French driver Stephane Peterhansel won the 2007 Dakar Rally on Sunday, claiming his third trophy in one of the world’s most punishing and dangerous races. Peterhansel, who also has six motorcycle victories in the tough transcontinental competition, secured the win after finishing a final Atlantic Ocean beach stretch of the 5,411-mile race from Europe to Africa. Overall results on the race’s official Web site put the Mitsubishi driver’s final time at 45 hours, 53 minutes, 37 seconds. Defending champion Luc Alphand was second – 7 minutes, 26 seconds behind. Nextel Cup driver Robby Gordon finished third in the final stage, 26 minutes behind stage winner Giniel de Villiers of South Africa, who won his fourth stage of the race. Gordon finished 8th overall, 7 hours, 4 minutes and 7 seconds behind leader Peterhansel. Fox Editor’s note: On Saturday, FOXSports.com reported that Robby Gordon slipped to 10th in the overall standings. He actually finished fifth in Stage 14 and remained eighth overall.(FoxSports) The Dakar Rally can be seen on the Versus Network in the United States. See full reports and video at robbygordon.com, also at dakar.com, raid-live.com and doindonuts.com.(1-21-2007)
