Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel became only the second man in history to add the car title to the motorbike category as he took victory in the Paris-Dakar Rally on Sunday. The 38-year-old six-time motorbike champion - who gave Mitsubishi a record ninth win in the race - emulated compatriot Hubert Auriol in completing the double and became the only man to hold seven titles after holding the record with the six-time truck champion Karel Loprais of the Czech Republic.
Peterhansel won two stages on his way to victory, seeing off two-time defending champion Hiroshi Masuoka in a Mitsubishi by 49min 24sec and another two-time winner Jean-Louis Schlesser in his Schlesser-Ford third, 3hr 00min 33sec adrift.
The stage itself was won by Britain's former world rally champion Colin McRae, his second of the week, as he timed 14min 42sec over the 27km route beating Josep Maria Servia of Spain by 41sec while Qatar's Nasser Saleh Al Attiyan was third another two seconds back.
The motorbike section went to Nani Roma, who became the first Spaniard to win the race and was a sweeter end than he experienced in the 2000 edition as leading with three days to go he finished 17th after experiencing engine problems.
Three-time champion Richard Sainct and Cyril Despres - who won the final stage - finished second and third overall respectively. Sainct was 12min 38sec behind Roma while Despres was 44min 31sec off the pace. In the closing stage Despres beat PG Lundmark of Sweden by 10sec while Norwegian Pal Anders was third 47sec in arrears.
Filed by Shane Murray
