Despres leads 2012 Dakar after Stage 3

The Stage started with a 291km transit section, followed by a 270km competitive Special Stage. Throughout the Special Stage, the experienced pair traded places for the lead. The early advantage went to the Frenchman - by 20 seconds - at CP1, then to the Spaniard by 14 seconds after 117 km. The likelihood of a slender victory for one rider or the other seemed to grow as the stage went on.

At the junction between the routes dedicated to the bikes/quads and the cars/trucks (which ran a shorter Special Stage) after 164 kilometres of racing, Coma made the wrong choice and followed the car/truck route for more than 4 kilometres. Despite his efforts to try and make up the lost time, the about-turn cost him 13 minutes at the finishing line. On completion of this 27th special stage victory, Cyril Despres now finds himself leading the rally with an advantage of 10'12" over his biggest rival.

Frans Verhoeven (Sherco) picked up second place on Stage 3. In a field dominated by KTMs, Yamahas and Hondas, the performance of the new Sherco SR 450, one of few in the field, was encouraging, but the Dutchman still came in 8'37" behind Despres. Paulo Goncalves (Husqvarna) took only 2 seconds more. The lesson about being calm and collected, two essential qualities on the Dakar, was learnt the hard way by some competitors on Stage 3, like Jakub Przygonsky, whose engine blew after 68 km, and Quinn Cody, who broke his collar bone following a spectacular fall after 173 km of the special stage.

Following the conclusion of Stage 3, Cyril Despres holds a 10+ minute lead over Marc Coma in second, followed by David Casteau (Yamaha) a further seven minutes adrift. Chile's Francisco Lopez is just behind the Frenchman in fourth, with Helder Rodrigues completing the top five, a further minute back.

"Well it was a quite good day, apparently," Despres said afterward.

"It started quite badly for me because I smashed a finger this morning. My navigation repeater broke down after the first 100 km. It was at least 300 km long, but it was tough because the race director David Castera organised us a loop of 70 km for just the bikes which was even tougher than endurance riding because the tracks were completely invisible because of the rain. At the river it was crazy, but I took my time and I didn't want to push too much. On the last bit on the special stage I was thinking that I wasn't sure if there was a bike in front of me. The track was not well marked, sometimes only a little bit, but apparently I've finished the special first, a little bit tired but with a good time."

Of the Aussies, Rod Faggotter (Yamaha) still leads the rest, currently in 26th overall, followed by Dean Nuttall (58th), David Schwarz (62nd), Jamie Chittick (81st), Craig Tarlington (134th) and Mark Davidson (141st).

The quad race between San Rafael and San Juan saw a predictable change in the balance of power. The wait for the reaction from the Argentineans was starting to drag out, after the two consecutive victories of their Uruguayan neighbour Sergio La Fuente. Marcos Patronelli, who had not tasted victory since the 2010 edition, won with a lead of 1'52" over his countryman Thomas Maffei. Alejandro achieved the 3rd best time of the day, but more importantly took the lead in the general standings, 55 seconds ahead of none other than his younger brother Marcos.

With elevation changes of over 2,000 metres over the course of the stage, it was a tough one for all competitors. Stage 4 heads further into the Andes, from San Juan to Chilecito, but is shorter overall than Stage 3.

Full results and further details at www.dakar.com

Images: Dakar.com