Biography Stéphane Peterhansel

Mister Dakar

Stéphane Peterhansel has won the Dakar Rally a total of 14 times. The Frenchman has won six times in the saddle of a motorcycle and eight times at the wheel of a car. And he continues to burn with passion for the rally raid classic.

Becoming the first Dakar winner with an electrified powertrain: That is what appeals to Stéphane Peterhansel about his first collaboration with Audi to date. “This is probably the last step I can take as a professional driver. That would be perfect for me,” says the 57-year-old Frenchman. For him, it’s about the next big challenge.

Challenges have been the linchpin for Stéphane Peterhansel since he was a child. At the age of eight, his father, a motocross racer, gave him his first motorcycle. At the age of 18, the top talent competes in his first championship with an enduro machine and becomes the champion straight away. In 1988, when Peterhansel was 22, he made his Dakar debut as a factory driver. Although 18th place is not at all to his standard, he now knows for certain: “This is my race. And now I want to win it!”

He managed that a total of 14 times between 1991 and 2021. Since then, many things have changed at the Dakar Rally. After its beginnings in Europe and Africa in 1979, it was staged in South America from 2009 until 2019 and has had its third stage in Saudi Arabia since 2020. Even for record winner Peterhansel, time has never stood still. Since 1999, after his sixth Dakar victory on a motorcycle, he has been taking part in the mother of all rally raids in cars. His Dakar record so far includes eight victories on four wheels.

But one thing has remained the same for Stéphane Peterhansel after his 34 starts in the marathon classic, which has been held 43 times so far: “The adventure. The permanent fight. Against the terrain, the dunes, the rocks, the sand, the dust. And of course, fighting against the clock and against the competition.” In every Dakar Rally, he has found all the feelings that were and are vital for him: adrenaline, speed and fascination for the spectacular landscapes.

In addition, Mister Dakar is certain without any discussion: “Whoever tackles this race should not be crazy at all. Otherwise you won’t make it to the finish.” Therefore, “I try to calculate every risk at the Dakar Rally.” But even for Stéphane Peterhansel, the incalculable is always palpable there: “Every Dakar kilometer can become a trap. You can always make a mistake.”

During his first Dakar with Audi in January 2022 the veteran also experienced how quickly something unforeseen can happen despite all his experience. A damaged left rear suspension with subsequent repair by the crew in the race truck set the two Frenchmen back by more than 23 hours, including a 16-hour penalty for missed checkpoints alone. Consistently, Peterhansel and Boulanger then put themselves at the service of the team on the way to 57th place in the final result. This was followed six weeks later by a nice consolation: At the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, the French crew became the first driver squad to achieve an overall victory with the Audi RS Q e-tron.

The season then continued at a fast pace as Audi Sport developed the second construction stage of the RS Q e-tron. In various tests and at the Morocco Rally, Peterhansel was able to refine the prototype more and more with the help of his teammates. “We’ve made noticeable progress,” he assesses the 2022 season. “But even more than the progress in the set-up, it’s the durability that’s really good now.”

The electric drive, which makes driving in the dunes much easier, convinced the experienced professional right away. That’s why the toughest rally in the world is a suitable testing ground for this type of drive. “The Dakar is really a good test for Audi and its new technology,” says Stéphane Peterhansel. Because: “If you can make it in the Dakar Rally with an electrified car, you can make it around the world with it.” With all the knowledge and experience of Audi’s technicians and the personnel of the Q Motorsport team, which is operationally running the Dakar entry for Audi Sport, Peterhansel says the best conditions have been created for the joint project. As a driver, he has cooperated with the Q Motorsport managers for most of the time since 2009.

Stéphane Peterhansel has shared this passion for motor racing with his German wife Andrea (née Mayer) for 18 years. Like her husband, she has been active on two and four wheels in off-road marathons, including the Dakar Rally. The couple loves to spend their free time in nature. “We live in Switzerland in the middle of the forest with a view of the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc, two of the most famous and beautiful mountains in Europe,” says Stéphane Peterhansel. “From there, we very much enjoy extensive trips by mountain bike and on skis.”

Biography
Stéphane Peterhansel (F)

Date of birth: August 6, 1965
Place of birth: Échenoz-la-Méline (F)
Place of residence: Aminona (CH)
Marital status: married to Andrea, one son (Nicolas) and one daughter (Melanie)
Height/weight: 1.77 m/68 kg
Motorsport since: 1988 (Audi driver since 2021)

Career as a driver:

1983–1987 Motocross
1988 18th place Dakar Rally (motorcycle)
1989 4th place Dakar Rally (motorcycle)
1990 Dakar Rally (motorcycle)
1991 1st place Dakar Rally (motorcycle)
1992 1st place Dakar Rally (motorcycle)
1993 1st place Dakar Rally (motorcycle)
1995 1st place Dakar Rally (motorcycle)
1996 Dakar Rally (motorcycle)
1997 1st place Dakar Rally (motorcycle), 1st Enduro World Championship
1998 1st place Dakar Rally (motorcycle)
1999 7th place Dakar Rally (automobile)
2000 2nd place Dakar Rally (automobile)
2001 12th place Dakar Rally, 1st Enduro World Championship
2002 Dakar Rally (Automobile)
2003 3rd place Dakar Rally (automobile)
2004 1st place Dakar Rally (automobile)
2005 1st place Dakar Rally (automobile)
2006 4th place Dakar Rally (automobile)
2007 1st place Dakar Rally (automobile)
2009 Dakar Rally (Automobile)
2010 4th place Dakar Rally (automobile)
2011 4th place Dakar Rally (automobile), 1st Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge
2012 1st place Dakar Rally (automobile)
2013 1st place Dakar Rally (automobile)
2014 2nd place Dakar Rally (automobile)
2015 11th place Dakar Rally (automobile), 1st Gran China Rally
2016 1st place Dakar Rally (automobile)
2017 1st place Dakar Rally (automobile)
2018 4th place Dakar Rally (automobile), 2nd place Baja Portalegre 500
2019 Dakar Rally (Automobile), 1st place FIA World Cup Cross Country Rallies
2020 3rd place Dakar Rally (automobile), 1st place Baja Hail 1 and 2, 4th place Rally Andalusia
2021 1st place Dakar Rally (automobile), Audi Dakar Project
2022 Dakar Rally (automobile), 1st place Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge (Audi RS Q e-tron)