Roma & Peter win the Dakar

In recent years, the Spaniard has been in a position of being able to not only get on the podium but also win the Dakar but has always failed, either by making navigational errors or by falling heavily, normally breaking a few bones in the process.

But this year Roma has learnt to respect the Dakar, with the help of some advice from two-time winner Fabrizio Meoni. "This rally has been very difficult for me," Roma said on his arrival in Dakar on Saturday. "I knew that a lot of people were watching me and were expecting my mistakes. Compared to the previous years, I've changed of mentality.

"I remember Meoni telling me to "understand the race", but I didn't know what he meant," Roma explained. "Now, I do. I've understood that I should accept each moment of the race and mainly to stay calm. That's the most important thing.

"I'm very happy that all the people are so pleased about my victory," Roma said. "I've often thought about the win, but I can't describe what I feel now. Everything happened so quickly. I first have to eat, have a shower and calm down to understand what's happening to me. But it's a dream come true."

Defending champion Richard Sainct finished second overall after losing a lot of time early in the rally after sustaining a badly cut arm following a fall. "Concerning the race I can"t say I am disappointed – given how I started, with my crash on the first stage in Morocco, I am relieved to be here at all," he said.

Already a record holder for the most number of Dakar victories in the Moto category with six, (1991, 92, 93, 95, 97 and 98), Frenchman Stephane Peterhansel equalled a new record on Sunday when he tasted victory in the Auto category, equalling the fete of compatriot Hubert Auriol, erasing the sad memories of last year when he lost the lead on the penultimate stage due to a suspension failure.

"On the liaison section this morning I couldn"t help but think about last year," said a delighted Peterhansel. "It has been a long time to wait one year for this victory. I spoke with Jean-Paul when we crossed the finish line of the special today and thanked him for a great job. I am happy for him. It"s his first Dakar win.

"For the first win with the bike I had to wait four years. For the first win with the car it took me six. It is a completely different feeling. Hiroshi drove a perfect race as well, but it was my turn this time!"

Hiroshi Masuoka will rue the gearbox problems that plagued his Mitsubishi Pajero on Stage 8, dropping over an hour to Peterhansel, to eventually finish second, 49 minutes adrift, with two-time winner Jean-Louis Schlesser third, over three hours adrift of the leaders.

"I am very pleased for Stephane and for Mitsubishi," said Masuoka. "I drove a good race. It was not easy. Mauritania was difficult. Next year I will push for the third win."

Meanwhile, Britain's Colin McRae celebrated his second stage win when he powered his Nissan Pick Up to an extraordinary time of 14min 42sec around the Pink Lake to be 41 seconds quicker than Jose-Maria Servia (Schlesser Buggy).

FINAL AUTO STANDINGS

Dutchman Hans Stacey grabbed his first-ever Dakar stage victory but it was Russian Vladimir Tchaguine who took the overall victory, 53 minutes ahead of Firadus Kabirov, making it a Kamaz 1-2, with Gerardus De Rooy bringing his DAF home in third overall, 1 hour 28 minutes down on the winner.

FINAL TRUCK STANDINGS