Dakar 2014
Saturday 18 January 2014
Thirteenth stage: La Serena - Valparaiso
Link section: 122 km - Special: 157 km – Link section: 256 km – Total : 535 km
Like last year, the Dakar finished on a toughish note with the Canela Special: rios, rocks and snaky mountain trails... There were 174 motorcycles and 40 quads at the start at Rosario but only 93 altogether from both classes made it to the finish of this Dakar, South America’s toughest rally.
At Illapel, the finish is in a cactus patch and the winner Marc Coma is a happy man after his DNF in 2013. Whereas all his rivals made mistakes or had mechanical problems, the rider from Catalonia had a textbook Dakar, using his habitual strategy: keeping up with the leaders and striking a tough blow to open up a gap. For KTM, this victory is made all the sweeter by the second place of Jordi Viladoms, who was quite overcome at the finish. Marc Coma’s former water bearer was entered on a GasGas but was offered the place of Kurt Caselli, who sadly passed away at the end of last year. His return to the KTM fold and a brilliant runner-up spot in the Dakar...what more could the delightful Jordi Viladoms have wished for? While Cyril Després (Yamaha) again earned respect for his staying power, overcoming mechanical problems and moving up inexorably into fourth place, it was Olivier Pain (Yamaha), discreet and steady at the start of the race, who made the third step of the podium by keeping his mistakes to a minimum.
But there were some who’s tears were not tears of joy, like Joan Barreda, who seemed sure of a fine second place until he crashed two days ago, ruining his chances of getting the Honda on to the podium. It was a harsh blow but the Dakar is a race of experience and the most important thing is to get across the finish line. Joan Barreda helped to restore Honda’s reputation on the Dakar and he will certainly be back. Helder Rodrigues on his Honda made it into fifth.
And what a fabulous run for Laia Sanz (Honda) who came in 16e, the best ever result for a woman!
In quad, the winner was Ignacio Casale. Who has never dreamed of winning the Dakar on home turf? The Chilean offered his win to the people of Chile, a victory forged with “hard work and passion”! Ignacio Casale (Yamaha) took the laurels ahead of Poland’s, Rafal Sonik (Yamaha), who improved considerably this year, and Sebastian Husseini (Honda).
Communication AMADLOZI - amadlozi.blogspot.com -