Although Lake Rose retained its own colour, on Sunday its banks tended rather toward the red. Flags and T-shirts in the fiery colour invaded the vicinity of the podium of the 27th Dakar. In honour of Stéphane Peterhansel, the winner, but also to celebrate the fourth place taken by Giniel de Villiers and Jean-Marie Lurquin and their N-05 Pickup no. 314.

In front of fifty fans of the Nissan Rally Raid Team who came specially to Dakar and amidst the applause of representatives of its partners, the South African driver and his Belgian co-driver had something to smile about. “The competition was severe this year, there were many manufacturers involved, with major resources,” explained Giniel under the Lake Rose sun. “We concentrated on our race, without worrying too much about the rhythm adopted by the others. The main thing for us was for the Pickup to be in good condition at the finish of each special, and to achieve that you can’t make too many mistakes. There are small improvements to be made to the Pickup, but what we have succeeded in doing this year is very encouraging.”

A few seconds after having looped around the 31 kilometres of the final special of the Dakar, the no. 314 team hurried to congratulate the members of the Nissan Rally Raid Team besides. Winks of eyes, friendly pats on the back and smiles witnessed to the solidarity of the group, united for eight months and rewarded with this beautiful fourth place. “Bravo guys, the Pickup was perfect,” a beaming Jean-Marie Lurquin called out. Later the Belgian confirmed his remarks: “If anyone had told me that we would finish so close to the podium confronted with such competition, I wouldn’t have believed it. I think that the N-05 Pickup is the most reliable vehicle of all of them. And certainly not the least high-performance.”
The proof: the Nissan Rally Raid team finished as the best performer of the Dakar with five wins in specials, equal with Mitsubishi. Sunday, around Lake Rose, the two Pickups again achieved a great simultaneous firing at the target with Ari Vatanen’s 3rd place and Giniel de Villiers’ 4th.

The Finn would have liked to celebrate his return to the Senegalese capital with a victory in the special, but a puncture deprived him of a 52nd success in the Dakar. Which did not prevent Ari from receiving a great ovation on the final podium or from signing a record number of autographs. “I believe that the Pickup can still make small improvements in all areas,” the Finn maintained. “But the potential is there, the number of victories we took in specials attests to that. The team is going to have time to prepare for the next Dakar. That ought to bear fruit.”

A little farther on, Tiziano Siviero also made the tour of the mechanics and the supporting staff of the Nissan Rally Raid Team. “I think that people will have to reckon with the Nissan Rally Raid Team in the years to come. It’s a very tightly bonded team, very motivated, which is very close to the top level and which has everything it takes to get there. A little more work is necessary, but frankly we aren’t far from the others.”

As for the mechanics and supporting staff, under the Senegalese heat it is pride above all that brought about their glow. Pride for having brought a new vehicle to the foot of the podium and for having successfully passed through all the ordeals that a Dakar offers.

Gilles Martineau acknowledged the work of his teams as well: “The vehicle demonstrated its reliability: we only did maintenance on Giniel’s Pickup while the other teams had to operate on vital organs. As for Giniel, he was simply a genius: he’s the ideal driver - he has the moral fibre of a Peterhansel, without any doubt.”
The Dakar 2005 finished as is customary with a photo of the team under the arch of the podium. A lovely photo of one big happy family.