Coma still in front after Stage Nine

From KTM Racing

KTM factory rider Marc Coma continued his quest to be the first winner in the first Dakar Rally to be held in South America by consolidating his overall lead in the standings after Stage Nine on Monday.


Tricky navigation allowed those starting further down the field to catch the frontrunners - a situation that bought some relatively unknown names into the top 10. KTM rider Frans Verhoeven won the stage after starting 33rd, ahead of David Frétigné (at 3:09) with local hero Francisco (Chaleco) Lopez third (at 3:40).


Coma came home in fourth place trailing the leader by just 4:59 and factory teammate Cyril Despres was fifth (at 6:03).


While stage winners come and go the overall leader board remains remarkably static with Coma managing his lead in imperial style. There was virtually no change in the order after the dunes of Copiapo Monday evening, with Frétigné second (at 1:04:38) and Despres third (at 1:34:38).


"Today was a typical day of rally-raid, the sort you might find in Africa," Coma said. "In fact it reminded me a lot of certain types of terrain in Morocco. Early on we came quite close to the sea and there were tracks everywhere - and it wasn't easy to find the right one! Overall I'd say it was a hard stage, made harder by tricky navigation. The good news is that my rear mousse performed perfectly."


Riders face the rally's longest and most difficult stretch on Stage Ten with a loop that takes them from and back to Copiapo while they continue to tackle the world's driest desert of Atacama, taking in a 670km special that climbs to just above 2400m.


Organizers promise veritable mountains of sand, including a series of challenging dunes on the last part of the special. Riders are likely to face extreme temperatures during which reading the condition of the sand will be difficult, even for the top riders.


This is the most northern point of the rally in Chile after which the race then heads east and back into Argentina.


Provisional results of ninth stage
1. Frans Verhoeven, Netherlands, KTM
2. David Fretigne, France, Yamaha
3. Francisco Lopez, Chile, KTM
4. Marc Coma, Spain, KTM
5. Cyril Despres, France, KTM
6. David Casteu, France, KTM
7. Helder Rodrigues, Portugal, KTM
8. Felipe Prohens, Chile, Honda
9. Paolo Goncalves, Portugal, Honda
10. Alain Duclos, France, KTM


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