The ninth stage of the 2011 Dakar Rally was an unusual one. After a group start, nine of the first ten riders made a costly navigation mistake. Only Helder Rodriguez managed to navigate the course successfully, but a fuel shortage toward the end of the race caused Rodriguez to miss out on his second stage win. Instead, a charging Jonah Street was able to take advantage of the situation, as he claimed his first stage win of the 2011 Dakar.
The battle between Marc Coma and Cyril Despres was a timid one today, as neither rider could gain much of an advantage. Despres would finish the track a minute ahead of his rival, but still sits 8 minutes back in the overall standings.
Here are some quotes from the 9th stage of the Dakar Rally.
Jonah Street: "It's Awesome, Totally awesome."
"I had to start in the third wave, which was good and bad; good that everyone up front new their position and were taking it easy and i got to charge through. The second wave caught everybody in the second to last sand dunes. Then in the last dunes, I think there were only 3 bikes in front of me, I went over the handlebars hard, straight into the sand, totally unannounced, but I was okay. I got back up and followed them in, because I figured that I started two waves behind them so I was doing alright. Today we didn't have any bike problems, everything went really smooth, so I'm happy. It's awesome. You know what? We've been capable of it all rally, it just hasn't fallen into our plate. It's awesome, totally awesome. It's what we come here to do, to do the best we can and first is the best you can do, so to win a stage is pretty special."
David Casteu: “It was absolutely great”
“It's wonderful. I navigated by myself, since there were no tracks. I rode with Verhoeven in the right direction, making sure I was crossing the dunes well. Soon, we started to see the bikes of Chaleco, Coma… We went hell for leather, right up to the finish. It was absolutely great. As a result, it helped me forget my gearbox problems a bit.”
Helder Rodrigues: “It's terrible, but that's rallying for you”
“The day started well for me again. I was riding really well until the 215 km point, then I got a bit lost. I rode 9 km too much, so I turned back and ran out of petrol. Luckily, Felipe Prohens gave me some petrol. It's terrible. 15 kilometres from here I had the best time, but that's rallying for you.”
Marc Coma: “In the end, it was a difficult day”
“With the grouped start and the fog, the start of the stage and the navigation was very difficult. In the first group, we got lost, turning right when we shouldn't have. When we got back on track the second wave caught up with us. It was a bit of a mess. After that, a group of around twenty quick riders formed and we managed to ride the rest of the stage normally. But in the end, it was a difficult day.”
Frans Verhoeven: “It's perfect”
“For today's grouped start, since I like motocross, I wasn't stressed about being in between other riders. I attacked from the start. In the dunes and the mountains, there was a lot of fog, and I caught up with Ullevalseter. I couldn't understand, because he set off 5 minutes before me. I guess the group in front got really lost and that I navigated really well. It's perfect…”
Cyril Despres: “Fed up of playing cat and mouse”
“After the start, we didn't stay grouped for a long time because at the 17 km point Helder Rodrigues took a wrong direction and we all followed him. So, we turned round and ran straight into the second wave of starters. We were all riding in each others dust. It was a bit of a strange stage really. For the general standings, I assumed my responsibilities, because I'm fed up of playing cat and mouse for the last few years. We'll see what this strategy produces. Now I'll have to wait for the stage in Fiambala.”
A video recap of stage nine of the Dakar Rally is coming soon.
