2013 Dakar: Despres' fifth trophy

KTM factory rider Cyril Despres picked up his fifth Dakar trophy when he crossed the finish line of the 2013 edition in Santiago on January 19.
Despres’ long-time ‘water carrier’ or factory support rider Ruben Faria of Portugal won the final stage and finished second overall, 10 minutes 43 seconds behind the winner. Chilean Chaleco Lopez, Slovak Ivan Jakes and Spaniard Joan Pedrero filled positions 3-5 to make it a KTM clean sweep of the top spots.

Rod Faggotter (Yamaha) was the leading Australian in 14th, one spot ahead of Ben Grabham (KTM).

“In the end, I've got a good reason to be very happy. The day when winning the Dakar becomes easy, it won't be interesting anymore,” said Despres.

“And this day is still far! It's too long, it's too tough, and it’s too hot. It's too cold. You've got to get up early in the morning. You've got to find your way out of the maze of dunes in Peru and Chile. You've got to tackle the stones and cactuses on the courses near Córdoba.

“It's just too tricky for it to be easy to win. And it's even better when you win a difficult race. I'm always focused on what I have to do. We're up against a gruelling element, the desert. Then there are the stones, the Andes... and we experience them. It's as real as it gets.”

“What a tough and challenging event,” Faggotter said. “Every day there was a new challenge, whether it be the course, learning to read the maps, the other riders, cars or quads and then just the physical and mental pressure of staying focussed and on the job every time you get on the bike.”

“The last few days were really tough as the course had some extremely technical sections and fatigue was a real factor for everyone. Thankfully, I was able to keep it together, get through each day the best I could and we got to the finish line. I’m pretty relieved right now and looking forward to a couple of days rest.”

Meanwhile, Grabham was justifiably happy to finish first Dakar intact.

“To be honest I expected it to be more difficult physically than it was but everything I've done to prepare for it obviously helped,” he said. “The hardest part was mentally day after day just all the maps and the navigation, the long hours and the harsh weather conditions and other elements.

“That first week was the hardest, I wasn’t enjoying it a hell of a lot at first. Everything was so unfamiliar, we’re reading off French maps -- and we’re not even in France – it was important not to let it get to you. Once you got the gist of the event and the conditions and the craziness on the roads you settled into a routine and got the hang of it.”

The remaining Aussie moto finishers were Warren Strange (Honda) in 24th, Todd Smith (Honda) in 34th, Simon Pavey (Husqvarna) in 59th and Matt Fish (Husqvarna) in 111th. Victorian Paul Smith (Honda) was seventh in the quad division.

For full results and standings, visit www.dakar.com/dakar/2013/us/stage-14/rankings/overall-bikes.html#ancre.