Marc Coma Wins Third Dakar Rally

Dakar 2011

Repsol sponsored Marc Coma (KTM) showed again that he is one of the best Dakar Rally riders of all time by securing his third Dakar motorcycle racing victory. A triumph that was rounded-off with the first position of Laia Sanz, in the female class.

The Dakar race started with the uncertainty about the motorcycle class, due to the rules change that limited the bikes engines capacity to 450cc, and allowed the arrival of many motorcycle manufactures, notably Aprilia, BMW, Honda, and Yamaha, that greatly increased competition.

However, Marc Coma and his KTM 450 became again the reference of the group and, in a duel against French Cyril Despres (Red Bull KTM 450), was able to prevail.

Coma was the motorcycle race leader of the overall classification since the fourth day, he gradually increased his margin up to 15 minutes and 4 seconds, which allowed him to secure his third Dakar victory in 2011.

This is the second Dakar Rally win Marc Coma has achieved in Buenos Aires, with a total time of 50 hours, 48 minutes and 21 seconds, with his KTM 450 Rally and after 9,000 kilometers covered in 15 days.

A success that the Repsol enduro rider, Marc Coma, adds to the four World Championships he has achieved with the support of Repsol, including his two race wins in the 2006 (Africa) and 2009 (South America) editions of the Dakar.

Marc Coma’s victory is complemented by the success of another Repsol sponsored rider, Laia Sanz, who, being only 25 years old, has completed her first Dakar Rally with a very positive outcome. Not only did she finished 39th of the nearly 100 motorcycle riders that were able to finish, but she also won the female class.

The female Repsol motorcycle rider, ten times Trial World Champion, has faced for the first time the toughness of the most demanding and longest race in the world, brilliantly completing an unmatched track record, endorsed by Repsol’s support in the last years.

Marc Coma (KTM 450) says: "It was a very demanding Dakar. It is always so, but this year it was even worst. I value this triumph more highly for the great toughness we suffered. Now is the time to enjoy the success. The key was on things that cannot be seen, as in trying to fail as little as possible.

"I was also very lucky not to be very badly hurt in my crash. The support of my team was priceless. I could not have done it without them. This is a great reward for all our efforts. I did not want to vindicate myself for anything, I just wanted to do my own race."

Laia Sanz (Honda) says: "It was incredible. I can barely believe it. To me it is as a dream come true, and even more so with the team I did it, with Jordi [Arcarons], Angels [Rovira], Moi [Gangolells], Paco [Ivars], that worked so hard.

"It was very tough, specially in the second week, with some moments of suffering, but it was worth it because there were many more good moments than bad ones."

2011 Dakar Rally Motorcycle Results

  1. Marc Coma, Spain, KTM
  2. Cyril Despres, France, KTM, at 15:04
  3. Helder Rodrigues, Portugal, Yamaha, 1:40:20
  4. Chaleco Lopez, Chile, Aprilia,
  5. Juan Pedrero, Spain, KTM at 3:07:03
  6. Pal Anders Ullevalseter, Norway, KTM at 3:32:56
  7. Jean De Azevedo, Brazil, KTM, 3:59:38
  8. Ruben Faria, Portugal, KTM, at 4:13:01
  9. Quinn Cody, USA, Honda, 4:52:10
  10. Jacek Czachor, Poland, KTM, 06:13:41

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