After two weeks of racing, French pilot Stéphane Peterhansel has won the 2012 edition of the Dakar Rally with a MINI All4 Racing.
The podium finish marks Peterhansel’s tenth Dakar win, a record for the race. He started his racing career with motorcycles in the late 1980s and won his first Dakar at the age of 21 under the colors of the Yamaha team. He switched to cars in the early 2000s when he signed a contract with Mitsubishi.
The MINI All4 Racing that Peterhansel drove to victory was prepared by German tuner X-Raid. It was designed to look like a MINI Countryman, but the two cars share almost no parts.
The 4,100-pound All4 is powered by a twin-turbocharged 3.0 diesel engine rated at 315 horsepower and 516 lb-ft of torque. It has six-speed sequential gearbox built by Sadev and packs plenty of race technology such as water-cooled rear brakes.
The 2012 edition of the Dakar Rally was as grueling as previous editions. The course was over 5,500 miles long, taking competitors through Peru, Chile, and Argentina. The pilots crossed the Andes mountain range and the Acatama Desert, widely regarded as one of the driest areas of the world.
Spaniard Nani Roma took second place in the car category at the wheel of a MINI All4 Racing, and third place was awarded to Giniel De Villiers and his Toyota Hilux.
References
1.’Sport auto : le Mini…’ view
