2017 Dakar Rally: Loeb wins stage 11, Peterhansel is a step from victory
Sebastien Loeb wins the penultimate stage of 2017 Dakar Rally but his teammate Stephane Peterhansel remains in the overall lead with just one stage to go. Loeb (#309 Peugeot3008 DKR) was the fastest on today’s 292-km long timed section, which was a part of the 759-km long stage 11 between San Juan and Rio Cuarto. Peterhansel (#300 Peugeot) was just 18 seconds late, which means he will enter tomorrow’s last stage with 5:32 minutes advantage over Loeb.
The last stage from Rio Cuarto to Buenos Aires is 786 kilometers long but features just 64 kilometers of timed section. At such a short stage it’s almost impossible for Loeb to made a five-and-half-minute gap ahead Peterhansel. Apparently, the Monsieur Dakar will celebrate his 13th victory at world’s toughest race.
Orlando Terranova (Mini) was third fastest at stage 11
Behind Loeb’s and Peterhansel’s back, we saw an interesting battle for the third place today. For most of the stage, Orlando Terranova (Mini), Giniel de Villiers (Toyota) and Cyril Despres (Peugeot) were inside 25 seconds. At the end, Terranova was third fastest on stage 11, 6:37 minutes behind Loeb. De Villiers finished fourth, Yazeed Al-Rajhi was fifth.
In the overall classification, Cyril Despres is keeping 1-2-3 for Peugeot, 32:44 minutes behind Peterhansel. Nani Roma is fourth, Giniel de Villiers is fifth.
