Silk Way Rally: Peterhansel bounces back to claim Stage 10

By Euronews

Published on 19/07/2016 - 21:19

France’s Stephane Peterhansel produced a superb display to secure Stage 10 of the Silk Way Rally on Tuesday.

The Dakar champion and his experienced co-driver Jean- Paul Cottret proved unstoppable as they completed the 525km trek from Hami to Dunhuang in a winning time of 3 hours, 18 minutes and 49 seconds.

Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena were unable to trouble their compatriots and eventually had to settle for second place, 1 minute and 15 seconds adrift.

British driver Harry Hunt held his nerve to finish third while Cyril Despres just missed out on a podium finish. He still leads the overall standings by 9 minutes and 57 seconds from Sebastien Loeb while Yazeed Moham Al Rajhi is currently sitting third, 18 minutes further back.

Martin Van Den Brink proved too strong for his opponents in the trucks category. The Dutch sensation completed the course in a time of 3 hours, 36 minutes and 13 seconds, enough to beat Russia’s Airat Mardeev with his fellow countryman Anton Shibalov completing the podium.

This result sees Van Den Brink stretch his advantage at the top of the overall standings. He now leads Mardeev by 4 minutes and 32 seconds. Dmitry Sotnikov is currently third and remains well in contention going into Stage 11.