The anxious riders departed today on their first leg of the 2009 Dakar Rally.
The famous Dakar Rally has broken new ground with a successful Stage 1 of the 2009 edition held for the first time in South America. Today’s route was one of the longest of the entire rally with 455 miles to cover. Of that, 230 were held wide open for a very fast and troublesome special test. The liaisons were nothing to stress about for the riders, but more than one top competitor was forced into lowly finishing positions due to a host of destroyed tubes and tires.
Marc Coma, the Repsol KTM factory rider, was first to the finish with a huge margin of victory. Coma was forced to start behind reigning champion, Cyril Despres, but after departing at 5 a.m. for the initial transfer segment, Coma was destined for a big day. The Spaniard had a big lead by the time he reached Check Point 3 as the Red Bull KTM rider, Despres, along with Coma’s teammate, Jordi Viladoms, both suffered flats. Viladoms was able to make a repair while Despres was forced to ride on his naked rim for nearly 50 miles.
Second on the day was Polish policeman, Jacek Czachor and third was Miran Stanovic from Slovenia. Dutchman Frans Verhoeven finished fourth and just eight seconds in front of the top American, Jonah Street.
Marc Coma is leading after the first day and is in good position to reclaim his 2006 title.
The first non-KTM is David Fretigne on his Yamaha. The Frenchman finished in 3:14 to land in sixth place for the opening day. Viladoms salvaged a 20th result with Despres marking 22nd.
Tomorrow brings another arduous day as it is the longest stage of the rally. Only 147 miles are timed special test, but the entire route will cover a physically draining 520 total miles.
Rider Quotes:
Marc Coma (Repsol KTM) 1st:
We knew it would be hard on tires here so I elected to use an inner tube instead of a mousse on the rear. And for me at least the gamble paid off - I took it easy and didn't have any problems. But that was today, tomorrow could be a different story and instead of being 40 minutes in front I could be 40 minutes behind. I think this is going to be a very hard race - especially for the head!
Jordi Viladoms (Repsol KTM) 20th:
Like Marc and Cyril I decided to use a tube and punctured after only 50 kilometers. It took me about 20 minutes to put a new tube in and during that time a lot of riders came past me. When I got going again the dust was crazy and I had to take a few risks to get past some slower riders and limit the damage. If it carries on like this it looks like tires will be the referee of this race!
Stage 1 was fast and brutal on tires. Competitors will have to figure out how to get through each day without major setbacks like the ones experienced in the opener.
Obviously I knew I was taking a risk starting on a tube but even now I can't say I regret my decision. I really took care, slowed down in the corners and was generally riding slower than Marc. It was just a question of bad luck. It wasn't hitting a rock that caused me to puncture it must have been a thorn or a nail. I only noticed when I came to a corner and by that time it was too late - the tire was destroyed. I rode with it as long as I could and then eventually hard to stop and pull it off. I rode the last 80 kilometers on the rim. Now the problem is what tactic to adopt. Do I ride slowly for the rest of the race and hope the others have problems, or do I take a risk, ride hard and try and pull back the time?
Stage 1 Results:
1. COMA (ESP) KTM 02:46:17
2. CZACHOR (POL) KTM 03:08:22
3. STANOVNIK (SVN) KTM 03:10:59
4. VERHOEVEN (NLD) KTM 03:12:31
5. STREET (USA) KTM 03:12:39
6. FRETIGNE (FRA) YAMAHA 03:14:31
7. ULLEVALSETER (NOR) KTM 03:14:51
8. KNUIMAN (NLD) KTM 03:15:23
9. RODRIGUES FILHO (BRA) HONDA 03:18:46
10. PAIN (FRA) YAMAHA 03:18:56