The twelfth and final stage of the 2017 Dakar came to a close with no big surprises after the stage eleven finish. Sébastien Loeb and Stéphane Peterhansel battled against each other nearly the entire series of this year’s Dakar and while Loeb won the last two stages, the gap just wasn’t big enough between him and Peterhansel to overtake him from the first-place general standings position.

Stage twelve was a technicality. A short 64 kilometers (40 miles), the stage was created to fill the gap between the end of stage eleven and the podium ceremony in Buenos Aires, Argentina. There were no major obstacles, the final stage was an all-out dash and then a long liaison section to the finish line.

Loeb’s lead on Peterhansel at the end of stage twelve was a minuscule 19 seconds. Hardly did anything for the WRC racer to make up for the 5 minutes he lagged behind Peterhansel in the general standings. This marks the thirteenth Dakar win for Peterhansel. The French driver has previously won six Dakar’s on a motorcycle and now seven in a car. His nickname “Mr. Dakar” is a true statement to his ownership of the race.

Team Peugeot and Red Bull had a very strong showing at the 2017 Dakar race. Their presence was known throughout the entire event.

“It was still up in the air before the start of the race,” Peterhansel said. “The internal competition was fierce and there were, in all, seven or eight drivers with a shot at victory. Halfway through the race, there were only four left, and by the final week, it was just Sébastien and me. It was a high-stakes duel, we went fast.”

Loeb intends to keep at it and is confident someday he will win a Dakar race. “It was better this time round, and we managed to stay on the track,” Loeb explained. “We made a few navigation mistakes, but at the end of the day, we did quite well in a Dakar as difficult as this one. A small mechanical cost us some time at the start, and then we had to bust a gut to make up the lost time. We finished second… Not too far. Sure, we were faster and, when we went on the attack, we opened up large gaps. We have what it takes to win the race. I don’t think I’m going to race in as many editions of the Dakar as Peterhansel, but my aim is to win it someday: we’ll have to keep on trying. Right now, we’ve got three Peugeot cars on the podium, so we’ll enjoy the moment and see what happens next.”

Despres is equally pleased with his Peugeot’s performance as well as his third-place finish. “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.”

The final rankings in the car category stacked up Peterhansel, Loeb, and Cyril Despres for first, second and third respectively. Toyota snagged fourth and fifth with Nina Roma and Giniel De Villiers, denying Mini a top five finish.