Paris-Dakar Rally Once Again Battle of the Fittest

Mitsubishi Takes Top Honours Sweeping 1st and 2nd Overall

So where did this madness begin? Funny enough it started back in 1979 after racer Thierry Sabine got lost in the

After eighteen gruelling days through snow, mud and sand the 2004 Paris-Dakar is in the history books. (Photo: Mitsubishi Motors North America)

desert and decided that it would be a good location for a regular rally. The Paris-Dakar has become the ultimate off-road challenge ever since.

After seventeen stages and over 11,163 km the 2004 Paris-Dakar has come to an end. Four hundred vehicles, 195 motorcycles, 142 cars, and 63 trucks, started from Paris, France on January 1. Seventeen days later 163 vehicles, 65 bikes, 60 cars and 38 trucks arrived in Dakar, Senegal. Less then one hour separated first and second place in every category.

Mitsubishi Pajero EVO driver Stephane Peterhansel has become just the second person to win the Dakar Rally in two separate classes. His win of the overall car class was with a time of 53h 47m 37s, a 49m 24s lead over second place. He began competing in the Dakar in 1988, winning the motorbike category six

Mitsubishi Pajero EVO Driver Stéphane Peterhansel and co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret have won the 2004 Dakar with a time of 53 hours, 47 minutes, and 37 seconds. (Photo: Mitsubishi Motors North America)

times for Yamaha between 1991 and 1998. Last year Peterhansel was poised for his first four-wheel victory, only to break down on the final stage of the Dakar, which gave his Mitsubishi team mate Hiroshi Masuoka his second straight win.

This year, after getting out to an early lead after two stages, the Peterhansel team, that included co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret, maintained a sizeable, although not comfortable lead on the rest of the pack. "We took the leadership quite quickly and that allowed us not to take too many risks after. We all know that on a Dakar each stage can mean a problem." And that problem was a tense moment on stage 15 when a wrong turn in the sand dunes allowed the rest of the pack to cut into Peterhansel's lead.