Zoom Stéphane Peterhansel.

The inaugural Central Europe Rally, the first fixture of the newly-created Dakar Series, saw Mitsubishi's Stéphane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cotteret (France) narrowly fail to reap the benefits of an excellent week's work which saw them top the leaderboard for the majority of the event. The French pair emerged in front after the second leg of the seven-day event but were passed by World Rally Champion Carlos Sainz on the penultimate day and were unsuccessful in their bid to bridge the gap on the final day. The two drivers were separated by just 2 minutes 01 second after more than 1,000km of competitive action through Hungary and Romania.

Fellow Pajero/Montero Evolution MPR13 crew Luc Alphand/Gilles Picard (France) did everything they could to join their team-mates on the podium but failed to make up the seven-second deficit that separated them from Germany's Dieter Depping on the thrilling last morning.

"Although they didn't win, I have to congratulate Stéphane and Jean-Paul for the fantastic job they did this week," underlined Repsol Mitsubishi Ralliart Team Director Dominique Serieys (France). "This event has shown that our discipline has nothing to envy other forms of rallying in terms of intense, exciting competition, with some pretty outstanding drivers and some genuinely sophisticated machinery. The Pajero/Montero Evolution was very reliable from start to finish and I am proud of everyone's performance on this brand new event."

Peterhansel was on the pace from last Sunday's start in the Hungarian capital Budapest and eased in front over the first of the two punishing legs through the rain and fog of the mountains near Baia Mare in Romania. He then set out to defend his lead as the route headed back into Hungary where the faster terrain and drier conditions tended to favour the more powerful, latest-generation prototypes of his rivals.

"The pace was extremely fast from the start," said Peterhansel. "I have very rarely driven so quickly in a cross-country rally before. The competition reached its peak on Friday afternoon when I took as many risks as I dared to get back in front of Sainz. I then tried very hard again this morning, but I dropped about 50 seconds when I went slightly off course and that sort of gap just wasn't possible to make up without running the risk of throwing everything away. It was far better to settle for second place."