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Peugeot 3008 DKR goes straight onto Morocco podium

The Rallye du Maroc proper got underway this morning in Agadir, Morocco, where 168 vehicles (270 competitors in all) lined up for the first full day of action along the Atlantic coast. The day's menu featured 120 competitive kilometres on essentially WRC-style roads, with a similar distance covered as road sections.

Making its maiden competitive outing this week, the new PEUGEOT 3008 DKR delivered a strong performance in the hands of Spaniards Carlos SAINZ / Lucas CRUZ to figure in tonight's top three.


- Frenchmen Cyril DESPRES / David CASTERA got caught out in their PEUGEOT 2008 DKR at a hazard indicated in the roadbook, 12km after the start. The car performed four rolls. The crew is fine and Peugeot Sport's mechanics have until 7:30am Tuesday to get the car going again.

Leg 1 profile

PROGRAMME

Road section 1: 76km
Stage: 120km (sandy tracks)
Road section 2: 44km
Total distance Leg 1: 150km

WEATHER

Sunny - Average temperature: 24.6°C (Maximum: 27.3°C)

AVERAGE SPEED

80.7kph

Carlos SAINZ (PEUGEOT 3008 DKR)
Leg: 3rd / Overall: 3rd

"The stage went well for us and we didn't have any problems. I felt comfortable in the 3008 DKR, so I'm pleased about that. We will try to carry on the good work. There is still a long way to go and we are third. That's a pretty good start position for tomorrow which is a marathon leg. We will need to be cautious and take care of the car since there won't be any overnight servicing. We will try to drive tidily and keep out of trouble because the aim is to make it to Wednesday evening's bivouac."

Cyril DESPRES (PEUGEOT 2008 DKR)

"It's turning out to be a year of firsts for David and me. We were caught out by a hazard that was indicated in the roadbook shortly after the start of the stage and that sent us into a roll. It gave us a bit of a scare but we are okay. The car was too damaged for it to be repaired on the stage, however, so that prevented us from going any further. A Peugeot Sport service vehicle brought us to the bivouac. The mechanics are going to have a big job during the night, especially as we have two days without servicing in-between on Tuesday and Wednesday. I have every confidence that they will do a great job. They are passionate and ultra-professional."

Bruno FAMIN (Director, Peugeot Sport / Manager, Team Peugeot Total)

"Today was the first real stage of the event and it proved quite dramatic. Cyril and David rolled the 2008 DKR after misjudging a hazard warning. That's given the team a fair amount of work but they will do all they can to get the car running again tomorrow. Everything went as well as we had been expecting as far as the 3008 DKR is concerned. We knew today's test wasn't really a desert stage, so it wasn't ideal for two-wheel transmission. Carlos is third and 1m26s behind. That's a smaller gap than we had expected. Tomorrow will see the rally begin in earnest with the first part of the marathon stage. We will take stock on Wednesday evening when we retrieve our two cars after the next two days."

Leg 1 - classification

1. AL ATTIYAH Nasser (QAT) / BAUMEL Matthieu (FRA), Toyota Hi-Lux Overdrive
2. HIRVONEN Mikko (FIN) / PERIN Michel (FRA), Mini All4 Racing +54s
3. SAINZ Carlos (ESP) /CRUZ Lucas (ESP), PEUGEOT 3008 DKR +1m26s
4. ROMA Joan (ESP) / HARO Alex (ESP), Toyota Hi-Lux Overdrive +2m29s
5. AL RAJHI Yazeed (UAE) / GOTTSCHALK Timo (ALL), Mini All 4 Racing +4m11s

Overall positions after Leg 1

1. AL ATTIYAH Nasser (QAT) / BAUMEL Matthieu (FRA), Toyota Hi-Lux Overdrive 1h29m59s
2. HIRVONEN Mikko (FIN) / PERIN Michel (FRA), Mini All4 Racing +1m7s
3. SAINZ Carlos (ESP) /CRUZ Lucas (ESP), PEUGEOT 3008 DKR +1m46s
4. ROMA Joan (ESP) / HARO Alex (ESP), Toyota Hi-Lux Overdrive +2m38s
5. AL RAJHI Yazeed (UAE) / GOTTSCHALK Timo (ALL), Mini All 4 Racing +4min32s