Team Total Peugeot at Silk Way Rally 2017
Six months after the amazing one-two-three on the 2017 Dakar Rally, how is Team Peugeot Total facing up to the 2017 Silk Way Rally?
Team Peugeot Total is tackling the 2017 Silk Way Rally with all the concentration and humility that such a difficult challenge deserves. Even though experience gained previously is important, past success is never a guarantee of future results. We’ve continued to develop the cars to make them increasingly reliable, competitive and easy to work on. We’re undergoing a process of constant improvement, but if there’s one thing that we’re certain of before the 2017 Silk Way Rally starts, it’s that there will be plenty happening in every single area: from navigation to sporting matters to technical questions. While logic would suggest that we are the favourites, making any sort of prediction is more than risky on this type of rally.
What do you think of the format of the 2017 Silk Way Rally, in terms of the route and the difficulties ahead?
The 2017 Silk Way is going to be really tricky. It’s very long, with 15 days of competition and more than 10,000 kilometres to be covered, throughout extremely varied terrain and extreme climatic conditions, without forgetting some of the most complicated navigation of the year: in the absence of motorbikes, the cars are first onto the stages. The rally will also be very tough on the service crews, who will have to cover 8000 kilometres. Leaving aside the ironically-named ‘rest day’, the team will be on the move every day, with some very long road sections. As well as looking after the competing cars, it’s going to be essential to manage human resources as well.
What are your expectations for the Peugeot DKR Maxi on the 2017 Silk Way Rally ?
It’s going to be a real baptism of fire for the Peugeot DKR Maxi. The goal will obviously be to test it in extreme competitive conditions, in order to detect any issues that haven’t yet come to light during testing. Having said that, the ‘Maxi’ should feel particularly at home on the roads around the Kazakh steppes, and in the sand dunes of the Gobi Desert.
