Dakar Rally 2021: Final Results, Winner and Reaction

French driver Stephane Peterhansel extended his own record by capturing his 14th Dakar Rally championship following Saturday's final stage in Saudi Arabia.

Peterhansel, who won his first title in the motorbike division in 1991, finished atop the cars division for the fifth time in the past 10 years to close out the event's 2021 edition. His third-place result in Stage 12 was enough to hold off top challengers Nasser Al-Attiyah and Carlos Sainz, who won the stage.

Here's a look at the top five from the final standings:

• 1. Stephane Peterhansel (44:28:11)
• 2. Nasser Al-Attiyah (+13:51)
• 3. Carlos Sainz (+1:00:57)
• 4. Jakub Przygonski (+2:35:03)
• 5. Nani Roma (+3:21:48)

Peterhansel grabbed the overall lead after the second stage and only won a single stage (No. 9), but his consistency was far and away better than the rest of the field en route to another championship.

The 55-year-old X-Raid driver wouldn't commit to defending his title in a post-race interview, signaling his storied career may have reached its conclusion:

Other winners from the 2021 Dakar Rally include:

• Motorbike: Kevin Benavides (Argentina)
• Quad: Manuel Andujar (Argentina)
• Lightweight: Francisco Lopez Contardo (Chile)
• Truck: Dmitry Sotnikov (Russia)

The event started Jan. 3 in Jeddah and ended Saturday in the same city as racers completed a journey around Saudi Arabia. The race was planning for possible stops in either Egypt or Jordan, but those plans were halted because of the coronavirus pandemic.

While dates for the 2022 Dakar Rally haven't been confirmed, manufacturer Audi already announced plans to enter the race for the first time with an all-electric "innovative prototype."