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january 16, 2018 - Peugeot

Team Peugeot Total to appeal the penalty handed to the crew of Sainz/Cruz

SALTA | #carlossainz & LUCAS CRUZ The event stewards have penalised the crew of the n°303 PEUGEOT #3008dkr Maxi by 10 minutes for an action that they deemed to be dangerous during SS7. Team PEUGEOT Total has announced its intention to appeal the decision, which the team does not understand and considers to be without foundation. 



• Competitor n°254, riding a quad bike, made a complaint about the crew of Sainz/Cruz, who he considered behaved dangerously at kilometre 184 of SS7.   • As a result of this complaint, #carlossainz was asked to appear before the stewards on Monday 15 January in Salta (Argentina). Having noted the complaint, he contested the allegation that there was any contact with the competitor, pointing out instead that his reaction managed to avoid a collision that would have been extremely serious, given the speeds involved.   • A few hours later, the Dakar #rally stewards handed an arbitrary penalty of 10 minutes to the crew of the n°303 PEUGEOT #3008dkr Maxi.   • Team PEUGEOT Total subsequently announced its intention to appeal the decision, which it feels is unjustified and unfair.   LIVE FROM THE BIVOUAC…   Carlos Sainz (PEUGEOT #3008dkr Maxi n°303)
I’m very upset by this decision. The version of events described by the quad bike rider doesn’t match up to the reality. In fact, my actions meant that we avoided an accident. I’m sorry for what happened to him, but what occurred was that I came up to him and set off the Sentinel. He pulled over to one side and looked at me. There was plenty of space, although the road was very muddy. He then lost control and came back onto the line. I swerved to avoid him, and although it was close, there was no contact between us. He finished 12th on the stage in the end. If we had hit each other, of course I would have stopped. I absolutely don’t agree with this decision.”   Bruno Famin, PEUGEOT Sport Director
“The decision is incomprehensible. There’s nothing concrete in the folder, and it’s just somebody’s word against another. As far as we’re concerned, it’s quite clear that there was no contact between the quad and the car. If it had really happened as the quad rider claims, unfortunately he may not have been around anymore to talk about it, given the speed of the car. All our data backs up Carlos’s version of events, who has always behaved impeccably. The rider who claims his quad was damaged finished 12th on the stage and then 10th on the next one, which was the second half of the marathon stage. This 10-minute penalty is completely arbitrary. The stewards are punishing Carlos for not having stopped, yet there was no impact. Furthermore, even if Carlos’s behaviour was deserving of punishment, this should have come in the form of a fine rather than a time penalty – arrived at in an arbitrary fashion – which affects the running of the race. So, of course, we’ve notified our intention to appeal. As a result, it’s likely that we won’t know who the winner of the 2018 Dakar is on Saturday in Cordoba. Leaving aside the whole principle of the matter, leading by 1h06m is a very different proposition to leading by 56 minutes, given the challenging nature of the stages to come over the next few days.”    OVERALL CLASSIFICATION AFTER SS8 As the appeal is pending, the overall classification remains the same as it was after SS8 1. #carlossainz (ESP) / Lucas Cruz (ESP), PEUGEOT 3008 DKR Maxi, 27h04m0s 2. Nasser Al Attiyah (QAT) / Matthieu Baumel (FRA), Toyota 4WD, + 1h06m37s 3. Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA) / Jean-Paul Cottret (FRA), PEUGEOT #3008dkr Maxi, + 1h13m42s 4. Bernhard Ten Brinke (NLD) / Michel Perin (FRA), Toyota 4WD, + 1h23m0s 5. Giniel de Villiers (ZAF) / Dirk von Zitzewitz (ZAF), Toyota 4WD, + 1h37m09s 6. Jakub Przygonski (POL) / Tom Colsoul (BEL), Mini 4WD, + 2h 28m36s 7. Martin Prokop (CZE) / Jan Tomanek (CZE), Ford 4WD, + 2h43m30s 8. Sheikh Khalid Al Qassimi (ARE) / Xavier Panseri (FRA), Peugeot #3008dkr Maxi, + 2h55m42s 9. Peter Van Merksteijn (NLD) / Maciej Marton (POL), Toyota 4WD, + 4h59m41s 10. Nicolas Fuchs (PER) / Adrian Mussano Fernando (ARG), Borgward 4WD, + 6h34m09s 39. Cyril Despres (FRA) / David Castera (FRA), PEUGEOT #3008dkr Maxi, + 44h46m05s    WHAT’S NEXT? STAGE 10 (Tuesday 16 January): SALTA – BELEN. 795 kilometres including 372 kilometres of stage Tomorrow takes in 795 kilometres from Salta to Belén. There is a 372-kilometre special stage that begins with dunes and a vast sandy plateau, ending with river crossings where the challenge of navigation could decide the result. Over the course of the stage the competitors will cross the path of the assistance vehicles, which for the first time will be allowed to intervene during the stage.