The 2011 Dakar Rally - Cordoba to San Miguel
Cyril Despres has won two consecutive stages at the Dakar Rally in South America. Despres was bested by his KTM teammate, Ruben Faria, during the opening stage of the Dakar, but after Faria was docked a minute for a speed-limit infraction, Despres was given the stage 1 win. Despres didn't need any help to win the second stage, however, as he beat out his biggest rival Marc Coma by 1'49 seconds on the stage.
The second stage wasn't the most challenging navigational stage of the Dakar, but being the first bike on the road is difficult for even the most experienced riders. Despres, who claimed his 25th career stage win today, has only won three stages after being the first bike on the road. Despres is now 2'35 seconds ahead of Marc Coma in the overall standings.
"Today the track was full of bends and very skiddy, like a 300-km giant slalom with jumps, like skiing," 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, though I was careful to look after my tires because I nearly wore them through today. The most important thing is to find a god pace and have the right feeling. For the moment, the riding demands a lot of concentration".
Despres and Coma, who have combined for the last 5 Dakar rally wins, are beginning to separate a bit from the rest of the pack, but it is still too early to call them the clear leaders. Ruben Faria, who won yesterday's stage before being penalized, lost five minutes to Despres today. Faria finished fifth during today's stage, and is now in third place overall, more than 6 minutes behind the leader.
The three KTM machines are being closely trailed by Francisco “Chaleco” Lopez, Paulo Gonçalves, and David Casteu, who are riding Aprilia, BMW, and Sherco bikes respectively. Casteu, who had a dramatic stage yesterday after striking a spectator, made a big jump in the standings with a solid finish during today's stage.
"I asked for news about the spectator that I hit yesterday and he only has two broken ribs, so I'm very relieved, because it wasn't a very easy evening to go through yesterday," Casteu said. "Today, I was still thinking about it, but there were much less people on the tracks and I was able to attack a lot. I ended up in the dust of Rodrigues, Viladoms and Verhoeven. I even managed to overtake them, but it wasn't easy. At one point, I was travelling at 163 kmph [101 mph], which is not bad at all for a 450cc. The bike is working very well and I'm really enjoying riding it."
The top riders all seem to be adjusting to their new 450cc machines quite well, but others aren't so lucky. Last year's runner up Pal-Anders Ullevalsetter has struggled upon his new bike. Ullevalsetter is 29th after the first two standings.
