Commanding lead for Coma

From KTM Racing

The first special of the 2009 Dakar should have been an uneventful warm-up but of the four KTM factory riders only Marc Coma made it through untroubled during the 371km from Buenos Aires to Santa Rosa to take a commanding lead.

The three other KTM factory riders all ran into major tire problems. And they weren't the only ones. Many riders, of all abilities and speeds, arrived at the end of the stage on ruined rubber, or in many cases, on their rims.

As a result Marc Coma shares the virtual podium with some unexpected rivals. In second place (at 22:05) is Polish policeman Jacek Czachor (KTM), with Miran Stanovnik (KTM) third (at 24:42).

Jordi Viladoms is back in 20th position (at 40:22) with Cyril Despres 22nd (at 41:48).

"We knew it would be hard on tires here so I elected to use an inner tube instead of a mousse on the rear," Coma explained. "And for me at least the gamble paid off - I took it easy and didn't have any problems. But that was today, tomorrow could be a different story and instead of being 40 minutes in front I could be 40 minutes behind."

The first stage ended at Santa Rosa de la Pampa after riders completed the first liason of of 196km, followed by a timed 371km stage and a second liaison of 166km, almost 400km of very fast racing and a chance to discover the famous Pampas of Argentina.

Stage two, which takes riders 837km to Puerto Madryn in Patagonia is the longest stage in the rally and the most southern point on the more than 9000km route through South America.

Provisional Results after First Stage
1. Marc Coma, Spain, KTM
2. Jacek Czachor, Poland, KTM
3. Miran Stanovnik, Slovenia, KTM
4. Frans Verhoeven, Netherlands, KTM
5. Jonah Street, USA, KTM
6. David Fretigne, France, Yamaha
7. Pal Anders Ullevalseter, Norway, KTM
8. Henk Knuiman, Netherlands, KTM
9. Jose Helio Rodrigues Filho, Brazil, Honda
10. Olivier Pain, France, Yamaha