Stage 9 of the 2013 Dakar Rally was long and hard: 176 km of liaison and no less than 593 km of special stage have put both man and machine to a very brutal test. Favorite rider Cyril Despres took the win in Stage 9, and shortened the gap between him and the overall leader, Ruben Faria. After getting a 15 minutes penalty for changing an engine earlier on, Despres got a grip and "banged his fist on the table" as himself declared.
This stage bore ill luck for David Casteu of Yamaha. At km 100, a cow appeared in front of his bike and he could not avoid it entirely: one of his handlebars hit the cow, resulting in Casteu crashing hard. With a serious shoulder injury and a perforated tank, Casteu got some fuel from Yamaha fellow rider Vincent Guindani.
After medics strapped Casteu's shoulder, bad luck stroke once more, with his bike stopping 30 km short of the second special finish line. Injured and with a wrecked bike, Casteu saw no other way than to end his 2013 Dakar racing in this stage.
Stage 9 saw Barreda Bort in second and another Husqvarna rider, Botturi, in third, floowed by Faria and Honda's Rodrigues, while the overall standings have Faria as a leader, with Despres only 5 minutes behind, followed by Chaleco Lopez, Slovakian Jakes and Botturi. Former leader Pain is now 6th.
After medics strapped Casteu's shoulder, bad luck stroke once more, with his bike stopping 30 km short of the second special finish line. Injured and with a wrecked bike, Casteu saw no other way than to end his 2013 Dakar racing in this stage.
Stage 9 saw Barreda Bort in second and another Husqvarna rider, Botturi, in third, floowed by Faria and Honda's Rodrigues, while the overall standings have Faria as a leader, with Despres only 5 minutes behind, followed by Chaleco Lopez, Slovakian Jakes and Botturi. Former leader Pain is now 6th.
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