Now that the 2017 Dakar race is in the record books, let’s take a look back and look at the race as a whole. Peugeot ended up being the biggest winner. With Stéphane Peterhansel claiming his thirteenth Dakar win, Sébastian Loeb in a close second and Cyril Despres filling the rest of the podium, Peugeot is added to a small list of manufacturers that have claimed the podium in its entirety.

Racers took off from Asuncion, Paraguay, the first time the Dakar had visited the country. The goal was to get to Buenos Aires, Argentina by way of twelve different stages and hundreds of miles. At the start, 63 vehicles in the car category took off. By the end of the race, there were 57.

Giniel De Villiers in his Toyota Hilux – Photo Eric Vargiolu / DPPI

Peterhansel and Loeb had an epic battle for the majority of the race. Early on, Carlos Sainz was also in the mix but had an unfortunate tumble down a hill that ultimately made him withdraw from the race. With Sainz out of the picture “Mr. Dakar” (Peterhansel) and “Mr. Rally” (Loeb) were in a head to head duel until the end. Peterhansel won out. On the eleventh stage, Loeb was running familiar terrain on a course much like he had raced in the World Rally Cross (WRC). With the title still within his grasp, Loeb had an unfortunate run in with a rock “like so many others” that took out a tire. The time spent swapping the tire out would become his downfall as he could not make up enough time.

Romain Dumas was another Peugeot team member helping to stack the manufacturer’s field – Photo Eric Vargiolu / DPPI

“Having a good car was key to finishing third,” Despres explains. “I’m delighted because the guys in front are quite something: Peterhansel, Loeb… No reason to feel bad. I’ve got to be faster on all types of terrain. It’s good to know where I need to improve, but I’m not in a hurry, that’s not how I work. It’s getting closer year after year. Sure, moving up the last two places will be very hard. Working 365 days a year to get ready feels long. You need to stay motivated, but you can’t do it alone, you need your team.”

The Peugeot 3008 racecar seemed to be the sweet spot. Despres and his teammates were showing their dominance time and time again. Toyota and Mini were close behind, claiming a four/five and six/seven finish respectively. Both Toyota and Mini are expected to step up their game to directly take on Peugeot next year.

The race proved to be a challenge for everyone, as it always does. Crashes, blown tires, poor navigation and even an accident between Peterhansel and a motorcycle. In the final rankings, Loeb was a short five minutes behind Peterhansel. Despres was thirty-one minutes behind. In a group of 57 racers, it is expected to have finish times widely varied. Some racers were mere seconds behind the racer in front of them while others were hours.

The Eco Powered Acciona is the first electric vehicle to finish the Dakar in its entirety. Photo provided by Acciona.

The last position, 57th place, belongs to Ariel Jaton and his co-driver German Rolon. The Argentinians raced to the finish in an electric powered Acciona to be the first electric car to finish the Dakar race. Though the team trailed the leader by forty-one hours, the team finished. A huge accomplishment for anyone, let alone in an electric car.

“Having a good car was key to finishing third. I’m delighted because the guys in front are quite something: Peterhansel, Loeb… No reason to feel bad. I’ve got to be faster on all types of terrain. It’s good to know where I need to improve, but I’m not in a hurry, that’s not how I work. It’s getting closer year after year. Sure, moving up the last two places will be very hard. Working 365 days a year to get ready feels long. You need to stay motivated, but you can’t do it alone, you need your team.”