Dakar Rally - Stage 9 results
Dakar Rally Media - Jan 12, 2011

Stage 9 started and ended in Copiapo.

Jonah Street wins Stage 9 followed by Frans Verhoeven, David Casteu, Gerard Farres Guell, and Jordi Viladoms.

Overall leader after Stage 9 is Marc Coma followed by Cyril Despres, Francisco Lopez Contardo, Helder Rodrirues, and Ruben Faria respectively. 

The grouped start for the bikers changed the traditional Dakar stage start scenario. Jonah Street grabbed a surprise victory in Copiapo, whilst the duel between Coma and Despres did not witness any real developments.

Street had this to say: ““I had to start in the third wave, which was good and bad; good that everyone up front new their position and were taking it easy and I got to charge through. The second wave caught everybody in the second to last sand dunes. Then in the last dunes, I think when there were only 3 bikes in front of me I went over the handlebars hard, straight into the sand, totally unannounced, but I was okay. I got back up and followed them in, because I figured that I started two waves behind them so I was doing alright. Today we didn't have any bike problems, everything went really smooth, so I'm happy. It's awesome. You know what? We've been capable of it all rally, it just hasn't fallen into our plate. It's awesome, totally awesome. It's what we come here to do, to do the best we can and first is the best you can do, so to win a stage pretty special.”

The bikers on the Dakar experienced an unusual day in the region of Copiapo, which began with an atypical grouped start and involved climbing of dunes separated by large valleys.

However, even in this type of landscape, the best of riders can still lose their bearings and leave themselves open to setbacks. The first wave of ten riders got the stage going assuredly, but after twenty kilometres, nine of them were over-confident and chose the wrong direction, making a mistake that they were unable to repair.

Only Helder Rodrigues, the winner in Arica, managed to correctly interpret the road-book. The Portuguese rider seemed to be heading for a new triumph, but fate decided otherwise. After 225 km, he ran out of petrol, eliminating him from the reckoning for the stage.

More importantly, one of the riders from the third wave sprang forward. Throughout the special Jonah Street led a veritable charge to rejoin the elite riders. At the finishing line, he put in the best time of the day, with a lead of 3'36” over Frans Verhoeven, winning his second special stage on the rally after his victory in 2009 at San Rafael.

During this crossing of the desert, the leaders of the general standings remained discrete. Neither Marc Coma nor Cyril Despres found the inspiration, which could have paid dividends after 21 km. They then assumed their responsibilities, leading the troop for the most part of the loop around Copiapo.

The difficulty of making a break-away from a pack put paid to the attacking plans of Despres, but also Francisco Lopez. As a result, the hierarchy remains unchanged: Coma still leads Despres by 8'14” and is 23'33” ahead of the Chilean rider, who was taking part in the last special of the year in his home country.