Brits come on leaps and Bounds
By TMX Archives on 14th Jan 10
Cyril Despres leads the 2010 Dakar Rallye after eight stages.
FRENCHMAN Cyril Despres remains firmly on course to claim a third Dakar Rally title after the eighth timed special stage between Antofagasta and Copiap in Chile, where he held a 1h 20m 31s lead as the rally headed towards La Serena.
Meanwhile two hefty time penalties, fuel feed problems and a shredded tyre had cost Spaniard Marc Coma any chance of victory. The defending champion climbed back from 14th overall to second position last Saturday, but a six-hour penalty was imposed in Antofagasta because Coma received illegal assistance with a new tyre, dropping him from second to 19th overall after eight stages.
I have a good lead, but the Dakar is never predictable and it is easy to make mistakes when you are not fully focused, said Despres. That's why I still have to ride quickly without making mistakes over the next stages.
The battle for the remaining two podium places was fascinating, with Norwegian Pal-Anders Ullesvalster edging in front of Chile's Francesco Lopez on the stage after the rest day. Portugal's Helder Rodrigues was also in touching distance of the podium. However the Atacama Desert stages were marred by a serious accident involving Italy's Luca Manca, who remaines in a critical condition with serious head injuries in a Santiago hospital.
Despite a six-hour time penalty, Craig Bounds remained the best of the home contingents and held 54th after eight stages. The Atacama Desert claimed Andrew Neri, who crashed and broke his collar bone. Meanwhile Paul Carlyle (77th), Irishman Philip Noone (86th) and Welsh lady Tamsin Jones (91st) were still well-placed to reach the finish in Buenos Aires.
2010 DAKAR RALLYE
Standings after Stage 8
OVERALL
1 Cyril Despres (F - KTM) 33-hr 46-min 21-sec
2 Pal-Anders Ullesvalseter (N - KTM) 35:06:52
3 Francesco Lopez (CHL - Aprilia) 35:10:42
4 Helder Rodrigues (P - Yamaha) 35:11:36
5 Alain Duclos (F - KTM) 35:38:50
6 David Fretigne (F - Yamaha) 35:48:54
7 Jonas Street (USA - KTM) 36:14:53
8 Olivier Pain (F - Yamaha) 36:28:20
SELECT OTHERS
19 Marc Coma (E - KTM) 40:47:10
BRITISH AND IRISH ENTRANTS
54 Craig Bounds (GB - KTM) 49:50:56
77 Paul Carlyle (GB - BMW) 61:48:09
86 Philip Noone (IRL - KTM) 72:09:06
FOR FULL REPORT SEE T+MX NEWS, FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2010
Portuguese rider Ruben Faria blasts across the sand dunes on his way to a well-earned 14th overall after stage eight of the Dakar Rallye being run in South America.