2012 Dakar Rally Highlights
Following his third stage win of 2012 Dakar Tuesday, Red Bull KTM’s Cyril Despres regained the overall lead.
This was after Depsres won Stage Nine Tuesday, which took riders from Antofagasta to Inquique in Chile 413 miles. Despres took the win by 3:54 over his rival and teammate, MRW Red Bull AMV KTM 450 Rally rider Marc Coma. Third went to Husqvarna’s Barreda Bort, who finished 8:28 behind Despres.
After nine of 14 stages, Despres now leads Coma in the overall Dakar standings by 2:28. The closest competitors to the KTM riders, who are both chasing their fourth Dakar win, is Yamaha’s Helder Rodrigues, who trails Despres by 59:12.
Cyril Despres (Red Bull KTM 450 Rally) says: “I had to get back to my winning ways after a difficult day yesterday when you start to doubt. It wasn’t easy to psyche myself up for it, but I’m very happy with my day’s work. We came into this looking at a battle for seconds or minutes. It’s very competitive. Like any sportsman, if you don’t like confrontation or squeezing the last ounces of strength out of yourself, then you’re not ready for a fight. But, as for me, I’m up for it.”
Attached above are video highlights of Stage Nine in the 2012 Dakar Rally.
