Coma continues victory charge
By TMX Archives on 15th Jan 09
KTM's two leading factory riders, Marc Coma and Cyril Despres, both veterans and winners of previous Dakar rallies, were again in a class of their own in Stage 12 of the 2009 race. Coma continues his charge to overall victory with a commanding lead ofone hour 29'48"and Despres, as stage winner, dislodged Frenchman DavidFretegne and is now in second place.Despres (Red Bull KTM) finishedjust 1'23 ahead of Marc Coma (Repsol KTM) with Gerard Farres (KTM)third (at 9'47). Fretigne is now third overall just 4 minutes 7 secondsbehind Despres (at 1h33'55).
Unexpected downpour in Stage 12
Riders faced another weather phenomenon on Thursday when theArgentinean skies opened up to a downpour of rain, which, together withaccompanying wind, added another difficult dimension to the day's ride.The original course had also been shortened by about 30km to bypassrecently discovered archeological treasures on the original route.
Cyril Despres (Red Bull KTM) 1st and 2nd overall (at 1h29'48)
The navigation was really difficult today, it was like a treasurehunt and it is always a pleasure when you find the right point. Then 3or 4 kilometres from the end it got a little less fun with amodification to the road book that wasn't too clear and I lost someminutes. I heard Frétigné's engine at the first refuelling CP and itdidn't sound too good so I guessed there was a good chance of gettingthe second place overall.
Marc Coma (Repsol KTM) 2nd (at 1'23) 1st overall
It started to rain this morning at breakfast and we were a littlebit worried what that would do to the special. . Fortunately it wasn'ttoo bad. There were some places where it was a little muddy, butnothing serious. The thing that made today difficult was the navigation- particularly at the end. I don't think the road book was wrong, justdifficult to interpret. The sand was also very soft which didn't makelife any easier!
Alain Duclos (Kaestle KTM) 13th (at 27'24) 35th overall (at 13h10'18)
As planned I waited at the start of the Cyril (Despres) to pass.Marc (Coma) passed me at km 90 but must have gone wrong afterwardsbecause we arrived at CP1 together. I did the rest of the special withMarc in sight - except right at the end when it wasn't too clear tofind the pass.
Jordi Viladoms (Repsol KTM) 15th (at 32'40) 7th overall (at 2h27'57)
I waited for Marc and then lost him again and spent the whole dayalone. Then at the end I really struggled to get the last waypoint. Atone moment I was 300 metres away but there was a cliff between me andit - it was extremely frustrating.
Stage 13 - Friday a long special and plenty of cacti
Covering territory used in other rallies, the penultimate stage onFriday, from Argentina's La Rioja to Cordoba, is likely to attract alot of local support. Riders will need their full attention to worktheir way through the cactus country including a physically draining545 km special.
Provisional results after Stage 12
1. Cyril Despres, France, KTM
2. Marc Coma, Spain, KTM
3. Gerard Farres Guell, Spain, KTM
4. David Casteu, France, KTM
5. Francisco Lopez, Chile, KTM
6. David Fretigne, France, Yamaha
7. Henk Knuiman, Netherlands, KTM
8. Pal Anders Ullevalseter, Norway, KTM
9. Jakob Przygonski, Poland, KTM
10. Helder Rodrigues, Portugal, KTM
13. Alain Duclos, France, KTM
Provisional overall standings after Stage 12
1. Marc Coma, Spain, KTM
2. Cyril Despres, France, KTM
3. David Fretigne, France, Yamaha
4. David Casteu, France, KTM
5. Helder Rodrigues, Portugal, KTM
6. Pal Anders Ullevalseter, Norway, KTM
7. Jordi Viladoms, Spain, KTM
8. Frans Verhofen, Netherlands, KTM
9. Henk Knuiman, Netherlands, KTM
10. Paulo Goncalves, Portugal, Honda
35. Alain Duclos, France, KTM
Check out www.dakar.com for full results