After a difficult day on Friday in the Dakar 2013, Red Bull KTM Factory Rider and titleholder Cyril Despres managed to claw back some time in Stage Eight on Saturday, the last day before the one rest day in this mammoth 8000 km trek through a good slice of South America.
  Cyril Despres © Maragni M. KTM Images |
Despres and his factory teammates had worked in the riders’ bivouac for much of the night to change engines on his machine after he suffered mechanical issues the previous day. Stages seven and eight were designated ‘marathon’ stages in which competitors were allowed no outside assistance from their support team. So it was up to his fellow factory riders to help Cyril make the switch. In a show of typical KTM team solidarity they all worked to change over the engine of Despres’ bike with the KTM-supported bike of Polish rider Marek Dabrowski. KTM is indebted to Marek’s team for allowing the changeover.
 Ruben Faria © Maragni M. KTM Images |
Despres went out on Saturday hoping to gain some time and managed to avoid navigational mistakes to finish 9′26″ down on new overall leader David Casteu of France. But he will be handed a 15-minute penalty for the engine change and this will drop him down to sixth place overall ahead of the second week of racing. His position going into the second half of the rally could also be influenced if other riders choose to strategically change their engines on the rest day Sunday.
 Francisco Chaleco Lopez © Maragni M. KTM Images |
The French rider also seemed to have a lucky break when many of the leader riders got lost in the final section of Saturday’s timed special and finished well down the order on the official time sheets. On Saturday riders also had a much shorter challenge than the planned 491 km of timed special when organizers announced at the beginning of the day that only the second half would be contested due to heavy overnight rain in the region. The second half of the timed special was new to all riders because it broke new ground not previously covered in earlier editions.
 Ben Grabham © Maragni M. KTM Images |
Team boss Alex Doringer said on Saturday night after clearly what was an eventful day on the stage that the race was still wide open. “Saturday showed us that nothing has been decided yet,” he said.
 Ivan Jakes © Maragni M. KTM Images |
Sunday is the official rest day however teams will be very busy preparing the bikes for the second half of the rally.
 Riaan Van Niekerk © Maragni M. KTM Images |
Results Stage Eight
Calama to Tucuman (first half stage canceled because of heavy rain)
1, Joan Barreda , Spain, Husqvarna, 2 hours 07.26
2, Campbell, USA, Honda, 2:14.30
3, Ivan Jakes, Slovakia, KTM, 2:15.23
4, Bianchi Prata, Portugal Husqvarna 2:18.36
5, Vincent Guindani, Italy, Yamaha, 2:20.33
6, David Casteu, France, Yamaha, 2:21.39
Other KTM
11, Cyril Despres, France, KTM 2:23.35
28, Ruben Faria, Portugal, KTM 2:29.50
34, Ben Grabham, Australia, 2:38.25
38, Riaan Van Niekerk, South Africa KTM, 2:31.41
50, Chaleco Lopez, Chile, KTM 2:34.10
57, Kurt Caselli, USA, KTM 2:36.36
61, Jakub Przgonski, Poland, KTM 2:39.05
70, Joan Pedrero, Spain, KTM 2:42.20
76, Darryl Curtis, South Africa, KTM 2:44.20
86, Pal Anders Ullevalseter, Norway, KTM 2, 48.04
Overall Standings after Stage Eight
1, Casteu 19:56.37
2, Despres, KTM, 20:05.59 (provisional - will drop to sixth after being handed the regulation 15 minute penalty for changing engines)
3, Faria KTM 20:07.49
4, Lopez, KTM 20:08.33
Other KTM
8, Przygonski, KTM, 20:28.05
9, Svitko, KTM, 20:30.23
11, Caselli, KTM 20:23.39
15, Van Niekerk, KTM 20:39.40
17, Pedrero, KTM 20:45.61
19, Curtis, KTM 21:06.09
20, Ullevalseter, KTM 21:09.20
21, Grabham, KTM 21:10.06
|
Click here to Show/Hide 
