French driver takes seventh Dakar win

STEPHANE PETERHANSEL paid tribute to another Dakar Rally great after claiming a remarkable seventh win on the epic event.

The Frenchman has won six Dakar titles on motorbikes but added the car title to his collection after successfully negotiating stage 17 yesterday to clinch victory from Hiroshi Masuoka, his Mitsubishi team-mate.

Afterwards Peterhansel hailed Hubert Auriol, whose seven wins he equalled this year.