Dakar Day two: Coma slowed by mechanical problem but stays in control

Spaniard Marc Coma had his day one lead slashed by over nine minutes after a technical problem slowed the factory KTM man during the second special stage of the 2009 Dakar.

Coma dominated the opening day to lead by 22m 5s but has now had his lead reduced to 13m 47s after being forced to slow due to a damaged oil cooler. He finished the day 17th quickest onboard his factory Repsol KTM after 837KM of riding including a 237KM Special and a monster 600KM liaison.

Frans Verhoven onboard his Vectra Racing KTM won the second stage in a time of 2hours 14m 48s. The Dutchmanwas able to capitalise on Coma’s technical problems to secure his first ever stage win and moved up to second in the overall standings 13m 47s off the lead.

2007 Dakar winner Cyril Despres (RedBull KTM) got his Dakar back on track despite a crash early on in the timed stage which left him without GPS. The Frenchman finished the day in second place just 41s behind Verhoven to escalate himself up the leaderboard to 12th, but significantly still has a massive 30m 2s deficite to his factory KTM team-mate, Coma.

Yamaha mounted David Fretigne (Yamaha France) was able to run with the top men finishing the stage in third place to move into an impressive third  position overall onboard his WR450.

British rider Stanley Watt (KTM Front Row GB) backed up his 29th on day one by finishing day two 27th fastest. The impressive result see’s the former British Superstock racer move up to 23rd position in the overall standings, 56m 03s off the lead.

Dakar veteran Mick Extance (Honda Europe Dakar Sport) upped his pace to finish 31st on the day and jump to 33rd place overall. BMW mounted Simon Pavey took 81st spot and now sits 100th overall after jumping up 14 places.

Craig Bounds (KTM Desert Rose Racing) was 105th on stage two with Gary Ennis (KTM Team Dakar Ireland) 118th, Phillip Noone (Team Dolphin Racing KTM)  140th, Jonathan Stamper (KTM Front Row GB) 157th and Ewan Bucham (KTM Desert Rose Racing) 169th.

Day three of the Dakar sees the remaining 192 competitors, following 12 retirements, faced with a monster 616KM special stage with just 78KM of liaison. The day will see the riders leave Puerto Madryn and head into the hills of Patagonia finishing the day in Jacobacci a total of 694KM away.