Dakar legend Stephane Peterhansel extends X-raid deal
Stephane Peterhansel has ruled out the possibility of becoming part of a Peugeot factory assault on the Dakar Rally for 2015 by re-signing with his current team X-raid
The 48-year-old Frenchman, who has won the Dakar a record 11 times on two wheels and four, was this week linked to a role as part of a possible Peugeot superteam that would also include nine-time World Rally champion Sebastien Loeb.
But he has now committed his future to X-raid, with which he won the last two Dakars in a Mini All4Racing, for at least the next two seasons.
X-Raid team boss Sven Quandt said: "I'm convinced that our drivers will make maximum use of the car's potential.
"We have already set the course for the years to come and extended the contract with Stephane so he is going to start [the 2014 and] also the 2015 Dakar for X-raid."
Peterhansel, who will, as usual, be co-driven by Jean-Paul Cottret on January's South American-based event, will be part of a four-car line-up of Minis.
Nani Roma and Krzysztof Holowczyc remain on board in two other cars while Orlando Terranova gets a Mini for the first time on the Dakar, having driven one of the team's older BMW X3 CC on last year's event.
Leonid Novitskiy, who drove the fourth Mini last year, is not part of the line-up this time.
Next year's Dakar starts in Rosario, Argentina on January 5 and takes in stages in Boliva and Chile before finishing in Valparaiso in the latter country on January 18.
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