Peugeot admits 2008 DKR was "rough" on Dakar Rally comeback

The French manufacturer endured a tough comeback in the 2015 event, with Carlos Sainz crashing out during stage five, and Stephane Peterhansel finishing outside of the top 10 in the leading car that made it to the end.

Peugeot Sport director Bruno Famin said that this year's event was "not really satisfactory", and Peterhansel accepted at the finish that the 2008 DKR machine "lacked some oomph".

Famin added: "On two or three occasions we were able to fight for the stage victory but unfortunately we couldn't make it.

"Despite that, we can see that the performance is a bit missing to be able to fight for the overall victory.

"It's something we didn't work on before the race because we focused all of our tests on reliability - and we did well because we have two cars at the finish.

"We didn't spend any time on performance. The car is rough, we are at the very beginning of the development and we have many ideas to develop the engine, the suspension, to reduce weight - all performance factors.

"Now the target is to select the items we are going to work on to be able to have a well-performing car for 2016 as early as possible to make a lot of tests and to be able to fight for victory in 2016."

'MIRACLE' NEVER ON THE CARDS

Peterhansel said that it would have been foolish to believe that Peugeot would be competitive from the off given how tough its pre-event test programme was.

"We lacked some preparation, but we haven't had any real problems," said the Frenchman. "I knew a miracle wouldn't happen.

"In motorsport, if you don't drive thousands of kilometers and test everything, no miracles happen on racing day.

"We've taken the first step. We've made it to the finish, and from here on it should be better for us, I hope."