Dakar2012: Day 13 from Bikes in the Fast Lane

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Dakar2012: Day 13

January
2012

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

Day 13 of the Dakar

. 13 may be an unlucky number for some cultures, but for the French, 13 is a lucky number, and the proof is in the pudding. Frenchman Cyril Despres

won this important and penultimate stage of the rally, and his unlucky opponent, Marc Coma

, lost so much time, that he will need a miracle to win the race. What's worse for Coma is that he might have to change engine, incurring a 45 minute penalty.

One more day, not a ride in the park, but still easy compared to the last 2 weeks worth of racing, and then it's over. This year was a bumper year, with an incredible track laid out for the motorcycles to cross. A lot of deep sand dunes made it spectacular to watch.

Cyril Despres: "Obviously when you start the last real special one and a half minutes down, but with the possibility to pull back just enough time to win, there is a lot of pressure. That pressure is the first thing you have to manage. Then you actually have to ride the bike fast enough to regain those precious seconds. Up until CP1 everything was more or less under control. Every corner I cut was a little time gained – and I was cutting lots of corners! Then at the refuelling I didn’t know what to think. Did Marc have a problem or was there some tactic I hadn’t thought of? With that playing on my mind I made a few mistakes and lost a little time. Fortunately I managed to pull myself together and then at the finish line I realised he had a mechanical problem. Now it is looking good for tomorrow. I am not superstitious, but until I have crossed that final finish line I am not declaring myself the winner."

Marc Coma: "I started very fast, as fast as I could, because I knew it would be difficult to stay in the lead. 25 km into the stage I had a mechanical problem that forced me to slow down and I feared I would not be able to continue. So I am happy to be here, in second position, which is quite good. I fought throughout the entire rally and gave it everything at all times. That is the way it is. I am disappointed because I was not able to fight until the end."

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