Dakar 2012 Stages 6 & 7 - snow cancels final Argentine stage
After crossing the Andes into Chile, Stage 7 - the first stage in that country - saw the tit-for-tat battle between KTM team mates, Cyril Despres and Marc Coma continue. This time around, it was the turn of Coma to win the stage, the Spaniard finishing a little over 2 minutes ahead of Despres in the 'Copiapo Loop'. The stage took in the dunes of Copiapo, renowned as a tough section of the rally, but the sand didn't prove to be the burden anticipated for the leading pair, with both Coma and Despres riding at full speed on the very fast sand courses in the first part of the special and then in strings of dunes which they crossed without blinking or losing sight of each other. Despres kicked off the stage by navigating at the front of the race. Marc Coma locked on to him to post the fastest intermediate times and had already put one hand on the stage win by the middle of the special.
After the neutralised sector, the Catalan pilot overtook his teammate and started blazing a trail through the dunes. Despres played it safe by matching his rival's pace and conceded 2'03" at the finish, but managed to keep his lead in the general classification with a margin of 7'48".
"I was a bit lazy today, since Marc led the race from km 200 onwards, the start of the second special," Despres said afterward. "Having said that, I finished with my hands paralysed, but it was a really beautiful special with beautiful dunes... And it feels go to lead the race on the rest day."
Coma also acknowledged how tough the Copiapo stage was, but was glad to be able to take away some of the lead of his French team mate.
"It is common knowledge that the stage before the rest day is always difficult, and today was not an exception, with stifling heat and very soft sand. Nevertheless, we rode very fast and I was able to attack. I gained 2 minutes on Cyril but that is obviously not enough!"
Most riders and quads got through the 419km Copiapo Special Stage without incident. One exception was Chilean local, Francisco Lopez (Aprilia 450 RXV), who limped through after a heavy fall early in the special robbed him of almost half an hour of time, and dropped him to the tail end of the overall top ten. Paulo Gonçalves (Husqvarna Rally 450 RR) proved his win in Iquique last year was much more than a stroke of luck by posting the third best time on Stage 7, 2'49" behind Coma (and just 46" behind Despres). His performance also moved him closer to his Portuguese countryman Hélder Rodrigues (Yamaha WRF 450), over whom Cyril Despres still has a very comfortable margin of 49'39".
After Stage 7, Despres still holds a 7 minute lead over Coma, With Rodrigues a further 40 minutes back. Goncalves, and Casteu (Yamaha WRF 450 Rally) complete the top five. Behind them, Viladoms (KTM), Farres Guell (KTM), Svitko (KTM), Lopez and Pedrero Garcia (KTM) round out the top ten.
Of the Australians, Mark Davidson (KTM 450 Rallye Replica) and Craig Tarlington (KTM 450 Rally) have joined Rod Faggotter on the withdrawal list. The pair were classed as non-finishers after Stage 5, Davidson following a bad crash and Tarlington with mechanical failure. Both will take no further part in the 2012 Dakar. This leaves Dean Nuttall (KTM 450 Replica) as the top-placed Aussie in 40th overall, followed by David Schwarz (Husaberg FE450) in 55th, and Jamie Chittick (Honda CRF 450X) in 76th.
It was also a very eventful stage in the quad category, with a never-seen-before Top 3: Alejandro Patronelli (Yamaha) ahead of Ignacio Casale (+16'10'' - Yamaha) and Sergio Lafuente (+33'59'' - Yamaha). Marco Patronelli (Yamaha) was the big loser in the loop around Copiapó, finishing the stage 1 hour and 20 minutes behind the leaders after a navigational error.
"This stage was very long! I made a mistake at km 230. I took a wrong turn and did not realise I had until much later. I lost 30 kilometres due to this mistake - quite a lot of time," Marco explained.
Despite the massive amount of time lost, Marco still hangs on to a podium spot in the overall standings in the quad class. Alejandro Patronelli toppled Tomás Maffei (Yamaha) and now leads him by 58'53" in the overall standings. This upheaval benefitted two young competitors: Lucas Bonetto, fourth in the general classification, and Ignacio Casale, fifth. Both are more than two hours back but their consistency has yielded its first tangible reward.
For full results and further details, go to www.dakar.com
Images: Dakar.com
