January 16, 2016 – Peugeot’s Stephane Peterhansel scored a record 12th victory in the Dakar Rally as he completed the event on the top of the overall standings after 13 arduous special stages.
Peterhansel finished the 13th and final stage today 7 minutes 37 seconds behind teammate Sebastien Loeb, who won the stage, and 6 minutes behind Nasser Al-Attiyah who crossed the finish line third fastest to confirm second place overall – 35 minutes behind the winner.
Toyota’s Giniel De Villiers completed the event in third place overall, a full hour behind Peterhansel, while Mikko Hirvonen came very close to scoring a podium on his Dakar debut, finishing fourth overall, less than 3 minutes behind De Villiers.
Mini’s Leeroy Poulter rounded out the top 5, while Sebastien Loeb recovered from his roll in Stage 8 to finish his first ever Dakar participation in ninth place overall.
Toby Price sealed his maiden Dakar win in the motorcycle category, while Marcos Patronelli became a three-time champion after a victory in the Quads category. The trucks class triumph went to Gerard de Rooy, who became a two-time Dakar champion.
Overall standings after Stage 13:
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Car | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 302 | Stephane Peterhansel | Peugeot | 45h22m10s |
| 2 | 300 | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Mini | 34m58s |
| 3 | 301 | Giniel de Villiers | Toyota | 1h02m47s |
| 4 | 315 | Mikko Hirvonen | Mini | 1h05m18s |
| 5 | 319 | Leeroy Poulter | Toyota | 1h30m43s |
| 6 | 304 | Nani Roma | Mini | 1h41m06s |
| 7 | 321 | Cyril Despres | Peugeot | 1h49m04s |
| 8 | 307 | Vladimir Vasilyev | Toyota | 2h01m45s |
| 9 | 314 | Sebastien Loeb | Peugeot | 2h22m09s |
| 10 | 323 | Harry Hunt | Mini | 3h11m30s |
