Despres claws back time on Dakar

From KTM Racing

Three-time Dakar winner Cyril Despres went all out on Thursday to claw back a couple of vital minutes on overall leader and fellow KTM factory rider Marc Coma to take his third stage victory in this, the 33rd edition of the world's most famous rally.     
       
The stage victory is the 26th in Despres' remarkable career of racing the Dakar.

While Coma still has a comfortable 15:59 on Despres as the riders go into the final two stages, the Frenchman is wily and experienced enough to know that the race is not over until they cross the line in Buenos Aires. With everything still to play for he continues to attack just as vigorously as Coma defends. On Thursday, as in most other stages the two KTM riders shadowed each other throughout two very long specials, neither conceding time or meters to each other.

"If you want to win you have to really try and that is what I am doing," Despres said at the end of Stage 11. "I'm doing everything I can, everything I know. It has to be said it was a superb special. Even if the time wasn't great, it was a pleasure to ride.

"In 2007 I won two days before the finish, and if I don't have a hope, it's impossible to ride at speeds like that. I'm still hoping and carrying on attacking. With Marc, we both ride KTM bikes and that's an advantage. We're quite close, but for the moment, the fat lady hasn't sung yet. There are still two days left."

As the 9500km marathon rally that sweeps through Argentina and Chile enters its penultimate stage on Friday - and with just 96 starters left of the original 186 riders - the 2011 edition is shaping up to be a battle of the KTM titans. Their nearest rival is Aprilia's Chaleco Lopez of Chile, who has now slipped back to 49 minutes 24 behind Coma. Should either Coma or Despres be first across the line in Buenos Aires, it will be KTM's 10th successive title, six of which would have been delivered by these two riders.

For his part, Coma stayed cool and concentrated on riding a controlled race and sticking close on the wheel of his rival to ensure that Despres did not break away and steal more time from his advantage. If he triumphs in this year's rally he and Despres will each have three Dakar titles to their credit.

The 11th special on Thursday, a long rider of 622km, of which 160 was neutralized, continued to test the riders' technical skills by offering a variety of terrain. Despres went all out to regain time lost after several days where his path seemed to be strewn with misfortune. While he and Coma were battling it out in the early stages, at one point it looked like Lopez may take the win. The Chilean had the best time at the neutralized zone but then made a navigation error in the second half of the special that allowed the two KTM riders to regain control and battle it out for the stage honours.

The penultimate stage from San Juan to Cordoba is a 123km link and 555km special that kicks off with a challenging 100km of sand track.

Stage 11 Results
1. Cyril Despres, France, KTM, 4:33:13
2. Marc Coma, Spain, KTM, at 2:11
3. Chaleco Lopez, Chile, Aprilia at 6:19
4. Helder Rodrigues, Portugal, Yamaha, 7:44
5. Alain Duclos, France, Aprilia, 10:03

Standings after Stage 11
1. Marc Coma, Spain, KTM
2. Cyril Despres, France, KTM, at 15:59
3. Chaleco Lopez, Chile, Aprilia at 49:24
4. Helder Rodrigues, Portugal, Yamaha, 1:35:10
5. Juan Pedrero, Spain, KTM at 2:42:55
6. Pal Anders Ullevalseter, Norway, KTM, 2:57:95
7. Ruben Faria, Portugal, KTM, at 3:49:46