Coma leads the way after Stage 2 of 2012 Dakar

With 295 kilometres covered in the second special stage between Santa Rosa de la Pampa and San Rafael, the gaps recorded are starting to be counted in minutes. Coma, who already fired a warning shot over his rivals' bows by putting in the second best time in Stage 1, did not take long to seize the opportunity to put some distance between his bike and the chasing pack. Having set off in second place behind Francisco Lopez (Aprilia), Coma won the 17th stage of his career on the Dakar, opening the road during the entire final part of the route.

Some way behind the Spaniard, a traditional confrontation with Cyril Despres fell into place. After a gentle start to the competition, Despres was obliged to start in 13th place for Stage 2. On the tracks, he overtook Olivier Pain (Yamaha), then Pal Anders Ullevalseter (KTM) and Quinn Cody (Honda), picking up the best time at the half-way point. However, in the final sandy section over the last 50 kilometres, Coma made up for time lost and even built up a lead of 1'18" over Despres. In the general standings, he takes command with a lead of 2'30" over Lopez.

The provisional podium is completed by Despres, who nonetheless lags behind Coma by 2'52". On this Dakar, third place on the stages seems to be reserved for surprise packages. After Pizzolito (Honda) on Stage 1, it was the turn of Joan Barreda to do combat with the masters, finishing 2'33" behind Coma on Stage 2. The Spaniard, who in particular won two stages on the recent Rally of Morocco, is perhaps following in the tyre-tracks of his elder countryman. In fact, the Husqvarna rider was born in Castellon, a town that has welcomed stages of the Dakar three times.

Of the Australian riders, Rod Faggotter sits in 27th overall, followed by Dean Nuttall (51st), David Schwarz (74th), Jamie Chittick (87th), Mark Davidson (143rd), and Craig Tarlington (148th).

In the Quad class, Uruguay's Sergio La Fuente (Yamaha) leads by over 6 minutes from last year's winner in the Quad class, Alejandro Patronelli (Yamaha). Fellow Argentinean, Tomas Maffei (Yamaha) is third overall, making it a clean sweep for Yamaha. No Australians are entered in the Quad class.

Full stage results and further details at www.dakar.com

images: dakar.com