Peterhansel calls for co-operation

STEPHANE PETERHANSEL has called for a combined Mitsubishi effort to defeat Volkswagen’s main challenger Giniel de Villiers in the Dakar Rally.

Peterhansel, chasing a third consecutive victory, took the lead on Saturday and was able to plot his strategy for the final seven stages during an official rest day yesterday.

He leads team-mate Luc Alphand by 32 seconds, with De Villiers almost half an hour away in third.

Despite that gap, Peterhansel is still wary of the South African and wants to cooperate with nearest challenger Alphand to see off Volkswagen’s threat.

He said: “Monday will be a very difficult stage and the last one in Mauritania where anything can happen. The most important thing is to keep up our pace and place more pressure on our rivals.

“I think that Giniel de Villiers is still our main rival. Luc is driving for the same team as me, so if he wins it is great for Mitsubishi. So Luc and I need to build up a big advantage.”

Alphand insists he will not be distracted by the close fight with Peterhansel at the top of the leaderboard. The former skiing World Cup winner will focus his energies on ensuring there is no repeat of the navigational difficulties which have cost the Mitsubishi team time over the last week.

“I think the priority is not to concentrate so much on the difference between Stephane and me, but to keep our focus on the track over the coming days,” said Alphand.

“Monday’s stage will be very difficult. We will try to drive as fast as possible and keep in touch with Stephane.”

The gap at the head of the bike field is larger, with Marc Coma leading Isidre Esteve Pujol by six minutes going into today’s 372-mile stage in Mauritania from Nouakchott to Kiffa.