A Dakar without Mr. Dakar. For the first time in 36 years, Stéphane Peterhansel will not start the rallydont the 47th edition sets off this Friday January 3 from Bisha in Saudi Arabia. The record holder for the number of victories announced at the end of November his need to take a break. Obviously, the race will not have the same taste for those who follow him, starting with the inhabitants of Échenoz-la-Méline near Vesoul (Haute-Saône), where the driver was born and raised.
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“It takes away a little interest”
When we ask them if Stéphane Peterhansel will miss the Dakarthe answer is clear: “Of course, obviously! It takes away a little interest because it was the pride of the Vésulians. It was an opportunity to follow a friend”reacts Antoine, who has always followed the race. The local boy also thrilled Arnaud, the local butcher. “A Haut-Saônois was still good! When you follow someone you know, you have a goal. There, we’re going to see him from a little further away. It’s a shame because it’s “He’s still an idol, especially with the number of victories he has.”
Stéphane Peterhansel is indeed the only driver to have won the Dakar on a motorcycle and a car. He has 83 stage victories and 14 general classification victories to his credit (6 on motorcycles and 8 on cars), thanks to a sense of racing that Stéphane Mazzoleni, the owner of the Vesoul Auto Services garage, admires. “He knows how to bounce back, lose ground to get behind better. He always has tactics that are different from the others or that he has adopted at the right time. It’s nice to discover him and follow him for that too.”
A return to motorcycling
The motor sports enthusiast, who has done autocross for a long time, will still follow the Dakar this year. “I will look at the results at the end of the day. But before, when Stéphane Peterhansel was riding, we were always in front of the screens live, to see when he gained two minutes, when he lost some, if he punctured a tire… Du suddenly, this year, we will be less keen to watch the results live”admits the mechanic.
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He still hopes to see his namesake again one day on the Dakar tracks. “He was injured last year. Knowing him, I think he will come back to win it and finish his career that way.” In the meantime, the 59-year-old driver is abandoning the car to find the motorbike, on the slopes of Mauritania and Morocco.
