Despres leads Dakar Rally
The defending champion holds the early upperhand over fellow KTM rider Marc Coma, while Aussie rookie Jacob Smith is knocking on the door of the top 20
Andorran-based Frenchman Cyril Despres has extended his lead in this year’s Dakar Rally after winning the 740km stage two from Cordoba to San Miguel in Argentina.
The defending champion, attempting to win his fourth Dakar crown on KTM’s new 450 Rally machine, described stage two as a “300km giant slalom with jumps”.
“It was full of bends and very slippery,” Despres said. "I noticed at the refueling point that I'd taken almost a minute less than (Marc) Coma. I was feeling good, so I decided to attack a bit in the second part, although I was careful to look after my tyres because I nearly wore them through today.
“The most important thing is to find a good pace and have the right feeling. For the moment, the riding demands a lot of concentration.”
With 14 days of competition still to go in the in the 9000km epic through Argentina and Chile, Despres now holds a two-minute and 35-second (2:35) lead over arch-rival Coma (KTM), who is also a multiple Dakar winner.
Portugal’s Ruben Faria (KTM) is third, 6:13 behind Despres, with the top five completed by Francisco Lopez (Aprilia, 6:51) and Paolo Goncalves (BMW, 9:28).
Faria was initially awarded victory in stage one, but then had to forfeit top spot to Despres after being pinged for a speeding infringement.
Australia’s Jacob Smith, the 2009 Australasian Safari winner, is 21st overall in his first Dakar attempt, ahead of countryman Warren Strange (Honda, 54th) and rally veteran Simon Pavey (BMW, 60th).
Smith, who is just returning to action after breaking his leg, will now be looking to move into the top 20 in tomorrow’s stage three, which riders travelling from San Miguel to San Salvador de Jujuy over 231km of road and a mammoth 521km special where they encounter desert canyons and earth tracks before entering thick forest.
Brazilian Jose Rodrigues Filho, who competed in last year’s Australasian Safari, is ninth overall riding for the BMW factory team.
The quad and auto categories are also being led by the pre-event favourites -- Josef Machacek and Carlos Sainz respectively.
Aussie Bruce Garland, alongside co-driver Harry Suzuki, is running 19th in the auto division.
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