Peugeot wasn’t expecting Silk Way Rally success, says principal Bruno Famin
Peugeot’s domination of the Silk Way Rally was more than the French team could ever have expected, according to team principal Bruno Famin.
Despite 2,250 miles of competition in a 6,670-mile, 16-day route from Moscow to Beijing, none of the three 2008 DKR’S suffered any mechanical problems. Cyril Despres – a five-time Dakar winner on a bike – took his maiden victory on four wheels. Sebastien Loeb finished seventh having dropped out of contention after missing a navigational waypoint late in the event, while Stephane Peterhansel’s hopes of a repeat of his Silk Way win from last year were spoiled when he rolled his car. The Frenchman was 15th overall.
Peugeot won nine of 12 stages and Despres finished 25 minutes ahead of his nearest competitor, Mini driver Yazeed Al Rajhi.
Famin said: “As the small number of incidents we had to report suggests, the Peugeot 2008 DKR now forms a matured package. Our objective was to gain more experience with the car and the crews, to reach Beijing with all three cars and win. We succeeded in ticking all those boxes.”
Winner Despres added: “We have grown in confidence and we had tremendous fun. The car was brilliant. I really like competing on four wheels now!”