With just two days to go, Cyril Despres/David Castera keep fighting to maintain their healthy 45-minute overall lead over their closest pursuers on the Silk Way Rally, with teammates Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret watching their backs carefully.
The leading duo aboard the Peugeot DKR #100 had a scare on today’s 12th stage, when they got stuck on a sand dune and, a couple of kilometres later, lost power steering, meaning they were classified eighth-fastest on the stage. This cost them 20m30s on the stage but only 11m to their closest pursuer in second place overall. The Peugeot DKR #106 driven by Stephane Peterhansel was able to offer assistance, limiting the time loss on the stage, and was classified 10th on the stage. Another example of great team work, with team spirit high in the final push to the finish.
Tonight at the bivouac, the Team Peugeot Total mechanic crew will take extra care of the cars while the drivers will get some deserved rest, gather their strength and focus on another extremely tricky day over complex sand dunes tomorrow.
Just as a reminder that the Silk Way Rally isn’t over until the very end, Cyril Despres had a scare today when his leading Peugeot DKR became stuck on the summit of one of the many sand dunes in the second half of the stage. He removed the car using the jack, but the situation was further complicated when he had a problem with the power steering, meaning that he had to continue with no hydraulic assistance. In a perfect example of teamwork, Stephane Peterhansel had waited for him after the start so that they could drive the stage in convoy and solve any possible problems together. This turned out to be very good planning, as they were able to extract Cyril’s car and to continue to the finish with no further problems despite the power steering issue.
Bruno FAMIN, Peugeot Sport Director
“While it’s not of any big concern in the overall picture, today’s incident showed that anything can still happen on this rally. Although Cyril dropped close to 20 minutes on the stage, he only dropped 11 minutes to the secondplaced driver, as there were problems behind him as well. Obviously it was good that Stephane was running just behind Cyril, which shows our great team spirit: as well as the practical help that he can offer, it’s also psychologically comforting when you’re leading to know that your team mate is close by. From our point of view, we need to figure out why Cyril experienced a power steering failure too: he has sore arms and hands now, but the car was able to keep going and he will be fine for tomorrow after a good rest.”
Cyril DESPRES, Team Peugeot Total Driver
8th of stage 12 (cars) / 1st overall
“It’s never over, is it? We had a hydraulic leak that meant that our jacks and power steering didn’t work when we got stuck. Normally we would have lost only a minute or so but we stopped and tried to fix it. All four of us – myself, David, Stephane and Jean-Paul – worked hard to find a solution but in the end we didn’t manage to: it’s not so easy in the middle of the desert. There were around 45 kilometres of dunes left to go and our only option was then just to drive to the finish. The car weighs around a tonne and a half, so driving it without power steering is far from easy. My arms and hands are sore but I’m very happy to be here now. And I already know that the Team Peugeot Total mechanics have a solution for this problem. It was really stressful as I knew that if we had another problem we could be stuck for hours. Honestly, it was one of the toughest days of my whole career. I’m looking forward to starting on a clean page tomorrow.”
Stéphane PETERHANSEL, Team Peugeot Total Driver
10th of stage 12 / 6th overall (cars)
“Everything was going well until Cyril got stuck on top of a dune. We stopped to help him and it wouldn’t have been a big problem, but I think the thing is that during the process of using the jack, which runs off the same hydraulic system as the power steering, the power steering somehow got damaged. And then, if you have no power steering in one of these cars, it’s a big problem. So, we stayed behind him to make sure that he got through last 50 kilometres of the stage with no more problems. I am happy to help make sure a Peugeot will reach Xi’an on top. Apart from that, it was a very beautiful stage, typical of those I really like in rally raid.”
TOMORROW: STAGE 13
The penultimate leg of the Silk Way Rally, from Alxa Youqi to Zhongwei, could provide the sting in the tail, as it’s known as ‘the Cathedral of Dunes’. The special stage distance of 318.66 kilometres is split into two sections, with tricky navigation and technical dunes. The crews won’t get the chance to admire the scenery, but it’s also one of the most picturesque days of the whole rally.
DID YOU KNOW?
The Silk Way was originally a network of trading routes connecting Asia to Europe, named because of the silk (and horse) trading that took place along it. The route has its origins in around 250 BC and was extremely important for international trade.
MINI Motorsport Silk Way Rally Leg 12 review: Jiayuguan – Alxa youqi
Al Rahji: “We started the stage and we didn’t push, we drove smoothly. After CP1 I tried to stop because I could see far away some dust following Bryce but I stopped for maybe 2 to 2-and-a-half minutes to let him pass and when he passed I followed him until the dunes. After the dunes, at about 80km from the finish I got stuck in one place from staying too far left, so I kept right and immediately passed a car on the right side. Again after I followed him, I saw some dust so kept even more right to get a flying finish.”
It was a more difficult stage for Bryce Menzies (USA) and Peter Mortensen (USA) in the #105 MINI John Cooper Works Rally. After getting lost and incurring a penalty, the pair finished the stage in ninth to push them down to fourth overall, but they remain positive with two stages remaining.
Menzies: “The stage started out really well, we caught Yazeed and Cyril and then after that we were kind of leading the trail. The dunes are massive; we got lost and couldn’t find the waypoint so we were searching around for about 20-25 minutes, maybe even more. It was kind of frustrating that we couldn’t find the tracks and then once everybody starting closing in, we went over one of the dunes and found everyone but by that time we’d lost too much time. I think we’re 4th overall now, so we lost a lot of time, but I think tomorrow’s more dunes, around 70% of the stage, so the competitors have to start out front and make the trail, so I hope that we can make up time just like they did today. It’s racing and especially in the rally anything can happen. We’re just going to keep fighting and pushing and we have one more day after tomorrow to take it all the way to the end – we’re still in the fight and only 14 minutes from second place overall. Tomorrow’s a new day.”
Friday’s penultimate stage 13 of the 2017 Silk Way Rally takes the competitors from Alxa Youqi to Zhongwei.