CARS GLOBALMAG August 2016 | Page 70

FROM CUBS TO LIONS

As

Cyril Despres and David Castera
Photo © Peugeot Média

they exited the nr. 104 Peugeot DKR
2008 at the end of the final specialstage of the 2016 Silk Way Rally, the
emotions of Cyril Despres and David Castera
were clear for all to see. After 14 scheduled
special-stages and more than 10,000kms,
the two former motorcycle competitors take
their first four-wheel rally-raid success.
“It is emotional and joyous”, exclaimed the
Peugeot driver. “I am happy to share this victory with David. It is never easy to win a rally,
when you realize the caliber of the rivals you
have to battle over two weeks.”
Since the start in Moscow, the former twowheel stars proved to be the most consistent
and avoided major incidents on this particularly demanding 2016 edition. However, Despres and Castera had a minor scare 30kms
from the finish, when they received an alert for
a possible turbo problem. “We had a bit of
a stressful moment. I said to myself, like Nakajima at the 24 Hours of Le Mans: ‘I have
no power! We opened the bonnet and happily, Jean-Paul Cottret arrived and immediately
found the problem. This was another example
of teamwork. It is easier to win when you are
surrounded by the best! While I still have a lot
to learn, this 2016 Silk Way Rally has helped
me to make an important step forward in this
new chapter of my racing career.”
Bruno Famin (Peugeot Sport Director) said:
“This team exudes team spirit, in every area.
The most visible examples on this event were
the way the three crews helped each other out,
and then when everyone in the team pitched
in to rebuild Stéphane and Jean-Paul’s car. We
are naturally very pleased to have won this extremely difficult rally which enabled us to showcase the quality of the Peugeot 2008 DKR. As
the small number of incidents we had to report
suggests, it now forms a matured package.