Dakar 2012 Stage 10 - 21 seconds separate Coma and Despres

Enormous sand dunes and featureless rocky plains dominated much of the stage. With no real landmarks across much of the 377km Special Stage, navigation was crucial. Barreda Bort proved to be able to read and ride the conditions best, picking up his first ever stage victory. The Spanish rider has been on the verge of a victory, having placed in the top ten on several stages so far.
"On a very quick bend, where I was at 120 kph, I hit a stone with my foot and I thought that the impact had torn my leg off," Barreda Bort said. "When I arrived at the refuelling zone, I took some painkillers and it was ok until the end of the stage. I even sped up. We'll see what's happened to me. I thought I might have fractured my shin, but I don't think I have. I don't know how serious the injury is, but I think I should be ok and be able to finish in Lima."

Barreda Bort beat Coma and Despres by 1'32" and 3'39" respectively. Still engaged in a battle for outright victory, the two rivals again fought it out on Stage 10. After winning yesterday and having the disadvantage of opening the road today, Despres saw Coma triumph in terms of time, with the Catalan taking 2'07" back from his main rival. As a result, in the general standings, whilst Despres is still leader, he is now only 21" ahead of Coma.
"It was all going well for me until the 225-km point. I made a small navigation mistake and that's when Marc overtook me," " Despres said, explaining the lost time. "He was with Joan Barreda, who I'd like to congratulate on riding a superb stage. At this level, every second counts! In any case, staying out in front for the whole 377 km whilst riding flat out isn't easy. If I finish in his dust or him in mine, it doesn't change that much."

Behind them, however, the situation is starting to become clearer for Helder Rodrigues (Yamaha WRF 450). With the 4th best time of Stage 10, he took advantage of a fall by his countryman Paulo Goncalves (Husqvarna Rally 450 RR) to gain a little more comfort in third place in the general standings, boasting a lead that now stands at 32'56" over Jordi Viladoms (KTM Rally Replica) in 4th. The day's main loser was Goncalves, as the day's mishaps added a further 19'23" to his time, relegating him to 7th in the general standings.

Of the Aussie contingent, Dean Nuttall (KTM 450 Replica), Jamie Chittick (Honda CRF 450X) and David Schwarz (Husaberg FE450) finished the stage 33rd, 43rd and 49th respectively. In the overall standings, Nuttall also leads the local trio in the overall standings in 37th, followed by Schwarz in 44th and Chittick in 61st.

In the quad category, the stages roll by with little change. Even if a Patronelli did not win today, an Argentinean - and a Yamaha rider - was still victorious! Tomas Maffei (Yamaha 650 GRW) achieved the best time of Stage 10, regaining 12'56" on Marcos Patronelli (Yamaha Raptor 700) in the fight for second place in the general standings. Maffei now trails the 2010 winner by only 17'17". The day's special also clearly pointed to the trend emerging at the end of the rally because the first five riders on the stage were also the first five in the general standings. Fourth-placed in this group, Ignacio Casale (Yamaha Raptor 700) is 4 hours and 15 minutes behind Alejandro Patronelli in the general standings and fifth placed Sergio Lafuente (Yamaha Raptor 700) trails the leader by 6 hours and 36 minutes.

For full results and further details, go to www.dakar.com

Images: dakar.com