Dakar 2009 - Bikes: Coma wins second Dakar

Eurosport - Sat, 17 Jan 16:39:00 2009

Spanish biker Marc Coma claimed his second Dakar win despite finishing sixth in the last stage.

Rally Raid Dakar 2009 Coma - 0

The KTM rider, who also won the 2006 Dakar Rally, finished 1:25.38 ahead of runner-up and former champion Cyril Despres, who came third in the final stage.

"There were so many days of racing, so much work," said the 32-year-old. "I am really very happy. It was a very tough race. We did not know the terrain too well and it was hard to have a good race strategy.

"I must thank all my team who did a wonderful job. There are a lot of people working behind the scenes and they deserve this victory as much as I do. Now I can enjoy the moment."

Portugal's Helder Rodrigues (KTM) won the final stage in 1:52.37 and second place went to Norway's Pal Anders Ullevalseter (KTM), 2.41 behind.

Third place in the overall standings went to David Fretigne (Yamaha), who said: "Being on the podium in a Dakar was really important.

"With my 450cc, I think I did something pretty exceptional. I wanted to be the first to get that bike on the podium. I was the first one to believe it was possible, even if everyone was telling me it was impossible.

"Today I am third and I'm on the podium and I spent most of the rally in second place. I am very happy because with Yamaha we have the reliability we need from the bike. I had a blast.

"The rally was tough but I expected something even more difficult and I had prepared myself accordingly. This is also why I had such fun for the last two weeks."

Sporting Life / Eurosport

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  1. Á GRANDA HELDER; ISO É QUE FOI ROLAR PUNHO; EU SABIA­ QUE TINHAS QUE FAZER DAS TUAS...
    PARABENS PELA VITORIA­ NA ETAPA E PELO 5 NA GERAL.
    PELO QUE VI NAS COBERTURAS­ FOI UM GRANDE EVENTO; PARABENS TAMBEM AO CHILE E­ ARGENTINA.
    JROD

    From jorge, on Sun 18 Jan 12:54PM

  2. Nice job, Despres. I saw him in Romania, at the­ Romaniacs, he's a pro.
    Also I wanna congrat the­ Romanian team Vectra Racing, Verhoeven, Lopez, Casteau.­ Too bad team leader Marcel Butuza had to retire due to­ injury. Best result for a Romanian rider, 68th place­ for Romeo Duicu.
    Mancuso

    From Bogdan, on Fri 9 Jan 11:37AM

  3. Really enjoying the rally! Go on Despres! Would like to­ know how our Brits are doing though. Incidentally what­ do you for the rest of the year Carlton Kirby? Also do­ you translate live? If so, we're very impressed­ with commentary.
    Jane & Veg - Herts UK

    From eldridge.jane, on Fri 9 Jan 12:45AM

  4. OMG...
    He is short, but Ijust saw his profile on some­ tal l da ting place ____T allMingle Co m____ where are­ many hot models and handsome guys.

    From , on Thu 8 Jan 6:51PM

  5. Fantastic coverage, well done all the brits

    How on­ earth do they ride in that dust????

    Looking forward to­ tomorrow

    Richard Peck

    From Richard, on Tue 6 Jan 10:57PM

  6. Riders get their road book in the evening prior to the­ next stage. Then manually go through it and mark it­ according to their own "best practices". ­ Then place it into their electrically-driven "road­ book reader" where they can wind it back and forth­ with buttons on the handlebar, while riding the course!

    From Einar, on Mon 5 Jan 10:35AM

  7. we saw carlos yesterday preparing his road book, how­ does this work, do they have to move it on manually, or­ is it autoscrolling?

    From bluebell_prints, on Mon 5 Jan 9:18AM

  8. we saw carlos yesterday preparing his road book, how­ does this work, do they have to move it on manually, or­ is it autoscrolling?

    From bluebell_prints, on Mon 5 Jan 9:17AM

  9. Gas d'r bij!!

    From iggyxp, on Sun 4 Jan 4:38PM
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