KTM’s Cyril Despres is back on his rally bike and gaining momentum as Dakar 2009 approaches. The KTM off-road ace recently finished third overall in the grueling Red Bull Romaniacs aboard a
KTM 300, but his result in the Pharaons International Cross Country Rally was more to his liking as
“Overall it was an excellent rally and I am delighted to add it to my tally,” Despres stated. “The route was varied, the navigation interesting and I felt great on the bike, so all in all I am very satisfied."
he piloted the Red Bull KTM 690 to victory. The Frenchman won Stage 2, 3, 4, and 6 of the seven-stage event. Once Despres moved into the overall leader position on the third day he would not relinquish it in the sands of Egypt.
"I was first into refueling and must have taken on some bad petrol because 50 kilometers further on the bike's engine started to run rough,” he said of the final day. “From there on I was obliged to ride at a maximum of 100 kph and keep my finger crossed all the way to the finish line.”
Despres posted a winning time of 2:45:59, topping fellow open-class competitor Luca Manica by 6:40 with Jakub Przygonski just over 21 minutes back in third. All told there were 54 bike and ATV competitors.
KTM swept the podium with the popular 690 machines, but smaller bikes had a good showing as well with Paolo Ceci and Francisco Lopez putting their twin-cylinder
Cyril Despres pilots his KTM 690 to victory.
Aprilia RXV450 machines into fourth and eighth, respectively. Additionally, Helder Rodrigues and Olivier Pain piloted Yamaha WR450Fs to fifth and sixth, respectively.
Pharaons International Cross Country Rally Results:
1. Cyril Despres, KTM
2. Luca Manica, KTM
3. Jakub Przygonski, KTM
4. Paolo Ceci, Aprilia
5. Helder Rodrigues, Yamaha
6. Olivier Pain, Yamaha
7. Fabrizio Mugnaioli, KTM
8. Francisco Lopez, Aprilia
9. Jacek Czachor, KTM
10. Albert Hintenaus, KTM
