Dakar 16.01.09; Coma pushes on
Added on Friday, January 16th, 2009 by Carole Nash Editor | No Comments
Dakar 16.01.09; Coma pushes on
Marc Coma is pushing on towards the win in the final stages of the 2009 Dakar Rally, as Cyril Despres struggles to close the gap. Despres moved into 2nd place overall yesterday, as unexpected rain showers made the terrain muddy. But Despres is about 1.5 hours behind, which makes it difficult for him to catch Coma, unless the leading rider suffers a breakdown or a big crash.
The special stage at the end of yesterday’s race section was shortened and re-routed to avoid archaeological remains, which provided a severe navigation challenge. Coma was one of the many riders who lost time on the final 30 kms of the special.
“I don’t know if the road book was incorrect,” said Coma, “but the change to the route made it hard.” Meanwhile Jordi Viladoms had the frustrating experience of seeing the finish line some 300 metres beyond a cliff face, costing him plenty of time in finding his way around the natural obstacle.
Brit rider Mick Extance was one of several riders who handed in a petition, protesting at the 4 hour time penalties awarded for those who missed a checkpoint some 2 days ago. ” When you see so much rule-bending to keep people in the race, it is annoying.” said Extance, who slipped from about 20th back to 34th overall. Top Brit rider is now Stan Watt in 22nd place.
Top female racer is Honda backed Mirjam Pol, whilst Aussie Dakar veteran Si Pavey, an instructor at the BMW Off-Road Skills centre in South Wales, is in 73rd position overall and no doubt counting down the miles to the overall finish.
There are just two long stages left until the Dakar 2009 finish on Sunday and thousands of spectators are already lining the route back into Beunos Aires.
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