the conclusion in 2015), as well as “Orly” Terranova (5th in 2013 and 2014) are aiming for nothing less than a podium result in which they have already come so close to achieving.
It is nearly certain that the battle for an all-new title on the Dakar, between the eight SSVs entered into the Dakar, will be fought far from the podium. These lightweight buggies, limited to an engine capacity inferior to one-litre, have been present in the discipline for the past few years and have asserted themselves as the ideal springboard towards the higher echelons. Whether it is the Brazilian Leandro Torres or the Russian Ravil Maganov with Polaris, Spaniards Joan Font and Santi Navarro with Yamaha, the victor in this new category whoever it is will be the first to write his name in what is still an unwritten record book.