At the end of the seventh and longest stage of the Dakar Rally, Marc Coma closed the gap on forerunner Cyril Despres to just over an hour. However, after a six-hour penalty was given to Coma for changing a tire during a neutral part in Fridays stage, he drops from second in the overall standings to 24th.
"I believe this is an injustice," Coma told Chile's Radio Cooperativa on Saturday. "At no point was it possible to show that I changed wheels."
The Spaniard, who had suffered from penalties and mechanical problems during the entire first week, was hopeful that he could 
close the gap on Despres. Now, riding more than seven hours behind the leader, Coma can only hope for another stage win to salvage this Dakar.
Despres, who now has an hour and twenty-minute lead over his nearest competitor, Norwegian Pal-Anders Ullevalseter, can ride easy for the remainder of the rally, and if he can avoid mechanical problems, should be the easy winner.
Second place, however, is up for grabs. Ullevalseter, Helder Rodriguez, and “Chaleco” Contardo, who captured his second stage win of the 32nd Dakar today, all sit within five minutes of each other in the overall standings.
