Peugeot Dakar 2018 - Three-in-a-row victory !

THE PEUGEOT 3008DKR MAXI
OUR ADVENTURERS
FROM DUST TO ROADS
BEST OF

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After 8793 kilometres of dunes, mountain passes, rocky tracks and assorted hazards through Peru, Bolivia and Argentina, the crew of Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz have given the PEUGEOT 3008DKR Maxi a magnificent victory on the 40th Dakar Rally. This third consecutive success for Team Peugeot Total on the most demanding rally in the world mirrors the commercial success of the PEUGEOT 3008 SUV, which was voted ‘Car of the Year’ in 2017.

2018 also marks the 30^th anniversary of PEUGEOT's first win in this legendary competition: 1987 saw Ari Vatanen and Bernard Giroux take first place behind the wheel of the PEUGEOT 205T16 Grand Raid.

Since returning to rally raid racing in 2015, PEUGEOT has made its mark in the history of the Dakar Rally and achieved another three wins: in 2016 with the PEUGEOT 2008DKR, clinching a landmark 1-2-3 finish in 2017 with the PEUGEOT 3008DKR., and finally in 2018 behind the wheel of the all-new PEUGEOT 3008DKR Maxi.

A great way to end 10,000 kilometres of high-octane performance and adventure!

THE PEUGEOT 3008DKR MAXI

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The PEUGEOT 3008DKR has undergone substantial changes to make sure it is up to the challenges that awaited it during the 2018 Dakar Rally. The PEUGEOT SPORT technical team has surpassed itself to make the lioness even more reliable, stable and high-performance!
The route of the 40th edition of the Dakar proved to be particularly demanding on the mechanical side. Following this demanding endurance test of nearly 9000 kilometres, not only did the PEUGEOT 3008DKR Maxi win seven out of 13 stages but it also demonstrated remarkable reliability.
The design of the all-new PEUGEOT 3008DKR Maxi is modelled on the standard PEUGEOT 3008 SUV, with a 3.0-litre twin-turbo engine that is loyal to PEUGEOT's two-wheel drive philosophy. The most visible change is that it is 20cm wider than its predecessor giving the car greater stability at speed. The suspension has also been tuned to make the car more manoeuvrable and responsive.

Length	4312 mm
Width	2400 mm
Height	1799 mm
Wheelbase	3000 mm
Transmission mode	2 roues motrices
Engine	V6 bi turbo diesel de 340 ch
Torque	800 Nm
Gearbox	Séquentielle
Brake discs	355 mm
Tank capacity	400 L

OUR ADVENTURERS

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TEAM PEUGEOT TOTAL

Winning the Dakar Rally three years in a rox, and taking the top three places of the podium as seen in 2017, does not just happen by chance! It takes an extraordinary team, both during the race and behind the scenes, indestructible team spirit and painstaking work to accomplish this type of feat.

The PEUGEOT Total "Dream Team" is made up of drivers and co-drivers alongside a dedicated team of passionate experts. Mechanics, engineers, logisticians, and many more, all have the same calling for challenge and excellence. At each rally raid, they push themselves to the limit with the sole objective of racing to victory.

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Sébastien LOEB / Daniel ELENA

After finishing second on last year’s Dakar, just five minutes behind the winners, Sébastien Loeb/Daniel Elena started this year’s event with the clear objective of winning. They made a great start to the rally, despite an itinerary through Peru that mainly consisted of dunes and off-piste driving, which was not really to their advantage. They then won SS4 in style, one of the most difficult stages of the modern Dakar in South America.

Unfortunately, while running second in the overall classification, they were forced to retire on SS5, between San Juan de Marcona and Arequipa in Peru.

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Carlos SAINZ / Lucas CRUZ

Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz have been unlucky over the last three Dakars but they bounced back in the strongest possible way.

Having driven a masterful rally from the start, the two Spaniards demonstrated both performance and consistency at the wheel of the n°303 PEUGEOT 3008DKR Maxi. They won SS6 and SS7 (out of 14) to take a lead on the marathon stage that they were never to lose.

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Stéphane PETERHANSEL / Jean-Paul COTTRET

Stéphane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret, the winners of the 2016 and 2017 Dakars with PEUGEOT, had an action-packed rally with two unfortunate setbacks.

On both occasions, their team mates Cyril Despres/David Castera helped them fix their car and continue. These mishaps meant that they lost first and then second place in the overall classification. Nonetheless they finished fourth after proving to be the fastest crew of the whole Team PEUGEOT Total squad, with three stage victories.

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Cyril DESPRES / David CASTERA

The first Team PEUGEOT Total crew to win a stage on the 2018 Dakar was Cyril Despres and David Castera, who claimed the overall lead at the end of SS2, showing that they have taken another step forward in terms of performance. Unfortunately, the ambitions of the two former bike riders were undone by a rock coming out of the road at kilometre 180 of SS4.

As a result of their 29-hour penalty, Cyril Despres and David Castera were classified some way back, a position which doesn’t represent their true level of performance.