David Casteu first winner of Central Europe Rally
By TMX Archives on 26th Apr 08
A moment supreme'! It was a memorable day for David Casteu at the shores of Lake Balaton. All he had to do in the last stage was to keep an eye on his main (and only) rival Francisco Lopez to make sure victory was his.
And that's just what he did. It's David's first win in rally-raid, who's inhis fourth season riding for KTM. He was drenched with champagne thanks to AlainDuclos and Francisco Lopez, when he came off the podium.
David Casteu
"This is a moment supreme' for me. Finally! It's my first, but hopefullynot last win.
When I go to the next rally, I will not be the same person anymore becausethis victory gives my moral a big boost. The Central Europe Rally is a new kindof race, which we had to adapt to. Now we will have to see in which directionthis race will develop."
Francisco Lopez
"It's my first podium for KTM and I'm very happy. Two years ago I couldn'tdream this would happen to me. The bike was just perfect this week, and the teamdid a great job. It's still a long way to go before we will race in Chili withDakar 2009, but I'm going for it."
Alain Duclos was on and off the podium in the general ranking the last fewdays, but in the end he secured his 3rd place in the last stage.
Alain Duclos
"Finally, after all these years of hard work and suffering, I'm on thepodium. Thanks to Toni Togo who never stopped believing in me. I rode aconsistent race which paid off in the end."
Cyril Despres was unlucky today, he went down to 5th place overall due to afuel problem.
"Preparing for Chili was the main goal. I'm content about the bike. We triedto push hard to see how the Rally light would manage the different short stages.Now it's a matter of details, but for the rest the bike is good. It's too soonyet to talk about the future of this race, I think its important ASO listens towhat the different riders have to say about this first edition.
Jordi Viladoms (6th overall)
"This week was a good experience, it was good for my confidence on the bike.A different kind of rally though, which suits me less than the races in thedesert. We all know A.S.O. organized this rally in a very short time, so I'msure it wasn't easy for them."
Teammanager Hans Trunkenploz: With 17 KTM's within the first 20 in theoverall classification, we score a maximum result. We all expected the 450'smore upfront, but the 690 proved to be very competitive, also when theconditions were less favorable. It shows we're in the good direction. In Brasil(Dos Sertoes Rally, which starts June 17th) the whole team will start on theRally Light. The option to choose from two set-up's will surely help us."
Results Day 7
Rank Rider Nation Bike Time
1 Jaroslav Katrinak FRA KTM 1.46.02
2 Francisco Lopez CHL KTM 1.48.07
3 David Casteu FRA KTM 1.49.37
4 Jordi Viladoms ESP KTM 1.51.39
5 Ruben Faria PRT HONDA 1.52.41
18 Cyril Despres FRA KTM 2.00.16
Overall Standings
Rank Rider Nation Bike Time
1 David Casteu FRA KTM 12.21.14
2 Francisco Lopez CHL KTM 12.24.12
3 Alain Duclos FRA KTM 12.40.53
5 Jose Manuel Pellicer ESP YAMAHA 12.42.34
4 Cyril Despres FRA KTM 12.44.04
6 Jordi Viladoms ESP KTM 12.49.11
