Dakar - Day 2 - Victoria to Cordoba
After a ceremonial first leg of the Dakar Rally on Saturday, riders took to the desert course for the first day of competition. And up front, KTM led the 170 motorcycle field from Victoria to Cordoba.
Portugal's Ruben Faria was able to edge out his KTM comrades for the opening stage victory. Faria beat out Cyril Despres, the 2010 Dakar Champion, by 28 seconds. Marc Coma, another KTM rider who frequents the podium at the Dakar Rally, finished a minute and 15 seconds off of Faria's pace. Spaniard Juan Pedrero Garcia was the fourth KTM to finish the day's stage, giving the Austria company a fantastic start to the grueling two-week course.
The first non-KTM machine to finish the stage belonged to Yamaha, and was ridden by Paulo Goncalves of Portugal. Jonah Street led the American effort with a 6th place finish.
Faria, who captured his fourth stage win of his career, was comfortable with the day's stage, saying that it reminded him of riding in Portugal.
"I managed to keep a good tempo from the beginning to the end," Faria said. "This special stage looked very much like what I am used to seeing in Portugal. I am glad to know that in the end it paid out and I got the day's best clock. I did better today than many great riders with different driving styles. It's already a good point of reference. I am also very happy to see that my teammate Cyril Despres also made excellent time."
