Despres steals the limelight in Dakar motorcycle Stage 3
Maverick - Jan 4, 2010

Despres now boasts a lead of 10’03’’ over David Casteu.

The first sand dunes of the Dakar 2010 gave Cyril Despres the opportunity to take control of the rally on the stage leading to Fiambala.  Before even leaving Argentina, on a relatively short stage, the race leaders were confronted with the hazards of sand.  Over a distance of 182 kilometres, the Frenchman opened up a gap of 10’40’’ over Helder Rodrigues, 2nd in the special. The Portuguese rider has therefore placed himself as a legitimate pretender for the podium, especially with the rhythm at which mishaps are occurring.

After the petrol problems of Francisco “Chaleco” Lopez and the false withdrawal of Frans Verhoeven, who eventually rejoined the race after several hours spent changing his engine, today it was the turn of Marc Coma and David Casteu to encounter problems. ((

Coma, current titleholder, had a real struggle with his machine.  Admittedly he started with the best time at CP1 (after 74 km), but his progression to the finishing line took a turn for the worse. He had to stop many times to calm a “spluttering” engine, losing 21 minutes on Despres. It never rains, it only pours, and this bad news for Coma came with the blow of losing his right-hand man on this 3rd stage. Jordi Viladoms, who was “celebrating” his 30th birthday today, fell heavily on the special. The Catalan was transported by helicopter to the bivouac for medical attention and was forced to abandon the race, his third withdrawal in four participations.

David Casteu, who won the first special stage, was also forced to slow down, firstly, to avoid the engine of his Sherco overheating, then secondly to lend a hand to his rival, and nonetheless friend, Marc Coma. However, a battery failure temporarily stopped him from restarting afterwards!

David Frétigné, who also faced difficulties on the second half of the stage, was also amongst the favorites who lost time: at the end of the stage to Fiambala, he is already several hours behind Despres.

Cyril Despres was the sport’s revelation in 2001 when he finished 3rd on the Tunisian Rally and won the Moroccan Rally on a Honda 650. Despres made an exemplary ascension on the Dakar, first with BMW then with the KTM team. After finishing 3rd in 2003, then 2nd in 2004, the Frenchman manufactured his first victory in 2005, in pulling away from the field on the Atar-Atar stage.

The death of Fabrizio Meoni, the following day, gave him that much more reason to race for the win for the KTM Gauloises team, which was already reeling from the passing away of Richard Sainct a few months earlier.  Hampered by a dislocated shoulder during the 2006 Dakar, the mano-a-mano, which had been going for several years with Marc Coma turned to the advantage of the Frenchman on an umpteenth development in 2007. The crash, the retirement of the Spaniard on the second to last stage, left a clear path for Despres, following several occasions where his chance for the win was compromised during the rally.  

On the podium at Lake Rose he raised the winner’s trophy for a second time! The two-time winner, now an expert when it comes to the constraints of the rally, however suffered quite a few upsets on the big 2009 South American loop that he eventually finished in second position after another fierce battle with Marc Coma.

Serious blows has seriously upset his chances of a podium finish at the beginning of the rally but his fighting spirit and his will never to give up helped him climb up the standings. Despite the restrictor that he will be forced to have on his 690 KTM to balance the performances with the 450cc bikes, Despres counts on that will and on his technical skills to fight for his chances on the 2010 Dakar: “I know that on the Dakar, many parameters play a part when you’re aiming at the highest step of the podium. So indeed my bike will have a restrictor but I’ll adapt to that because it’s one of the necessary qualities you need in off-road rallies. And anyhow that certainly won’t take away my experience, my will, my physical preparation. The envy remains the same”.