Bikes News from stage 11

Dakar 2012 Stage 11  January 12th, 2012


11:23 - bike 002 - Despres leads Coma at CP2

In the combat between the two men since the beginning of the Dakar 2012, at present the initiative is with Cyril Despres, who has a slight lead of 1'48” over Marc Coma at CP2. The third placed rider has lost ground on the leader: Joan Barreda Bort trails the Frenchman by 4'19”.



08:44 - bike Farres Guell on top at zone 1 finish

Spaniard Gerard Farres Guell is in fact the quickest rider over the first part of the special, 47” ahead of Frenchman Johnny Aubert. Cyril Despres is in third place, 1'15” behind and Brazilian Zanol is fourth, 2'50” behind.


For the moment, Cyril Despres has a lead of 1'47” in the general standings. The competitors are now heading along the 131 kilometre link stage before tackling the second timed section.



08:22 - bike 002 - Despres leads at zone 1 finish… for the moment

Similarly to CP1, Cyril Despres has achieved the best time in this zone. Over the first 194 kilometres, he boasts a time of 2:25'51” leading his team-mate Marc Coma by 1'47”. 4'17" behind the provisional leader lies the Husqvarna of Joan Bareda Bort.



08:04 - bike 020 - A new trio leads the bikes

Spanish rider Gerard Farres Guell, Frenchman Johnny Aubert and Brazilian Felipe Zanol lead all the rest now that the first 13 bikes have reached CP1 after 144 kilometres of the day's special.


They have beaten the previous best time achieved by Cyril Despres. Farres Guell has a total time of 1:39'59”, leading Aubert by 1'01” and Zanol by 2'00”. Despres is currently 2'21” behind the new leader.



07:49 - bike 002 - Despres in the lead at CP1

Now that the first bikes have reached CP1, Frenchman Cyril Despres is the provisional leader with a total time of 1:42'20” and a lead of 11” over Norwegian rider Ullevalseter.


The rider from France boasts a lead of 1'01" over Spaniard Jordi Viladoms in third, whilst Marc Coma is fourth, 1'46” behind Despres. Stefan Svitko is in fifth place, 46” behind Coma. Portugal's Helder Rodrigues trails the leader by 4'18” and Joan Barreda Bort is 4'33” behind the day's quickest time.



07:38 - bike 016 - Olivier Pain in the dunes...

French biker Olivier Pain has slowed in the dunes after 118 kilometres several minutes ago. The Frenchman, who has ridden a very fine Dakar 2012 so far and currently occupies eighth place in the bike category general standings, stopped for several minutes before resuming the race in the wake of Spaniard Gerard Farres Guell who started five places behind him.


07:04 - bike 008 - Faria gets going again

The Portuguese rider has resumed the route of the day's special shortly after 6.47 AM local time, having been at a standstill at the 20-km point of the special stage for approximately 35 minutes.



06:35 - bike 008 - Faria on the wrong track...

Portugal's Ruben Faria has also taken the wrong direction, this time a little more than 20 kilometres after the start of the special. Faria headed north east instead of following the planned route to the west.


He has been at a standstill since 6.22 AM local time. Several other competitors seem to have also made the same mistake in the same place, including Argentinean quad rider Tomas Maffei.



06:32 - bike The leaders get briefly lost

After 40 kilometres, the leaders' GPS systems have revealed a small joint navigation mistake. Joan Barreda Bort, Marc Coma and Cyril Despres virtually all fell into the same trap, but only for a short while, with Coma the going the furthest on the wrong track. All three of them quickly turned back and returned to the right track.


An accurate view of any consequences this episode may have hand on the standings will be possible in approximately 80 kilometres, when they reach the first intermediate time point.




05:48 - bike The bikes start the special

The bikers have started the first of the two zones on the day's special stage. Ahead of them lies a little less than 195 kilometres of earth, stones and sand as they hit a section of dunes at around the midway point.


Afterwards, a link route will lead them to the second timed section. At the rear of the motorbike pack, there will be the 16 quads left on the list of starters.




04:10 - bike The bikes head to Arequipa

Joan Barreda Bort and Marc Coma have left the bivouac together on time this morning. The day's opener, the younger of the two Spaniards, set off at 4 o'clock in the morning (Peruvian local time). 109 bikes have been authorised to start this Thursday. The route on this 11th stage of the Dakar 2012 has been altered due to the heavy rainfall in the region over the last few days.


The dried river beds are no longer dry... So, the bikes will mainly be following the same route as the cars today, instead of the specific separate planned route. They will then head to their own bivouac via the link stage, because this evening, the bikers and quad riders will be camping apart from the four-wheelers, on the Pacific Coast in Camana, without their assistance teams.




02:30 Now it is Peru's time for the Dakar…

And this is not just a metaphor, the rally will indeed be changing time zone to tackle the four last stages of its 2012 edition. There will not be much time left to settle the outcome in the battle for final triumph between Marc Coma and Cyril Despres on two wheels.


Time will also be short to make a decisive difference in the car category general standings, where the Minis seem to be well set for success in Lima. For the first day of the Dakar in their country, the Peruvians will be treated to two separate specials and extra handful of kilometres for the bikers.


After a day of chopping and changing between off-road and dried river beds, they will enjoy a greater degree of comradeship, with a dedicated bivouac before continuing exploring Peru. The formula, which had not been used since the Moroccan camp at Foum Zguid during the Dakar 2007, also involves a major constraint that will influence how the race is handled: the assistance vehicles will not be authorised to enter the workshop enclosure, where only the bike and quad riders can help each other out.



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