Wednesday 26th March 2014

Peugeot returns to the Dakar

2015 comeback for Peugeot with victory firmly on the agenda

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More good news from Peugeot! Following its recent notable motorsport successes at Pikes Peak and the Nurburgring 24-hours, it has announced a return to the Dakar rally.

Not racing a 405; this is it for now

Peugeot will campaign the 2008 DKR in next year's event, 25 years after its last factory effort (and win) with the 405 T16 Grand Raid. It and the 205 T16 Grand Raid that preceded the 405 took four consecutive Dakar victories between 1987 and 1990 so Peugeot has some great history. It isn't shy in proclaiming lofty ambitions this time around either: "Our aim is to win the Dakar in 2015", Peugeot's CEO Maxime Picat has said.

Carlos Sainz and Cyril Despres are the drivers. Sainz won back in 2010 and of course brings his extensive rallying experience to the team but it will be the first four-wheeled Dakar for Despres. He has won it five times on a bike though, so he's not exactly inexperienced.

Red Bull and Total will again be part of the Peugeot Sport team, surely spurred on by the Pikes Peak success. And why a 2008, rather than something based on the 208 rally cars? Picat: "The 2008 conveys a strong image on every continent. It is proving a big hit in Europe, ahead of its launches in China and Latin America in 2015" More details to be revealed at the Beijing show on April 20.

[Antj]

All very good i'm sure, but it's not really Dakar anymore is it.

Would much rather see them come back to Le mans, something special about having a french team competing for honours at Le mans.

[dukebox9reg]

But no hot version of the 2008 (not something i'd particularly like mind) but I used to love the fact you used to have homologated cars to compete in rallying etc.

We wouldn't have had mad road cars like the T16, 6R4 and RS200 if it wasn't for those rules.

I reckon they should bring the same rules back across the board for all road based car racing.

[Pumajay]

Dakar hasn't been on my "one to watch" list for a few years now, the TV coverage is cack.

Looking forward to seeing the car though, Peugeot always turn out good looking racers.

[snobetter]

Hopefully they can challenge the Mini's and prevent the parade the last Dakar turned into happening again...

[Mr.Jimbo]

Pleased to see this, they won't play (pay) to lose...

I've missed VW and Mitsubishi for the past couple of years (Minis were a bit boring this year uncontested)

[Alex Langheck]

Good to see. It seems that after pulling their WEC programme - due to costs - they're going after BIG one off events. The Pikes Peak 205 was a 'parts bin special', so was relatively cheap'.

Signing both Sainz and Despres is a coup - and with Total and Red Bull on board they will want proper coverage!! Which is were the Dakar falls down at the moment. Are RedBull going to put it on their own RedBullTV? The Eurosport coverage could be better and needs to be better.

[cptsideways]

Just another buggy special & a bodykit no doubt, but good news for the brand.


I think the rules should be changed, so if you enter a "special" you also have to enter a standard version of the car that has to complete the rally to score a win for the special. That would mix things up a bit

[Chris71]

Antj said:

All very good i'm sure, but it's not really Dakar anymore is it.

Would much rather see them come back to Le mans, something special about having a french team competing for honours at Le mans.

I was wondering that the other day. It's lost some of the romance of the desert perhaps, but I'm not convinced it isn't actually a better event for the crews and anyone seriously following the competition.

It's also a fantastic PR opportunity for Peugeot. Like Pikes Peak it's a classic event with links to Peugeot's Group B glory days. The budget - particularly if you're the only real works team - must be a tiny fraction of something like Le Mans. Throw in a former WRC-star and a Dakar legend as the drivers and you've got a guaranteed 'return on investment' for relatively modest outlay.

[epom]

Fair play to Peugeot, and Total. Also it has to be said the amount Red Bull puts into things like this is astonishing.

[Muzzer79]

Ah, the 405 Grand Raid.

I had a video of the 86-88 Dakar rallies as a kid, and watched them repeatedly.

Vivid memories of Jan De Rooy's truck demolishing the opposition, and Ari Vatanen's Pioneer-sponsored 405 getting nicked in the middle of Africa and held to ransom

[Dog Star]

Muzzer79 said:

Ah, the 405 Grand Raid.

I had a video of the 86-88 Dakar rallies as a kid, and watched them repeatedly.

Vivid memories of Jan De Rooy's truck demolishing the opposition, and Ari Vatanen's Pioneer-sponsored 405 getting nicked in the middle of Africa and held to ransom

DAF Turbotwins.

http://www.caranddriver.com/features/10-vehicles-f...

"The X1 features two 11.6-liter diesel engines mid-mounted in an aluminum space frame and triple turbocharged to produce 1200 horsepower and 3466 lb-ft of torque. Each. 2400 horsepower and almost 7000 lb-ft of torque made this 11-plus-ton truck good for 150 miles an hour, although we'd slow down a bit for surface irregularities like trees and housing developments."



I remember seeing a video of one of them outdragging one of the top rally cars and drivers across the desert at some totally insane speed.