RE: PH2: Despres takes Dakar (just)

RE: PH2: Despres takes Dakar (just)

Monday 16th January 2012

PH2: Despres takes Dakar (just)

Tough man takes tough win on Dakar rally



French off-road legend and all-round hard man, Cyril Despres, took his fourth Dakar Rally title at the weekend after a race-long battle with KTM team mate Marc Coma.

Having covered a total of over 5,000 miles split into 14 stages containing a mixture of road, tracks and sand dunes, Despres was just 53 minutes and 20 seconds ahead of Coma after the Spaniard suffered a gearbox failure on the eve of the last round, robbing him of 45 minutes and the spectators of an epic final stage.


"This is without a shadow of a doubt the toughest Dakar I've ever raced in. It was difficult physically, but even more psychologically. Challenging yourself every morning and fighting on the course takes its toll on your mind," said Despres.

"It's not like a 42-kilometre marathon; here, you have to earn your place every morning. All victories are beautiful, but this one is special because it came down to the wire and was decided at the last minute. This was an unimaginable scenario, with the leaders separated by mere seconds. I've done 90 or 85 rallies throughout my life, and this one was the one where I had to fight the hardest. Today will leave its mark on me."

Author
Discussion

konrad565

Original Poster:

39 posts

175 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
I wonder if Coma's gearbox would have held up better if he hadn't been pushing so hard after Despres was given 15mins back after the 'mudgate' incident. At the end of the day it's the Dakar things happen which the riders/drivers can't control, just a thought.

loomx

327 posts

224 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
Any reason there is no news article on who won the car section of the Dakar rally, other than the fact that MINI came 1st, 2nd and 4th.

Numeric

1,393 posts

150 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
All I know is that I look at a lot of things and think - oh I could have done that (if I was a bit younger of course). I look at this and think not, no, never - I'd be found sobbing at the end of the first mile. These guys and the lads who do TTs etc. make me realise I'm as soppy as a poodle!! Hats off to them!

marshall100

1,124 posts

200 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
I consider myself to be quite fit and it doesn't take me that long to recover from doing an enduro on my quad (3 hours) but this is something else. 5000 miles in the saddle, or even in a car, or god forbid a quad and I'd be a quivering wreck after ten minutes.

There should be extreme challenges like this, I'd just prefer it if they could hold the event a bit closer to home. Not sure there's enough open land left in the uk though....

_Neal_

2,658 posts

218 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
I'll try again - here's "mudgate"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4LPWpHd12U

It's not winning if you win like that.

CliveM

525 posts

184 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
Numeric said:
All I know is that I look at a lot of things and think - oh I could have done that (if I was a bit younger of course). I look at this and think not, no, never - I'd be found sobbing at the end of the first mile. These guys and the lads who do TTs etc. make me realise I'm as soppy as a poodle!! Hats off to them!
Yup, I've thought the same thing.

dandarez

13,245 posts

282 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
loomx said:
Any reason there is no news article on who won the car section of the Dakar rally, other than the fact that MINI came 1st, 2nd and 4th.
Not only that, FIVE out of the first ten places!

Autosport doesn't find it a problem to mention it!

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/97034

Edited by dandarez on Monday 16th January 13:11

VonSenger

2,465 posts

188 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
_Neal_ said:
I'll try again - here's "mudgate"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4LPWpHd12U

It's not winning if you win like that.
+1, funny how its almost always a frenchmen.

OdramaSwimLaden

1,971 posts

168 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
_Neal_ said:
I'll try again - here's "mudgate"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4LPWpHd12U

It's not winning if you win like that.
Agreed; initially reading the thread I though "Legend". Very unsporting and cut-throat. Win at all costs.

redgriff500

26,763 posts

262 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
Such a shame there isn't more coverage of this epic event

greyarea

30 posts

149 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
VonSenger said:
_Neal_ said:
I'll try again - here's "mudgate"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4LPWpHd12U

It's not winning if you win like that.
+1, funny how its almost always a frenchmen.
Peterhansel also got away with hitting a biker during a very tight river crossing. I suspect Robbie Gordon may not have been so lucky in the same situation...

Ruttager

2,079 posts

191 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
greyarea said:
Peterhansel also got away with hitting a biker during a very tight river crossing. I suspect Robbie Gordon may not have been so lucky in the same situation...
posted in biker banter earlier this week:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mYnGyHX9OY

shocking... and he got away with it! rage

greyarea

30 posts

149 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
Ruttager said:
greyarea said:
Peterhansel also got away with hitting a biker during a very tight river crossing. I suspect Robbie Gordon may not have been so lucky in the same situation...
posted in biker banter earlier this week:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mYnGyHX9OY

shocking... and he got away with it! rage
The fact that he is a multiple winner on bikes as well as in cars makes it even worse and sets a very bad precedent.

redgriff500

26,763 posts

262 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
Now I've seen those two incidents I'm less impressed with the winners.

jp-speed-triple

1,504 posts

186 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
redgriff500 said:
Now I've seen those two incidents I'm less impressed with the winners.
No excuse for either incident by the competitors...the real taint/shame is with the organisers, with both incidents on record by their own film crews....not to mention the 'technical' breach discovered in Gordon's airbox....despite it being unchanged from previous Dakar or 2012 scrutineering.

I've lost a lot of respect for ASO and the Dakar this year....shame as I've been an addict for as long as I can remember.

This year was all about a double french victory and it blows. You'd think it was an election year over there or something.

Now, where's my baguette?

HowMuchLonger

3,003 posts

192 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
The less publicity this event gets the better.

3doorPete

9,912 posts

233 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
greyarea said:
Ruttager said:
greyarea said:
Peterhansel also got away with hitting a biker during a very tight river crossing. I suspect Robbie Gordon may not have been so lucky in the same situation...
posted in biker banter earlier this week:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mYnGyHX9OY

shocking... and he got away with it! rage
The fact that he is a multiple winner on bikes as well as in cars makes it even worse and sets a very bad precedent.
The rules state he has to wait for the vehicle in front to clear the obstacle or find another way through. He got no penalty, clearly could not get through and hit another competitors body to knock him out of the way. No penalty. He should have been DQ'ed or seriously penalised.

V8 FOU

2,970 posts

146 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
3doorPete said:
The rules state he has to wait for the vehicle in front to clear the obstacle or find another way through. He got no penalty, clearly could not get through and hit another competitors body to knock him out of the way. No penalty. He should have been DQ'ed or seriously penalised.
Sad that the Dakar is going the way of a lot of sports. Always thought it was the best in respect of competitors fairness, etc.
Didn't Despres just leave the biker who helped him out of the mud behind too?

untakenname

4,953 posts

191 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
I don't really know much about the Dakar rally (I don't watch it live) but the two most popular clips being talked about online of this years event are the two clips shown in this thread (and mirrored on other forums) its a pr disaster for the whole event and taints what must otherwise quite an epic event as that's the main thing that stays in the mind once the events finished for the year.

redtwin

7,518 posts

181 months

Monday 16th January 2012
quotequote all
V8 FOU said:
Didn't Despres just leave the biker who helped him out of the mud behind too?
All-round hard men aren't known for their sense of fairness or kind nature.