The French conquer the desert

The race might have covered some of the harshest and most uncompromising terrain in the world but the Desert Challenge ended on Monday with a result that was as predictable as the weather in Dubai.

French rider Cyril Despres crossed the line first and won the bike category by 11 minutes from Spain's Mark Coma, while one of France's most famous drivers, Stephane Peterhansel, cruised to victory for the Mitsubishi team in the car category.

It was Despres's fourth win in this race, while Peterhansel now has a third Desert Challenge title to add to his already lengthy resume.

Despite his record, Peterhansel hasn't finished a rally this year and he said this result had given him a lot of confidence.

"We wanted to do three things when we came here," said Peterhansel.

"First we wanted to win the race, then we wanted to improve the car and also carry out some good training in the dunes, so I am happy we have done it."

Peterhansel and his co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret completely dominated the race, finishing more than three hours in front of Jose Luis Monterde in his BMW.

The best overall result for the UAE was Yahya Al Helei and Khalid Al Kendi in third.

Elite band

Al Helei was elated after crossing the finish in his Liberty-Damas Chevrolet pick up and anxious to point out that only four cars completed every stage of the race.

"We didn't have the best car, but only four cars did the whole race so I think we've done well," said Al Helei.

Al Helei said he hoped to improve next year with a more highly modified Chevrolet.

"The dunes were a big problem this year, very difficult nothing like the other years," he said.

In the bikes, Despres was especially laid back about beating Coma, who is his best friend, saying simply that it was "cool".

"It was one of the best rides today, I was really enjoying it," said Despres.

"And it's cool that I've won."

Despres has looked comfortable with his fitness and his machine throughout the race, particularly on day two when many of the riders and drivers struggled through the enormous dunes.

Despite having some technical problems during the race, Coma was all smiles at the finish line because his result was good enough to give him the overall Cross Country Rallies world championship.

"We came here to get the points for the championship and we did that so I'm very happy," said Coma.

Coma added that the Desert Challenge was a great race and confirmed he wanted to return next year.