France's Stephane Peterhansel, driving a Mitsubishi, and compatriot Cyril Despres, riding a KTM, were crowned champions of the 2007 Dakar Rally after the 15th and final stage on Sunday.
It was Peterhansel's third Dakar Rally car crown and ninth overall, while for Despres this represented a second title after his win in the 2005 edition.
Despres crossed the line after two grueling weeks of competition which claimed the lives of two competitors more than 34 minutes ahead of team-mate and countryman David Casteu.
PHOTO: AFP
The US biker Chris Blais was 18 minutes further adrift.
Peterhansel and his co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret registered victory with a near seven-and-a-half minute cushion over his Mitsubishi teammate Luc Alphand, also of France and the defending champion.
Another Frenchman, Jean-Louis Schlesser, came in third in a Schlesser buggy, 1 hour, 33 minutes and 57 seconds behind.
PHOTO: AP
Latvian biker Janis Vinters (KTM) and South African driver Giniel de Villiers (Volkswagen) took the honors on the final 10km special stage at Lac Rose, the pink-colored lagoon 30km north of the Senegalese capital.
Peterhansel, who delivered his Mitsubishi team with its seventh straight Dakar crown, took it easy on the final show stage, the last instalment of a race that started in Portugal and passed through Morocco, Mauritania, Mali and Senegal.
The French champion said: "I was really stressed in the last major stage on Saturday, and so I drove very gently on the beach this morning."
"It's not worth putting on a show for the public and television on the final stage -- it's not important to win this one in Dakar, the important thing is to finish top of the overall standings," he said.
Mitsubishi dedicated the win to the memory of two-time Dakar winner Henri Magne, who died after an accident in last year's Rally of Morocco.
Of the 432 cars and bikes that set out from Lisbon on Jan. 6, only 109 cars and 132 bikes made it to the finish line after 7,915km of rough desert racing.
This year's Dakar was, as in so many previous editions, marred by tragedy.
South African motorcyclist Elmer Symons, 29, suffered fatal injuries in an accident in the fourth stage and French rider Eric Aubijoux, 42, died of a suspected heart attack in the penultimate stage on Saturday. Aubijoux was the 49th death in the race since the inaugural Dakar Rally set out from Paris in 1979.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
RSS