Despres moves into second

From KTM Racing

KTM's two leading factory riders, Marc Coma and Cyril Despres, both veterans and winners of previous Dakar rallies, were again in a class of their own in Stage 12 of the 2009 race on Thursday.

Coma continues his charge to overall victory with a commanding lead of one hour, 29 minutes and 48 seconds and Despres, as stage winner, dislodged Frenchman David Fretigne and is now in second place.

Despres finished just 1:23 ahead of Coma with Gerard Farres (KTM) third (at 9:47). Fretigne is now third overall just four minutes and seven seconds behind Despres.

Riders faced another weather phenomenon on Thursday when the Argentinean skies opened up to a downpour of rain which, together with accompanying wind, added another difficult dimension to the day's ride. The original course had also been shortened by about 30km to bypass recently discovered archeological treasures on the original route.

"The navigation was really difficult today," Despres said. "It was like a treasure hunt and it is always a pleasure when you find the right point. Then three or four kilometres from the end it got a little less fun with a modification to the road book that wasn't too clear and I lost some minutes. I heard Frétegné's engine at the first refuelling CP and it didn't sound too good so I guessed there was a good chance of getting the second place overall."

"There were some places where it was a little muddy, but nothing serious," Coma said. "The thing that made today difficult was the navigation - particularly at the end. I don't think the road book was wrong, just difficult to interpret. The sand was also very soft which didn't make life any easier."

Covering territory used in other rallies, the penultimate stage on Friday, from Argentina's La Rioja to Cordoba, is likely to attract a lot of local support. Riders will need their full attention to work their way through the cactus country including a physically draining 545km special.

Provisional results from Stage 12
1. Cyril Despres, France, KTM
2. Marc Coma, Spain, KTM
3. Gerard Farres Guell, Spain, KTM
4. David Casteu, France, KTM
5. Francisco Lopez, Chile, KTM
6. David Fretigne, France, Yamaha
7. Henk Knuiman, Netherlands, KTM
8. Pal Anders Ullevalseter, Norway, KTM
9. Jakob Przygonski, Poland, KTM
10. Helder Rodrigues, Portugal, KTM

Provisional overall standings after Stage 12
1. Marc Coma, Spain, KTM
2. Cyril Despres, France, KTM
3. David Fretigne, France, Yamaha
4. David Casteu, France, KTM
5. Helder Rodrigues, Portugal, KTM
6. Pal Anders Ullevalseter, Norway, KTM
7. Jordi Viladoms, Spain, KTM
8. Frans Verhofen, Netherlands, KTM
9. Henk Knuiman, Netherlands, KTM
10. Paulo Goncalves, Portugal, Honda