Luc Alphand Quotations

The rally is hard and unfortunately this year there were some accidents.

From that moment onwards, I was in a position to win. I just had to keep it going because De Villiers was not far behind.

My first attempt at the Dakar Rally ended with a seat in a helicopter and I never wanted to be in that position again. I knew I had a great chance to win. The team worked so hard on the development of our car and I think over the 15 days we were the better all-round team. It's a fantastic feeling to win the Dakar. I experienced many highs and lows in my skiing career, but this is so different.

We let Carlos, Nasser and Hiroshi pass us today and then we were in their dust. If you want to finish the stage safely you need to keep out of the dust of the car in front. It was just like a long train of cars and bikes today. There was no chance to get into a rhythm.

I have mixed feelings about these long European stages. Unlike some of our rivals we had no problems with the windscreen misting over when it rained in October. But I think the problems could arise tomorrow if it rains. If it is really muddy on the second stage it could be dangerous; if you slide or lose traction, that is where the problems begin.

Of course, we are thinking of them and their families but there are accidents at home in front of schools. There are reckless drivers at home.

I knew I had a great chance to win. The team worked so hard on the development of our car and I think over the 15 days we were the better all-round outfit. It's a fantastic feeling to win the Dakar. I experienced many highs and lows in my skiing career, but this is so different.

I expected today's stage to be drier than yesterday, because of the slightly higher altitude. The important thing was to stay in touch with the leaders without taking any risks and dropping too much time. It was a good day for me.

It was a case of surviving. It was not really a stage suited to the strengths of the Mitsubishis. It was interesting to compare our speed with the Volkswagens and now they have the twin turbo engines, there is really very little difference between us in terms of the top speed.

Carlos had a puncture and I was in his dust for a time. Then he caught me and we let him passed. Then Hiroshi came back at me and we were all running closely together until I collected a rear-right slow puncture and that cost me the chance of winning the stage.