Photo: Dakar.com
Stage 12 brought a disheartening failure for Honda, as Joan Barreda Bort's motorcycle yielded to the toughness of the Dakar Rally. 350 kilometers (217 miles) into the timed stage, Barreda's bike broke the steering head.
As if things were not already tragic, the Spaniard also experienced electrical problems and a dead battery, forcing him to stop on several occasions and causing a huge delay. Barreda crossed the Stage 12 finish line in position 67 and has now a 3-hour gap from the leading Marc Coma. "All is lost. I'm going to finish the rally, and that's all," Barreda said.
Stage 12 was won by Cyril Despres, followed by Coma, 2 minutes adrift. Third position was claimed by Olivier Pain (Yamaha), with Helder Rodrigues (Honda) in 4th and Jordi Viladoms 5th.
Before the last stage of the 2014 Dakar, the general standing sees Coma with a comfortable 2-hour lead, affording a new engine at the cost of a 15 minute penalty and making sure everything goes well in the last episode of this year's rally.
Viladoms (KTM) is second, but Pain's Yamaha is only 10 minutes behind. The battle for the third position of the podium is far from overs, as Despres is less than 4 minutes behind Pain, and some 6 minutes ahead of Rodrigues.
The final round of the 2014 Dakar kinks La Serena and Valparaiso, with 378 km (235 miles) of road section and an 157 km (97 miles) timed stage. Short as this last stage may seem, it passes through a region densely populated with cacti and it was more than once their needles messed thing up badly.
US - Stage 12 - Car/Bike - Stage Summary - (El... de Dakar
Stage 12 was won by Cyril Despres, followed by Coma, 2 minutes adrift. Third position was claimed by Olivier Pain (Yamaha), with Helder Rodrigues (Honda) in 4th and Jordi Viladoms 5th.
Before the last stage of the 2014 Dakar, the general standing sees Coma with a comfortable 2-hour lead, affording a new engine at the cost of a 15 minute penalty and making sure everything goes well in the last episode of this year's rally.
Viladoms (KTM) is second, but Pain's Yamaha is only 10 minutes behind. The battle for the third position of the podium is far from overs, as Despres is less than 4 minutes behind Pain, and some 6 minutes ahead of Rodrigues.
The final round of the 2014 Dakar kinks La Serena and Valparaiso, with 378 km (235 miles) of road section and an 157 km (97 miles) timed stage. Short as this last stage may seem, it passes through a region densely populated with cacti and it was more than once their needles messed thing up badly.
US - Stage 12 - Car/Bike - Stage Summary - (El... de Dakar
Google News