After 15 stages which has taken the competitors from Portugal to Senegal, the Dakar Rally 2007 ended today with all three of the Iveco trucks that took part making the finish line in Senegal.

Today's final timed stage took the remaining competitors around the shortest timed test of the whole African adventure, which had started just over two weeks ago in Lisbon. After a connection of 36 km first thing this morning, the 16 km timed section gave the 132 bikes, 108 cars and 59 trucks that remained in the rally the chance to celebrate their achievement - overcoming everything that north Africa had to offer; before a final connection of 41 km concluded this year's edition. Today was the third day that the rally had in fact spent in Senegal, and came after Friday's leg 13, which saw the vehicles having to find the quickest pace as they threaded between the baobas on the route from Kayes to Tambacounda (458 km, with 260 km timed) and yesterday's penultimate leg, which took the teams right on to the event's conclusion in Dakar (576 km, with 225 km timed).

The best placed of the three Italian trucks on the final classification was the #506 Motorsport Italia-entered four wheel drive Iveco Trakker A190, driven by the Italian trio Giacomo Vismara, Mario Cambiaghi and Sergio Chionni, which finished in an excellent 12th overall after a pretty much faultless performance, right from the start line in Lisbon to the chequered flag in Dakar. Turning in a consistent run wiped memories of last year's early exit for the factory-supported Ivecos.

After finishing the first test in Portugal in 16th place overall Vismara, Cambiaghi and Chionni moved up to 12th place on Leg 3, before dropping back to 16th place on Leg 4, then 13th (Leg 5), 14th (Leg 6) and up to 11th (Leg 7); then down a place to 12th on Leg 8.
 

Leg 9 saw the trio slipping a couple of slots on the leaderboard to 14th overall before they climbed back to 12th overall on leg 13, a position they maintained to the finish line. Punching with the bigger trucks on the event they set 7th fastest time on stage 14, 8th quickest on stage 8, and 9th on stage 13. They finished in a time of 65 hours 56 minutes and 2 seconds, 11:52:57 behind the winning MAN truck of Dutchmen Hans Stacey and Bernard der Kinderen, and Belgian Charly Gotlib.

In 24th place overall at the finish today was the #526 Eurocargo driven by an all-Italian line-up of Luisa Trucco and the Pattono brothers, Corrado and Germano. They had a steady start, finishing Leg 1 in 54th place before moving up to 48th (Leg 3), 37th (Leg 4), 33rg (Leg 6), 27th (Leg 7), 25th (Leg 8) and 24th (Leg 10). The third Iveco truck, and another Eurocargo, the #550 entry, was piloted an experienced combination, Spaniards Roque and Navarro, joined by Italian pilot Calzi; they finished 30th overall. In the end 59 of the 78 trucks which started the event survived the rigours of the course.

In the car category Frenchman Stéphane Peterhansel won his ninth Dakar Rally, and his third victory in the car category after wins in 2004 and 2005. He finished 7 minutes and 26 seconds ahead of his teammate and fellow countryman Luc Alphand, and 1 hour 33 minutes and 57 seconds ahead of another Frenchman, and another Dakar veteran, Jean-Louis Schlesser. Cyril Despres (KTM) won the bike category.