Coma wins 2011 Dakar Rally
The Spaniard has collected his third victory in the mighty event, as KTM debuts its newly developed 450 Rally bike in grand styleMarc Coma has won the 2011 Dakar Rally, rolling into the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires in triumph.
Coma defeated fellow KTM factory rider and defending champion Cyril Despres by just over 15 minutes, with the duo fighting tooth and nail throughout the 13-stage event.
Considering that Despres incurred a 10-minute penalty in the early part of the race, he and Coma rode on equal terms throughout the 13 stages and frequently finished only minutes apart.
In the penultimate stage there was only 37 second separating the two riders at the end of the day. Between them, Coma and Despres took victory in eight of the 13 stages - Coma winning five and Despres three.
“Staying focused was essential so I did focus on my riding. It was the only way to win,” said Coma. “What was really tough was that I could not let my guard down, not even for a second. When a tough stage was ending, the next one was even tougher.
“We all know that a Dakar is a difficult race, but this year it was particularly difficult. This victory is the reward of all the hard work, the reward of many years and a lot of tensions over the last few days. It is the bonus you get for steering right and for so many sacrifices over the years.”
Yamaha rider Helder Rodrigues was third overall, one hour, forty minutes and 20 seconds (1.40:20) behind Coma, followed by Aprilia’s Chaleco Lopez (2.09:45) and KTM’s Juan Pedrero (3.07:03).
Only 94 of the original 186 moto entrants completed the distance, including Australia’s Jacob Smith (Honda) 32nd at 13.14:57.
For Smith’s team-mates the Dakar wasn’t such a success, with Mark Davidson withdrawing at the end of stage four after suffering altitude sickness and then broken ribs, while Warren Strange crashed heavily just before the end of stage five.
Alejandro Patronelli (Yamaha) won the quad class, and Volkswagen’s Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah the auto division.
Four people died in this year’s Dakar – but no competitors. The toll included two electricians who were electrocuted in separate incidences.
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