The penultimate stage of Dakar Rally saw Cyril Despres desperately trying to cut into Marc Coma's lead. But despite Despres' valiant efforts, he could not hold off a confident Coma. Coma claimed the stage victory today, practically assuring his third Dakar Rally win.
Here are some quotes from the 12th stage of the Dakar Rally.
Helder Rodrigues: “I tried to put pressure on Chaleco”
“It was a superb stage, long and with a bit of everything, as well as navigational difficulties. I tried to put pressure on Chaleco and I did manage to get closer to him. There's still one stage left to go for it, anything is possible.”
Marc Coma: “Still 190 km left to race”
“Today was complicated due to all the rain that fell last night. As a result, it was a very technical stage, like in endurance racing. But it went fine. There is still a 190-km stage left to race tomorrow. Normally, there shouldn't be any complications, but we still need to race them, it's there to be done. It just shows that the route has been designed to ensure that there is suspense up to the end, so we'll just have to wait and see tomorrow.”
Quinn Cody: “I'm going to come back next year to race, not just to finish”
“It was a tough stage, really long. The first part was fun, it was sandy and I had a really good time. Then we came onto the part where the trucks had gone in front of us and they'd just made huge holes and mud puddles. That was really challenging. I'm just riding the way I would normally ride, slowly building speed with the road-book and I feel pretty comfortable with it now. I definitely want to come back. I'm going to try and put something together to come back next year and come at it to race, not just to finish. I'm trying to learn and do my best. It's working well and I'm really happy with the way things are going.”
Francisco Lopez: “Important for me to protect my position”
“It was a stage that had everything, with sand and mud, before technical and quick tracks at the end. It was important for me to protect my position whilst Marc and Cyril battled for first place. There were 40 to 50 kilometres where it was difficult, but I managed to get to the finish and there's only one day left now. I'm happy even if I would have liked have a bit more of a battle today. The Dakar is finishing now and, like we say in Chile, you have to ‘keep a cool head' for what's left. Marc and Cyril have lots of experience, 8 or 9 Dakars, I think, whilst I've only done 4. They have better, well-developed bikes. Ours is a work in progress.”
Cyril Despres: “I gave it everything I had”
“I had to go on the attack, it's a bit second nature for me anyway, so I've been going for it since the first kilometre, even if I slowed a bit at the end. At least it's good to not have any regrets. I gave it everything I had and it was a long day. It must have rained a lot last night because the tracks were churned up with lots of mud. It was hellish. My chances are looking slimmer though. After a day like that with 555 km to cover and opportunities to open up gaps, we more or less cancelled each other out. Mind you, it's not the end of the world, you know, you have to keep things in perspective.”
Here is a video summary of today's stage at the 2011 Dakar Rally.
