Dakar2012: Day 10 from Bikes in the Fast Lane

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Dakar2012: Day 10

January
2012

  File under Dakar Race
  Author: Mike Werner
  Location: Normandy, France

Last full day in Chile, and tomorrow on to Peru, a first for the Dakar

rally. The motorcycles had another tough day, but that's the Dakar, a tough day follows a tough day.

Cyril Despres

lost tme against his arch-rival Marc Coma

, and now only 21 seconds seperate them. 21 seconds is nothing, and anything can happen in the next few days, it's that close.

Spanish rider Joan Barreda took his first ever victory in the Dakar on his Husqvarna, and looks promosing as a future winner.

Marc Coma: "It's the tone that's been set for the rally and I think we'll keep on battling until the end. We keep trying to make the difference all the time and the entry into Peru will be decisive. The race will hinge on the smallest of margins. When the performance level is equivalent with the same team and the same bike, it's very difficult, both for him (Despres) and for me. But when it comes to the crunch, it will be entirely up to either one rider or the other."

Cyril Despres: "Another hard day and another tough battle with Marc. Starting first this morning I managed to stay out in front until around kilometre 230. Then Marc and I took it in turns to open the piste until the dash for the line where I finished in his dust. Congratulation to Barreda for his maiden victory. Apparently he hurt his foot quite badly in the special but still managed to take the win. A fine performance.
Tomorrow we have a marathon bivouac with no assistance. It comes at a critical moment in the rally where the smallest thing could tip the balance either way. Hopefully my mechanic’s training will serve me well!"

Here are the photos of yesterday. courtesy KTM

and Maragni M.

. Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them after they have all fully loaded