The sixth leg of the Silk Way Rally - the last before Friday's rest day - saw the PEUGEOT 2008 DKRs of Cyril DESPRES / David CASTERA and Sébastien LOEB / Daniel ELENA complete the day in first and second places overall. Meanwhile, the superb overnight work of Peugeot Sport's mechanics and technical staff ensured that the PEUGEOT 2008 DKR of Stéphane PETERHANSEL / Jean Paul COTTRET was able to stay in the event. Team Peugeot Total intends to keep up the same sort of pace when action resumes on Saturday.
Gale force winds at the start of the second part of today's leg and a weather warning for the finish in Almaty forced the organisers to cancel part of the initially-scheduled 411-kilometre drive and, after contesting a 111km stage, competitors were diverted onto the same route as that taken by the service vehicles.
After winning Wednesday's stage, the #104 PEUGEOT 2008 DKR was the first car to leave the overnight halt. Cyril DESPRES / David CASTERA came 15th today, as they had the difficult task to open the route, but they still top the provisional leaderboard.
Sébastien LOEB / Daniel ELENA took advantage of errors by their direct rivals to gain ground. They completed today's stage in third position to strengthen their footing on the podium (2nd overall), just eight minutes short of their team-mates.
Despite their woes on Leg 5 (Wednesday), Stéphane PETERHANSEL/ Jean-Paul COTTRET succeeded in nursing the #100 PEUGEOT 2008 DKR back to the bivouac in the middle of the night after dropping more than six hours to the leaders, plus time penalties. Team Peugeot Total's technical squad worked through the night to get the car back into shape in less than seven hours, their efforts focusing notably on the front-left and rear-right suspension, as well as on the engine's cooling system. The team's inspection didn't reveal any irremediable damage, which meant the French pair was able to line up for the start of Leg 6 this morning, watched proudly by Peugeot Sport Director Bruno FAMIN. They went on to post the second-best time on the stage.
TYPE OF TERRAIN Dirt tracks and vegetation-free off-road driving CONDITIONS Navigation by compass bearingWEATHER Wind and bright sunshine AVERAGE SPEED93.3kph
Bruno FAMIN (Team Manager, Team Peugeot Total / Director, Peugeot Sport)"We've reached the rest day with two PEUGEOT 2008 DKRs running first and second overall. That's obviously very nice but I believe the hardest part of the rally is still to come. The Chinese part of the route promises to be quite a challenge, with some long, hard stages. We need to stayed mobilised and continue to be as efficient as we were last night when the team worked its heart out to get Stéphane and Jean-Paul back on the road this morning. Team Peugeot Total is an exceptional squad, both technically and in sporting terms. Everyone is driven by the same quest for performance."
Cyril DESPRES (Leg: 15th / Overall: 1st)"A lot of crews are going well! We had the difficult honour of running first on the road again today and there was a great deal of off-road driving. We did the job we had to do and we are still first overall. The second part of the event is quite mouth-watering, with lots of sand and dunes... proper cross-country rallying!"
Sébastien LOEB (Leg: 3rd / Overall: 2nd)"In conditions like this, it's obviously an advantage to run a little way down the start order because you can see the tracks made by the cars ahead of you. We soon caught the front-runners and it turned out to be a good day for us because we made up time on our main rivals. Being in second place at the rest day is a big confidence booster."
Stéphane PETERHANSEL (Leg: 2nd / Overall: 71st)"After our crash yesterday, we needed to build up our confidence again and get back into the rhythm. Our start order helped us to make up for lost time because we could see the tracks made by the vehicles ahead of us. There wasn't much real off-road driving for us because we were behind the fastest trucks and that allowed us to post a good time. All the mechanics spent the night doing everything they could to make sure we could stay in the event and we were even in a position where we were able to fight for the stage win! It's very pleasing to have posted the second-best time. Our aim now is to help Cyril and Sébastien and make sure there's a Peugeot on top when we reach Beijing."
CLASSIFICATIONS
Provisional classification - Leg 6 (Balkhash-Almaty)1. Damen Scott Jefferies (USA) / Max Brien Eddy Jr (USA), Jefferies buggy, 1h11min22s2. Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA) / Jean-Paul Cottret (FRA), PEUGEOT 2008 DKR, +1min28s3. Sébastien Loeb (FRA) / Daniel Elena (MC), PEUGEOT 2008 DKR, +1min46s4. Vladimir Vasilyev (RUS) / Konstantin Zhiltsov (RUS), Mini, +2min42s5. Evgeny Firsov (RUS) / Vadim Filatov (RUS), Toyota Pick-up, +3min15s15. Cyril Despres (FRA) / David Castera (FRA), PEUGEOT 2008 DKR, +8min08s
Provisional overall leaderboard after Leg 6 (Balkhash-Almaty)1. Cyril Despres (FRA) / David Castera (FRA), PEUGEOT 2008 DKR, + 11h06min35s2.Sébastien Loeb (FRA) / Daniel Elena (MC), PEUGEOT 2008 DKR, +8min3.Vladimir Vasilyev (RUS) / Konstantin Zhiltsov (RUS), Mini, +9min50s4.Yazeed Al-Rajhi (SAU) / Timo Gottschalk (DEU), Mini, +12min50s5.Aidyn Rakhimbayev (KAZ) / Anton Nikolaev (RUS), Mini, +14min58s71.Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA) / Jean-Paul Cottret (FRA), PEUGEOT 2008 DKR, +9h11min29s
See all of the Silk Way Rally official classifications by clicking HERE
NEXT: REST DAY AND LEG 7Friday will allow competitors to benefit from the official rest day in Almaty before they cross into China on Saturday. Leg 7 (582km, July 16) includes a predominantly-sandy 77km stage.
