The third stage gave
KTM its first taste of victory as Cyril Despres claimed the win and the overall lead during one of shortest legs of the 2010 Dakar Rally. Known as the “white pit” section, Stage 3 between La Rioja and Fiambala features only one liaison and a special that traversed 113 miles, nearly 20 of which rose and fell through the unmarked white sand dunes.
It was originally reported the
BMW’s Frans Verhoeven had withdrawn from Stage 2 after the transmission broke in his G450X, but the Dutchman made it to the bivouac in the wee hours of the morning. Verhoeven appears to be more
Red Bull KTM's Cyril Despres collected his first stage victory and the overall lead during Stage 3 of the 2010 Dakar Rally.
motivated by the setback than anything and despite the disadvantage of starting last, rode heroically to finish just 24:26 behind Despres.
The riders departed La Rioja at 5 a.m. with the two French Davids, Fretigne and Casteu, out first. The first sandy section must have felt like home for Cyril Despres on the KTM, who made good use of his previous experience in the African Dakar to take over the lead. Rival Marc Coma was not far behind and the Spaniard quickly overcame the trio by the first checkpoint. However, his problems, which started with a 22-minute penalty handed to him yesterday, continued to snowball. Once out in front, overheating issues began to plague the AMV Red Bull KTM rider as he began the ascent to this stage’s highest elevation of 6562 ft. But the biggest blow came when teammate Jordi Viladoms crashed heavily and was transported to the bivouac for medical attention. Viladoms did not suffer serious injury, but has withdrawn from the rally and is still under medical observation. This is the Spaniard’s third withdrawal in four rallies, and the mishap leaves Coma without his support rider with the majority of racing still in front of them.
The overheating didn’t plague only the bigger air-restricted bikes, Casteu also felt the frustration of a failing engine with his Sherco machine. In accordance with Rally racing etiquette, Casteu stopped to aid a competitor, this time the ailing Coma, highlighting these athletes’ emphasis on sportsmanship. Unfortunately, the Frenchman’s SE 4.5i-F also suffered battery failure, putting Casteu even further behind Despres.
During his fourth attempt at the infamous Dakar Rally, Jordi Viladoms crashed causing his withdrawal and earning him an airlift ride back to the bivouac for medical attention.
The margin at Check Point 3 between Despres and the runner-up,
Yamaha’s Helder Rodrigues, had opened to just over 10 minutes. BMW’s Paulo Goncalves, who started the day 53rd, hit CP3 in third with no room to falter as Casteu was only four seconds down. American Jonah Street finished eighth and moved up in the overall standings to sixth.
Ultimately, Despres took the stage victory, reaching the end of the stage 10:40 ahead of Rodrigues and 12:13 over Casteu. The Red Bull KTM Frenchman now moves to the top of the leader board with a 10:03 cushion on his Sherco-mounted countryman.
Tomorrow’s stage is 391 miles total and includes a short liaison into the Andes Cordillera and then into the Atacama Desert where riders face severe altitude and temperature changes. The short 126 miles special will allow riders one last chance to fine tune their sand settings - something they had better get right because they’ll be needing them for the next several days.
Rider Quotes:
Cyril Despres (Fra – KTM) 1st, 1st OA
“This is one of those stages when you set out in the morning and you think to yourself, ‘ok, 180 km, that will be easy. We’ll soon be at the bivouac.’ But there you are, we’ve just spent three hours battling on the bikes. It was a really African-like stage: physically tough with the heat, soft dunes and mechanical aspects to deal with. The bike suffered a bit on the first part, so I had to look after the engine. I tried to ride at a cooler pace for the last 80 km, but it was still sporty anyway. I saw Marc Coma had stopped, so I stopped next to him. I made sure my bike didn’t stall because I was scared it wouldn’t start again. But his engine was spluttering… it was a very complicated day.”
Marc Coma (ESP – KTM) 9th, 8th OA
“It’s a real pity. It’s been a difficult day for us. It looks like Lady Luck was not on our side, firstly for the penalty and today for this complicated stage. As far as navigation is concerned, everything was going fine and I had a good feeling on the bike, but after 30 kilometers, the bike started to have problems. I stopped after 100 kilometers to let the
Sherco's David Casteu takes a much needed rest during Stage 3 of the 2010 Dakar Rally.
engine cool down, then again after that 3 or 4 times. Mind you, the important thing is to reach the finishing line and take something positive out of the situation. David (Casteu) wanted to stop and help me, but I told him to carry on going. The second time he really did stop and couldn’t get started again because of electrical problems on his Sherco. So it turned out that I ended up helping him. It’s the natural thing to do, since he lost time to help me out. And also David is a fine rider. Now tonight is going to be long, because we have to find what the problem is and solve it.”
David Casteu (FRA – Sher) 4th, 2nd OA
I fell quite badly in the sand dunes. I was riding behind Marc, who fell. I laughed a little, then five meters afterwards the same thing happened to me! So it was his turn to laugh at me. But after that, he helped me out a lot, because when I stopped to help him, I couldn’t restart due to battery problems. Fortunately, I had some jump leads with me, so I was able to recharge my battery with his bike. I was looking at all the temperature gauges and saw that it climbed to more than 100 degrees (Celcius). In the big climb up the dunes, I was looking at the bike and thinking, ‘poor thing, if it manages not to break here, it will be okay for the rest of the rally’. I’m not in it to win the race, but to win the 450cc category and to try and make a splash every now and then. It’s true that I’ve ridden some very good stages since the start and again today. I caught up with Frétigné at the start then overtook him and he couldn’t follow. Then Marc arrived and we rode at a fast pace in the dunes. I managed to stick with him and I’m happy to have done it with my 450cc.”
The Stage 3 special was the riders first opportunity to play in the sand and it was a harsh lesson for some.
1. DESPRES (FRA) KTM 03:01:09 00:00:00
2. RODRIGUES (PRT) YAMAHA 03:11:49 00:10:40
3. GONCALVES (PRT) BMW 03:13:18 00:12:09
4. CASTEU (FRA) SHERCO 03:13:22 00:12:13
5. LOPEZ CONTARDO (CHL) APRILIA 03:18:14 00:17:05
6. DUCLOS (FRA) KTM 03:18:54 00:17:05
7. MANCA (ITA) KTM 03:19:05 00:17:56
8. STREET (USA) KTM 03:20:01 00:18:52
9. COMA (ESP) KTM 03:22:46 00:21:37
10. ULLEVALSETER (NOR) KTM 03:24:39 00:23:30
2010 Dakar Rally Overall Standings:
1. DESPRES (FRA) KTM 08:54:04 00:00:00
2. CASTEU (FRA) SHERCO 09:04:07 00:10:03
3. RODRIGUES (PRT) YAMAHA 09:12:01 00:17:57
4. MANCA (ITA) KTM 09:18:33 00:24:29
5. DUCLOS (FRA) KTM 09:25:02 00:30:58
6. STREET (USA) KTM 09:27:30 00:33:26
7. LOPEZ CONTARDO (CHL) APRILIA 09:31:19 00:37:15
8. COMA (ESP) KTM 09:36:08 00:42:04
9. ULLEVALSETER (NOR) 09:39:27 00:45:23
10. GONCALVES (PRT) BMW 09:47:17 00:53:13
Stage 3 Highlight Video Courtesy of
Dakar.com
