Coma coasts to victory

From KTM Racing

With his second Dakar win in his sights, KTM factory rider Marc Coma coasted through the final stage of the first ever Dakar in South America on Saturday to finish sixth and take victory in the race.

Coma, from Spain, dominated the race that started on Jan. 3 and finished with an impressive winning margin of one hour, 25 minutes and 38 seconds.

"I can't describe the feeling - happy doesn't even come close," Coma said. "It is so good to be able to draw a line under two difficult years - losing the 2007 Dakar two days from the end and then the cancellation of the 2008 edition.

"Winning this race is all about preparation and Jordi [Viladoms], Gerard [Farres] and I worked very hard on that this year. It has been a difficult rally for both the organizers and the competitors, due to our lack of experience in racing on this continent, but we have all risen to that challenge."

Provisional results for Stage 14
1. Helder Rodrigues, Portugal, KTM
2. Pal Anders Ullevalseter, Norway, KTM
3. Cyril Despres, France, KTM
4. Jordi Viladoms, Spain, KTM
5. David Casteu, France, KTM
6. Marc Coma, Spain, KTM
7. Frans Verhofen, Netherlands, KTM
8. Teus Visser, Netherlands, KTM
9. Henk Knuiman, Netherlands, KTM
10. Gerard Farres Guell, Spain, KTM

Provisional final overall standings
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