Clean sweep of Dakar podium for KTM

By TMX Archives on 22nd Jan 07

Motocross

Despres, Casteu and Blais ride to glory in world's toughest rally.

KTM Factory riders made a clean sweep of the podium at the conclusion of the Dakar 2007 Rally Sunday when Cyril Despres (Gauloisses KTM) came home safe and sure in the final stage to finish overall leader by 34.19 minutes. The rally, which started on January 6 in Lisbon has taken riders 8696 gruelling km to the finish line at Lac Rose near Dakar to live up to its reputation as the world's toughest rally for both man and machine.

The 32-year old Frenchman finished ahead of fellow Gauloisses KTM team-mate David Casteu with American rider Chris Blais (Red Bull KTM), 52 minutes behind the leader, finishing third.

"I am really happy with the victory,” Despres said. " I approached it day by day and I tried not to look forward too far. I have never doubted that I could win the Dakar again. I knew I could do it. I know my skills and I had faith in myself, my team and my bike. "

Despres won the event in 2005. His latest victory was a tribute to his superiority on his KTM machine but also a touch ironic. His arch rival and friend Spaniard Marc Coma (Repsol KTM) had a commanding lead going into the final stages and seemed certain to secure his second consecutive Dakar victory when navigation problems and a crash dashed his hopes on Friday. The door was then opened for Despres to ride home steadily to seize the 2007 title. Ironically the situation was the complete reverse of what happened in the closing stages of the Dakar 2006. Then Despres looked a sure winner in the final stages only to crash out and retire with a broken collarbone, leaving the glory to Coma. The Spaniard, hospitalized and badly shaken after his crash Friday, was already back in the paddock with fellow KTM riders on Saturday afternoon.

KTM 690 Rally proves its worth

The three podium places for KTM continue the company's winning streak in the world's toughest rally, which they won for the first time in 2001 and have continued to dominate ever since. Above all the 2007 victory confirms the dominance and reliability of the new KTM 690 Rally race bike, the first time it has been used in the Dakar. Further developed and refined over the last year with significant input from factory riders, the 690 was also extensively tested in other world class rallies during the 2006 season by Marc Coma.

New neck brace helps protect riders

True to its reputation as the world's toughest rally, the Dakar this year claimed its share of non-finishers. Coma had prophetically remarked in an interview on Thursday that despite a commanding lead he didn't consider himself the winner until Sunday. His dream went up in a cloud of dust the following day. Four of the other eight KTM factory riders also did not finish. Thankfully, although they were taken out of contention through a series of crashes over the eight stages, all of them escaped serious injury. This was a testament to the effectiveness of the new KTM Neck Brace protection system that all KTM factory riders wore for the Dakar 2007.

Hans Trunkenpolz, Overall Team Manager expressed his satisfaction with both the result and his entire team.

"As always the Dakar is very, very tough,” he commented. "Apart from the great effort from Despres, Casteu and Blais I am really satisfied with the performance of the entire team and with the new 690 Rally race bike. I would like to extend my thanks to every single team member for their dedication and their hard work.”

Results Dakar - Dakar

Final overall results

Cyril Despres: glorious victory

Cyril Despres had his bad moments in the 29th Dakar. He needed the help of his friends to move on. He crashed, he struggled, he fought. But in the end, on the podium at the borders of the Lac Rose near Dakar, Despres was the glorious and excited winner of the Dakar. Three days before his 33rd birthday the trophy was the best gift the KTM Gauloises rider could imagine.

It is the second time Despres has won the Dakar. He did it before in 2005. But this time it was different. ‘I am a different person than two years ago. My priority is having fun, enjoying riding my bike instead of racing. I have been through a difficult time. I have lost dear friends, people who were very close to me. They have been on my mind for the whole rally. This made me realise racing is not the most important thing in life. I have learned about the relativeness of life. It made me a better, stronger and also a more balanced person. What I can tell now, at this moment, this victory means a lot more to me.'

Despres didn't have the best imaginable start of the Dakar. On the rest day in Atar, after 7 stages, he was in fourth position, 44.56 minutes behind Marc Coma. Although the difference after stage 8 was ten minutes bigger, Despres moved up to second.

‘I approached it day by day, tried not to look forward too far. I have never doubted that winning the Dakar again was possible. I knew I could do it, I know my skills and had faith in myself and my bike. I was happy almost every day at the finish line, knowing I did a good job.'

Only after the crash of Coma, on stage 13 from Kayes to Tambacounda, Despres moved up to first, but in fact it was the worst day of the Dakar for him. ‘I did not know what had happened to Marc,' Despres tells. ‘All I knew in the beginning is that he was far behind. At the tank stop David Castera (race director) told me Marc had crashed, but he didn't know how serious it was. The last 30 minutes of that special, I was really, really scared. We have lost too many friends in the desert in the past. The thought of that, was too much. I prayed for Marc, wishing he was alright.'

At the finish Despres – he won that stage - heard Coma was alive and well and the Frenchman had to sit down for a while to think things over. ‘I needed some time for myself. I have had some unlucky and unhappy moments myself in the rally, with a crash in Portugal and one in Morocco and I had a bit of trouble with my bike. But being sad and scared is much worse than being unhappy. After arriving in Tambacounda I went to see Marc and I was impressed. He wished me luck.'

Getting the leading position only two days before the finish was not too bad for Despres, although he preferred to be in the lead from the beginning. ‘It didn't make me nervous, but it is a different pressure, not very easy. When you are in second you feel the need to put push harder and take more risks. It is easy to make mistakes then. I had to stay very concentrated. I was able to do that thanks to training and being very fit. That was the secret of this victory.'

‘It wasn't too difficult,' Despres admitted. ‘But on the other hand, it is never difficult when you're winning. To be honest, every Dakar is difficult. We didn't have any big dunes, which made it easier physically. But every stage had something interesting, in navigation, in speed, in soft sand, whatever.'

Being on a bike and enjoying the ride also helped to stay focussed. Despres is not thinking of swapping his KTM for a car, as other winners in the bike catergory did before him. ‘No, no, not at all. I love the desert but I also love my bike, a lot. I want to do keep doing this, as long as I can. A car is not my thing. Normally I fall asleep after 100 kms in the car.'

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