Dakar Stage 9 – Coma takes stage victory from Despres in thrilling head to head race

KTM riders Marc Coma and Cyril Despres showed their dominance on stage nine of the Dakar with a wheel to wheel race to the finish line.

After countless passes during the 170KM special stage, Coma won by just 4 seconds, but after receiving a six hour time penalty for gaining illegal assistance on stage seven is still out of contention for the overall victory.

Despres said: “We kept swapping the lead over the first 70KM. First it was Marc Coma. Then it was me.

“We must have overtaken each other around fifteen times. There were two possible routes at the finish line. We each took a different one and finished at almost the same time.

“Neither of us wanted to give anything away and its proof that as riders we are very closely matched. In rally raids, there are very few final sprints, but today, it was a matter of honor.”

Coma currently holds 18th overall, 7h 00m 49s off the lead, but is still enjoying the Dakar along with the new starting format that sees 20 riders line up side by side at the start of the stage. He said:

“Everyone was in front. We rode together with Ullevalseter at a good pace with two other bikes. The special was interesting at the start, with dunes and navigation.

“In the end, it was a good result for me. That’s one more day of the rally gone and one day nearer to the finish. I’m happy. And the tyres are as good as new”. 

With nine stages complete and five to go, Brit, Craig Bounds holds 57th place with Paul Carlyle 76th, Irishman Phillip Noone in 89th and Tamsin Jones 92nd. 

Stage 9 – Copiapo to La Serena 
Monday 11th January 2010
Connection 354KM
Special 170KM