The Peugeot‑Total team is at the test center in Château Lastours , where the Peugeot 2008 DKR enters the next stage of its development. The three crews making up the dream team take turns behind the wheel for the first time. After the final fine-tuning tests that took place in Freneuse , Montlhéry and Le Creusot , the beast will now have the opportunity to show its potential on the stony tracks that foreshadow the terrain that awaits the crews in South America . After the experienced Carlos Sainz helped to pick up the inevitable first baby troubles, his two new colleagues also come to the rescue. On the agenda is the confirmation of the development of the chassis and the cooling system.
The Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel takes the elevated driver's seat in the new car and sets out without delay on an extremely demanding track that is a real challenge even for cars with an adventurous spirit. With the kilometers covered, Stéphane is experiencing a real culture shock, which he comments by saying: "Going to four wheels is really life changing!"
The following drives only confirm this first impression: "I have never driven a car with such a large suspension. The first big surprise was how the Peugeot 2008 DKR absorbs potholes and compression. I was used to bouncing around inside the cockpit like a rag doll and now I can see how efficiently and smoothly the car can drive. Whenever I worried about an impact, the suspension and big wheels absorbed it. It's a great feeling to be able to drive over potholes at 120-130 km/h instead of 80. I'll have to adapt my driving style to that!” And even more so because the beast is very agile! “The two-wheeler is a bit livelier and requires more precise steering. It is a bit more difficult to control. You always have to count on the possibility that it might veer. The engine is good, the gearbox handles well… We are still far from perfect tuning, but the first feelings are great: the car has great potential.”
And what does Cyril Despres expect? A former motorcyclist who won the Dakar five times on a motorcycle, he begins a new life on four wheels. Just a few minutes before jumping into the unknown, he oscillates between impatience and slight anxiety. First he completed the drive in the passenger seat next to Stéphane and now it's time to get behind the wheel for the first time. His eyes are shining, his smile is from ear to ear, and he is like a child in front of a pile of presents. Under the supervision of the entire team, which is well aware of the historic moment it is witnessing, it starts and sets off determinedly on its initiation drive. After completing several tens of kilometers, he returns to the base, his tears of emotion mixed with drops of sweat . "That was crazy!" he gasps in amazement . “In every way it exceeded anything I could have imagined! And I was far from going full speed!”
However, he admits a small mistake to the engineers : "At one point I stopped concentrating. I forgot to downshift and revved the engine to high speed…" Gilles Picard , who won the Dakar twice as Luc Alphand 's co-driver and is also a former motorcyclist, is nevertheless very satisfied with the debut of his new colleague : "The boy impressed me, he has a very clean style driving!"
Not far from there, Carlos Sainz is getting ready to get into the cramped cabin of the Peugeot 2008 DKR . He was present at Cyril's debut, which he observed with the benevolence of an older brother: "I am convinced that he will do a great job and, after all, I am ready to help him if necessary. Stéphane and the others have shown that bikers can also shine in a car and I know that he is a strong opponent.” The program that the engineers prepared for the whole summer did not give all three crews the chance to rest too much. Test drives continue in quick succession and will continue until departure for South America.
Source: Peugeot
