Bruno Famin admitted it was a fantastic result for his Peugeot outfit to lock out the podium in this year’s Dakar Rally, with Stephane Peterhansel taking the outright victory from team-mates Sebastien Loeb and Cyril Despres as the event concluded in Argentina on Saturday.
The Team Manager of Peugeot Total was delighted that the team found a way to dominate the legendary event, with the team taking nine stage victories across the ten stages contested, with six of the stages ending in a 1-2 for the team with three of those ending in a 1-2-3.
Famin praised the spirit and the closeness of the team throughout the two-week event, both on the stage and behind the scenes, and he felt the whole of Peugeot could be proud of the outcome.
“After such an emphatic win today, it’s obviously been a positive event for us,” admitted Famin. “We got three cars onto the podium and that’s an accomplishment Peugeot and everyone at Peugeot Sport can be proud of.
“The 3008DKR won the Dakar at first attempt, so there’s every reason to be pleased with the jobs performed by everyone in the team, from the mechanics to the crews. We functioned as a single unit and team spirit prevailed, not only on the rally but also during the design, preparation and servicing of the cars.
“The drivers and co-drivers never hesitated to help each other out, to an even greater extent than last year.”
Famin believed it was the correct decision not to implement team orders within the Peugeot camp during the rally, but did admit that the one moment of unreliability that befell Loeb and co-driver Daniel Elena during week one denied the Frenchman the victory.
“Everybody feared this year’s Dakar – justifiably in my opinion,” added Famin. “This tension led the members of the team to work even more closely together and the reward is a fantastic overall team result.
“As far as the car is concerned, the biggest step forward was its reliability. We didn’t have any mechanical issues, with the exception of a small problem which, it can be said, deprived Loeb and Elena of the win.
“All our work upstream of the event paid off in the form of enhanced performance. I know it can bring added stress but, for me, the thought of issuing team orders was inconceivable. As a result, everyone was able to savour the intensity of the fight to the end, including with the crews themselves!”
