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STAGE 1 – Mar del Plata > Santa Rosa de La Pampa – 820 km Victory on the first, short 60 kilometre stage went to the Chilean Chaleco Lopez 14 seconds ahead of Marc Coma, with the Argentinean Pizzolito third. Cyril Despres (KTM Red Bull) finished in 13th place, 1’48 behind the winner, with team mate Ruben Faria 8th at 1’18. Cyril Despres “Really nice to be back on the bike again – it is my favourite way to start the New Year! This morning was particularly nice, as for the first 25 kilometres or so the special ran along the seashore and there were many people out to cheer us on.
Then after the special we had a long liaison stage. The road was really
straight and there was a very strong headwind. Tomorrow morning we again have
a 400 kilometre liaison before a 295 kilometre special to San Rafael. The race
is finally underway!” PRE-START PODIUM IN MAR DEL PLATA
Very early tomorrow morning the lead bikes will leave the parc ferme at Mar del Plata to start the first stage of the 2012 Dakar. In total 742 bike, car and truck competitors will head out of the resort town, with the firm intention of reaching the capital of Peru 15 days and 8, 373 kilometres later. Cyril Despres "As always, after several days of packing, unpacking, testing and scrutineering, I am more than ready to start racing. Tomorrow we only have 56 kilometres of special, but a very long 820 kilometre stage to get to our first bivouac in Santa Rosa de la Pampa. I honestly don’t expect it will be the most challenging stage of the rally but the fact that, for the first time since 2007, the Dakar is itinerate, definitely adds to the anticipation. To go from the Atlantic Ocean, south to north, over a huge mountain range, to finish three countries later on the Pacific coast, gives a sense of scale to the vast distances we will cover. As always I will endeavour to keep you informed of my progress. A very Happy New Year to you all."
The first, long special of the 2012 Dakar went to Marc Coma, 1’18 ahead of Cyril Despres (KTM Red Bull) with Barreda third at 2’33. Overall Cyril moves up from 12th to third, 2’52 behind leader Coma, with Lopez second at 2.30. Cyril’s team mate, Ruben Faria, finished the special in 15th place and is this evening 13th overall. Cyril Despres “The first part of the special was very fast and starting 12th this morning I was a little concerned of getting stuck in everybody’s dust. As it turned out my ‘colleagues’ were all very considerate and let me through with virtually no hold up. Then I made a micro-error in the dried up bed part of the special and dropped the bike – fortunately without damage. The final part of the day was a short, 12 kilometres of so section, of dunes. By the time we got to them it was really hot, about 40 degrees, and the bike cut out a couple of times. Despite that I am pretty happy with how the day went. Apparently I still know how to turn the throttle in the right direction!" Stage 2 1 - COMA - 03:07:21 2 - DESPRES - 03:08:39 - variation 00:01:18 3 - BARREDA BORT - 03:09:54 - variation 00:02:33 4 - LOPEZ - 03:10:05 - variation 00:02:44 5 - PRZYGONSKI - 03:11:38 - variation 00:04:17 Overall 1 - COMA - 03:40:12 2 - LOPEZ - 03:42:42 - variation 00:02:30 3 - DESPRES - 03:43:04 - variation 00:02:52 4 - PRZYGONSKI - 03:45:04 - variation 00:04:52 5 - BARREDA BORT - 03:48:28 - variation 00:08:16 STAGE 3 – San Rafael > San Juan – 561 km Victory on the third special went to Cyril Despres (KTM Red Bull) ahead of Franz Verhoeven with Goncalves third. Overall Cyril moves up to first place 10’12 ahead of Marc Coma with David Casteu third at 17’16. Cyril’s team mate Ruben Faria finished 17th and is 15th overall at 34’50. Cyril Despres “The strange thing about rally-raid is that often you don’t know whether or not you are having a good day until it is over. Up to about 10 kilometres from the finish all I knew was that it was a very, very tough day. It started badly this morning when I tore a finger nail putting on my boots. Then at about kilometre 160 my compass stopped working. And finally, on the really technical last 70 kilometres, in the dried up river bed, I damaged my rear brake disc. They are all the sort of things that can cost you time, so I was surprised when, on a remade piste near the end, I couldn’t see any tracks ahead of me. Then I noticed that the TV helicopter was flying over me. But it was only when I actually arrived at the finish line was I certain that I had won the special. Obviously I am pleased with the result, but I have been doing this long enough to know that it is just another detail in the long route to Lima. Stage 3 1 - DESPRES - 03:48:38 2 - VERHOEVEN - 03:57:15 - variation 00:08:37 3 - GONCALVES - 03:57:17 - variation 00:08:39 4 - RODRIGUES - 03:58:41 - variation 00:10:03 5 - CASTEU - 04:00:20 - variation 00:11:42 Overall 1 - DESPRES - 07:31:42 2 - COMA - 07:41:54 - variation 00:10:12 3 - CASTEU - 07:48:58 - variation 00:17:16 4 - LOPEZ - 07:49:19 - variation 00:17:37 5 - RODRIGUES - 07:51:31 - variation 00:19:49
Starting from behind this morning Marc Coma attacked hard to win the 4th stage 2’02 ahead of Cyril Despres (KTM Red Bull) with Verhoeven third at 8’26. Overall Cyril maintains his lead and is now 8’10 ahead of Coma with Lopez third at 26’48. Cyril Despres "I have never ridden 122 kilometres down a riverbed before – that was a very hard – the concentration demanded by the navigation was almost as exhausting as the riding! Opening the piste this morning the plan was to take it easy and above all not to make any big mistakes. When you employ that tactic you accept to lose a little bit of time, so I can’t tell you how pleased I am to lose just 2 minutes! It could have been so much more. I made a small error with the road book right at the beginning, but instead of getting worked up, I stuck to my plan and minimised the damage. Then towards the end I was feeling good, and the bike was working well, so I decided to attack a little and got some of the time back I lost this morning back. A great day of rally-raid. Tomorrow we have another tough day to Fiambala and I will again need to stay very focused." Stage 4 1 - COMA - 04:16:43 2 - DESPRES - 04:18:45 - variation 00:02:02 3 - VERHOEVEN - 04:25:09 - variation 00:08:26 4 - RODRIGUES - 04:25:44 - variation 00:09:01 5 - GONCALVES - 04:28:01 - variation 00:11:18 Overall 1 - DESPRES - 11:50:27 2 - COMA - 11:58:37 - variation 00:08:10 3 - RODRIGUES - 12:17:15 - variation 00:26:48 4 - LOPEZ - 12:20:17 - variation 00:29:50 5 - CASTEU - 12:21:04 - variation 00:30:37 STAGE 5 – Chilecito > Fiambala – 416 km Starting second this morning, Cyril Despres (KTM Red Bull) eventually caught the man opening the piste, Marc Coma and in so doing won the day’s stage. Overall Cyril increases his lead to 9’51 over Marc with Helder Rodrigues third at 47’56. Cyril Despres “There was a good chance that I would catch Marc in the dunes, as the
first bike leaves a track that is easy to follow. Given that, I thought he
might not ride too fast and maybe try some tactical riding, like slowing the
pace down. But when I finally caught up with him, and we started to ride
together, there wasn’t much in the way of tactics, we just rode flat out all
the way to the end!” STAGE 7 – Copiapo > Copiapo – 573 km The last stage before the rest day, the now famous Copiapo – Copiapo loop, was won by Marc Coma ahead of Cyril Despres (KTM Red Bull) with Goncalves third. Overall however, Cyril preserves his lead over Marc by 7’48 with the third placed man, Helder Rodrigues already a significant 49’39 behind the leader. Cyril Despres “This morning it was fast, I wasn’t really in attack mode and, as I expected, Marc caught me up. Then, over the last 120 kilometres in the dunes above Copiapo we attacked really hard and I have to say it was a lot of fun. It wasn’t as if we were on holiday exactly but it was a good reminder of how much fun you can have riding a motorcycle! Now we are at the bivouac where we will stay for tomorrow’s rest day. The idea is to take it easy and recharge your batteries ready for the second week of racing. It will also be a chance for me to go through my bags, sort out my stuff, talk to my team… If everything goes according to plan I might even squeeze in a siesta." STAGE 8 – Copiapo > Antofagasta High drama at the start of 8th stage, when a mud hole threatened to block the whole rally. Second man through, Cyril Despres (KTM Red Bull) got stuck for 8 minutes and after the seventh bike organisers ASO were obliged to modify the route. As a result the federation gave the first seven riders back any time they lost in the bog. Marc Coma won the special and in the process takes the overall lead 1’26 ahead of Cyril with Rodrigues third at 49’01. Cyril Despres “I was on the rally route when I hit the mud hole and decelerated so hard I went straight over the handlebars! Then Paulo Goncalves got stuck and helped pull me out. I can’t thank him enough – he was a real gentleman. After that I managed to keep my head, clean the mud out of the radiator and then rode as steadily as possible to the finish. Obviously I am relieved that the federation reacted quickly and that I recovered the time I was actually immobile. On the other hand the whole incident cost me a lot more time than that and the overall lead into the bargain. The important thing is that I am not hurt and I can start tomorrow under good conditions." STAGE 9 – Antofagasta > Iquique – 665 km Starting 7th this morning, after getting stuck in a mud hole yesterday, Cyril Despres (KTM Red Bull) attacked hard over the day’s two specials to win the day 3’54 ahead of Marc Coma with Barreda third at 8’28. Overall Cyril regains the lead 2’28 ahead of Marc Coma with Helder Rodrigues very nearly an hour behind in third. Cyril Despres "Obviously I started this morning with the firm intention of pulling back some lost time. Unfortunately things didn’t go quite according to plan as I got stuck behind another rider for over 100 kilometres! Still I finished the first special about three and a half minutes up. Then on the second special both Marc and I attacked very hard. So hard in fact that we took about seven minutes off third placed man Barreda in 90 kilometres - and he’s a quick moto-x rider! Physically I didn’t feel too bad on the bike, after yesterday’s excursions in the mud, but now, having arrived at the bivouac I’m feeling pretty stiff all over." STAGE 10 – Iquique > Arica – 694 km Spaniard Joan Barreda won his first ever Dakar special today ahead of Marc Coma with Cyril Despres (KTM Red Bull) third. Overall Cyril hangs on to his lead by just 21 seconds. Cyril Despres “Another hard day and another tough battle with Marc. Starting first this
morning I managed to stay out in front until around kilometre 230. Then Marc
and I took it in turns to open the piste until the dash for the line where I
finished in his dust. Congratulation to Barreda for his maiden victory.
Apparently he hurt his foot quite badly in the special but still managed to
take the win. A fine performance. STAGE 11 – Arica > Arequipa – 705 km Starting second this morning, Cyril Despres (KTM Red Bull) caught and overtook piste opener Marc Coma to win the stage and increase his overall lead from 21 seconds to 2’22. Cyril Despres “Another hard day today, but apart from a small, low speed crash I’m pleased with how the stage went. Once again Marc and I had a real tough battle, swapping the lead several times before I finally got in front at the finish of the second special. If it carries on like this, with the two of us taking back two minutes from each other alternate days, it is going to be a very exciting end of rally for the spectators and a very nerve racking one for us!” STAGE 12 – Arequipa > Nasca – 504 km Opening the piste today, on sandy ground, Cyril Despres (KTM Red Bull) was eventually caught by Marc Coma who wins the stage and in the process takes the lead from Cyril by 1’35. Cyril Despres “I managed to stay out front on my own until nearly the end of the
special, but the last dune section allowed Marc to catch me and we then had
another rush to the line, which I got to just before him. Although I lose the
overall lead I had a really great day on the bike. It is to ride specials like
this that I train hard all year and why I love to ride motorcycles in the
desert. Absolutely magical! STAGE 13 – Nasca > Pisco – 375 km Starting 4th this morning and 1’35 overall behind Marc Coma, Cyril Despres (KTM Red Bull) chased hard to regain the lead. At the end of a stage rich in drama the Frenchman eventually finished 11’03 ahead of his rival with just a short 29 kms special tomorrow. Cyril Despres “Obviously when you start the last real special one and a half minutes
down, but with the possibility to pull back just enough time to win, there is
a lot of pressure. That pressure is the first thing you have to manage. Then
you actually have to ride the bike fast enough to regain those precious
seconds. Up until CP1 everything was more or less under control. Every corner
I cut was a little time gained – and I was cutting lots of corners! Then at
the refuelling I didn’t know what to think. Did Marc have a problem or was
there some tactic I hadn’t thought of? With that playing on my mind I made a
few mistakes and lost a little time. Fortunately I managed to pull myself
together and then at the finish line I realised he had a mechanical problem.
Now it is looking good for tomorrow. I am not superstitious, but until I have
crossed that final finish line I am not declaring myself the winner.” STAGE 14 – Pisco > Lima – 283 km No last minutes surprises on the 2012 Dakar, with the final victory going to Cyril Despres ahead of Marc Coma. The Portugese rider Helder Rodrigues was third. Cyril Despres “Without doubt this fourth Dakar victory was the hardest – both physically and psychologically. From the very first stage, all the way to the end of the last real stage, Marc (Coma) and I battled it out and mentally that made it particularly exhausting. We are so close in terms of outright speed and navigational ability that the slightest error can allow the other to pull out a decisive lead – there is never a moment to relax. To have such a rivalry doesn’t make either of our lives easy, but it does add to our sport’s excitement and gives our victories greater merit. Once again we were both blessed with excellent machinery and a fantastic road book with which to fight our battle, so a very sincere ‘thank you’ to KTM for producing such a great bike and ASO for organising such an excellent event. The last part of the rally in Peru provided some of the best terrain I have ever raced over, the 12th stage in particular left a lasting souvenir. Finally, a big thank you to my team and my sponsors for making this fourth victory possible.”
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Despite
the excitement of starting another Dakar I decided to take it easy and set a
gentle pace. The track was a little tricky in places and a couple of minutes
here or there at this stage in the race aren’t going to make much
difference.
STAGE 2 – Santa Rosa de La Pampa > San Rafael –
693 km
STAGE
4 – San Juan > Chilecito – 750 km