Alain Duclos came out of a tough battle for first in stage 11. Just over a minute behind stage winner Verhoeven and runner up Jonah Street.
American Jonah Street had a golden opportunity today in Stage 11, but missed the victory on his Rally Pan-Am KTM by a mere three seconds. BMW’s Frans Verhoeven was able to sneak by, giving the German manufacturer its first stage victory since 2001.
Now fully out of the Atacama Desert and its tricky dunes, Marc Coma was coming off of a string of victories and looking to keep his streak alive. That all changed on the winding route through the mountains. Riders emerged from their tents in the predawn darkness to embark on the 131-mile transfer. From there it was another 137 miles of racing through the Argentine special. Coma left first, but the veteran made a navigational error right off the bat when he missed a right turn. Those immediately behind him were also tricked which set the stage for Verhoeven and Street to make their mark.
The stage’s only check point came at just 32 miles in and thanks to Coma’s nearly 12-minute detour, Street was in the lead with the BMW-mounted Dutchman right on his heels. Alain Duclos was right in the mix with his KTM as well, along with Norway’s Pal Anders Ullevalseter. The running order was the same around the halfway mark, though Coma had chipped to within nine minutes of the leader.
Coma's bad luck continues as he makes a navigation error early in the race leading much of the pack in the wrong direction.
As the finish line neared, Verhoeven made a push that Street just couldn’t defend, and the Beemer inherited a slight advantage. The Dutchman held on for a three-second victory with Duclos another 1:22 behind Street in third. The win is a highlight in what has been a discouraging rally for Verhoeven. The BMW rider suffered through the first two stages finishing 109th and 148th on his G450X to open the raid. Steadily climbing back, Verhoeven now resides in 48th overall.
Cyril Despres, as he’s done this entire rally, had a quiet day to finish seventh. The Frenchman is in no hurry to crash himself out of a very comfortable hour and 20-minute overall lead. Ullevalseter (fourth on the day) currently holds that runner-up position ahead of Francisco Lopez Contardo, who finished fifth. Coma is still down in 16th overall.
Rider Quotes:
Frans Verhoeven: (NLD – BMW) 1st, 48th OA
“I’m very happy to be here at the end of the stage. I had a lot of difficulties during the first two or three days. We’re here with a brand new bike, it’s a BMW, and we didn’t really know that much about it so we sort of jumped into the deep end with it. Now everything is under control, the bike is running much better and I’m getting used to riding a 450. Today I attacked from the start of the special until the end. First, I was a bit in the dust behind Duclos, but then I overtook and I continued to attack. I’m very happy to have won the stage today.”
Alain Duclos: (FRA – KTM) 3rd, 5th OA
“It’s obviously a good performance for me. That said, I had a bit of a patchy day. I fell off after 80 km when my front wheel skidded out. Then, on the quick section, I thought I was burning the rubber on my tires, so I slowed my maximum speed down. After that, I lost a bit of my gear selector, so I thought it would be better to follow Frans (Verhoeven) who is very good on this type of very technical route. I hung on and in the end I managed to put in the third best time, in spite of a day that wasn’t brilliant. But I’m not going to complain
Despres continues his strong hold on the overall standings with second place still over an hour behind.
about it. Today, the race wasn’t too great for me, but it’s a good end to the day. So much the better. It just goes to show that on a Dakar anything can happen. My aim is still to be in the top-five. That was my goal at the start, and I’m fighting to make it come true, I’m really getting stuck in.”
Cyril Despres: (FRA – KTM) 7th, 1st OA
“It was a nice stage again. The organizers have really done a great job. It was strange at the beginning, because after 13 km, there was a banner stopping us following a track. I went straight ahead for about 80 meters before turning round after I saw Marc Coma coming back in the other direction followed by other riders. After that, we carried on as a group. It happens sometimes, I suppose. That said, I rather enjoyed myself. It was quick today, 220 km in a flash. Was I being extremely careful? No. When I climb on the bike, I just can’t hold myself back. I just want to have fun.”
2010 Dakar Rally Stage 11 Results:
1. VERHOEVEN (NLD) BMW 02:44:50
Stage 11 took the competitiors out of high mountains of Chile and back in to Argentina where they will spend the final stages of the rally.
2. STREET (USA) KTM 02:44:53 00:00:03
3. DUCLOS (FRA) KTM 02:46:15 00:01:25
4. ULLEVALSETER (NOR) KTM 02:47:16 00:02:26
5. LOPEZ CONTARDO (CHL) APRILIA 02:48:38 00:03:48
6. FRETIGNE (FRA) YAMAHA 02:48:39 00:03:49
7. DESPRES (FRA) KTM 02:49:11 00:04:21
8. PEDRERO GARCIA (ESP) KTM 02:49:49 00:04:59
9. COMA (ESP) KTM 02:49:58 00:05:08
10. PRZYGONSKI (POL) KTM 02:50:13 00:05:23
2010 Dakar Rally Overall Standings:
1. DESPRES (FRA) KTM 42:05:10
2. ULLEVALSETER (NOR) KTM 43:26:04 01:20:54
3. LOPEZ CONTARDO (CHL) APRILIA 43:28:44 01:23:34
4. RODRIGUES (PRT) YAMAHA 43:35:45 01:30:35
5. DUCLOS (FRA) KTM 43:59:49 01:54:39
6. FRETIGNE (FRA) YAMAHA 44:06:07 02:00:57
7. STREET (USA) KTM 44:41:05 02:35:55
8. PAIN (FRA) YAMAHA 44:54:17 02:49:07
9. PRZYGONSKI (POL) KTM 45:17:28 03:12:18
10. PEDRERO GARCIA (ESP) KTM 45:17:54 03:12:44
