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Stephane Peterhansel wins 2016 Dakar Rally for Peugeot

Stephane Peterhansel clinched his 12th Dakar Rally victory and Peugeot's first since 1990 with a calm run through the final stage on Saturday

Having been left with a massive one-hour lead as his Peugeot team-mates Sebastien Loeb and Carlos Sainz encountered dramas during the second week, Peterhansel had been able to drive conservatively through the final days.

The concluding run back from Villa Carlos Paz was the same story, as Peterhansel came in seven and a half minutes slower than stage pacesetter Loeb to seal outright victory by 34m58s from last year's winner Nasser Al-Attiyah in the lead X-raid Mini.

Al-Attiyah's team-mate Mikko Hirvonen was a close second to Loeb on stage 13, following on from his maiden Dakar stage win on Friday.

He completed his first attempt at the event in fourth overall, between the Toyotas of 2009 winner Giniel de Villiers and Leeroy Poulter.

The big story of the 2016 Dakar had been Hirvonen's former World Rally Championship nemesis Loeb's form on his event debut.

The nine-time WRC champion led for most of the first week, before tumbling down the order following a crash and then a number of further tribulations when the rally moved into the dunes in its second half. Loeb eventually finished ninth.

Sainz looked like Peugeot's most likely victor once Loeb was delayed, only to retire from the lead on Wednesday when a spacer between his car's engine and gearbox broke.

LEADING STAGE 13 TIMES:

Pos Driver Team Car Gap
1 Sebastien Loeb Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 1h46m51.s
2 Mikko Hirvonen Axion X-Raid Team Mini/BMW 1m13.s
3 Nasser Al-Attiyah Axion X-Raid Team Mini/BMW 1m36.s
4 Cyril Despres Team Peugeot Total Peugeot 1m36.s
5 Leeroy Poulter Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa Toyota 2m04.s
6 Nani Roma Axion X-Raid Team Mini/BMW 2m05.s
7 Orlando Terranova Monster Energy Rally Raid Team Mini/BMW 2m39.s
8 Giniel de Villiers Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa Toyota 3m08.s
9 Vladimir Vasilyev G-Energy Team Toyota 4m33.s
10 Erik van Loon Vanloon Racing Mini/BMW 5m19.s

LEADING OVERALL FINISHERS:

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