Despres avoids donkey to win stage
Sunday, 11 January 2009
France's Cyril Despres riding a KTM won the motorcycle section of the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally, but had to take evasive action to avoid a donkey which had strayed onto the course.
Marc Coma of Spain, who finished second on the 294km special from Valparaiso to La Serena, 1min 49sec behind, kept the overall lead in the standings.
It was Despres's second stage win on this year's race that allowed the 2005 and 2007 champion to move into third spot in the standings, 1:33.34 behind Coma.
But his win came in dramatic circumstances.
'Around 15kms from the finishing line, a donkey suddenly shot out from behind a bunch of cacti,' said a stunned Despres.
'I think it was a lucky escape, for both him and me.
'The tracks were quite slippery and that's why you need technical skill to be quick on them and strength too, to keep control of the bike.'
Spain's Carlos Sainz edged closer to winning the Dakar rally when he captured the eighth stage and kept Volkswagen on course for a cleansweep.
Sainz, a former double world rally champion, beat home team-mate Dieter Depping of Germany by just over four minutes on the 294km special from Valparaiso with another Volkswagen driver Mark Miller, 4:12 off the pace.
It was Sainz's fourth stage win in this year's race and gave him a 10:57 lead in the overall standings over South Africa's Giniel De Villiers, also in a Volkswagen and who was fifth on the day, behind Nani Roma, the sole remaining top Mitsubishi driver.
Miller is third overall, 18:05 behind Sainz while Roma is fourth, 33:31 behind the Spaniard.
'As long as the rally isn't over, then nothing is certain,' insisted Sainz.
'Today was the first time we have driven on tracks. In fact, this stage was very much like a traditional rally stage. Up until now, those are the first real tracks that I've seen.
'But it was very nice, very slippery and sometimes quite tricky. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and I hope that we'll carry on being as successful as we have been today.'
Story from RTÉ Sport:http://www.rte.ie/sport/motorsport/2009/0111/dakar.html
Marc Coma of Spain, who finished second on the 294km special from Valparaiso to La Serena, 1min 49sec behind, kept the overall lead in the standings.
It was Despres's second stage win on this year's race that allowed the 2005 and 2007 champion to move into third spot in the standings, 1:33.34 behind Coma.
But his win came in dramatic circumstances.
'Around 15kms from the finishing line, a donkey suddenly shot out from behind a bunch of cacti,' said a stunned Despres.
'I think it was a lucky escape, for both him and me.
'The tracks were quite slippery and that's why you need technical skill to be quick on them and strength too, to keep control of the bike.'
Spain's Carlos Sainz edged closer to winning the Dakar rally when he captured the eighth stage and kept Volkswagen on course for a cleansweep.
Sainz, a former double world rally champion, beat home team-mate Dieter Depping of Germany by just over four minutes on the 294km special from Valparaiso with another Volkswagen driver Mark Miller, 4:12 off the pace.
It was Sainz's fourth stage win in this year's race and gave him a 10:57 lead in the overall standings over South Africa's Giniel De Villiers, also in a Volkswagen and who was fifth on the day, behind Nani Roma, the sole remaining top Mitsubishi driver.
Miller is third overall, 18:05 behind Sainz while Roma is fourth, 33:31 behind the Spaniard.
'As long as the rally isn't over, then nothing is certain,' insisted Sainz.
'Today was the first time we have driven on tracks. In fact, this stage was very much like a traditional rally stage. Up until now, those are the first real tracks that I've seen.
'But it was very nice, very slippery and sometimes quite tricky. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and I hope that we'll carry on being as successful as we have been today.'
Story from RTÉ Sport:http://www.rte.ie/sport/motorsport/2009/0111/dakar.html
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