Despres maintains Dakar Rally lead, Verhoeven captures Stage 12 victory
Former Dakar Rally champion Cyril Despres continues to lead overall rankings, while Dutchman Frans Verhoeven scored the Stage 12 victory, his 4th stage victory on the Dakar and his first since 2011.
Cyril Despres continues to lead the 2013 Dakar Rally after Stage 12 of the event
Former Dakar Rally champion Cyril Despres continues to lead overall rankings, while Dutchman Frans Verhoeven scored the Stage 12 victory, his 4th stage victory on the Dakar and his first since 2011.
Stage winner Verhoeven was 12th to start the stage and he took advantage of clear tracks to hit the gas, picking up his first victory on the Dakar in 2013.
Behind him, in spite of a painful shoulder following yesterday’s fall, Spaniard Joan Barreda put in the day’s third best time, 16” in front of Alain Duclos in fourth.
In the overall standings, Despres and Ruben Faria are holding down the first two places ahead of Francisco Lopez in third. During Stage 12 Despres decided to protect his team-mate Ruben Faria against the attacks of Lopez, who is always a threat on home soil.
Despres remains untroubled in the lead, 5’39 ahead of his Portuguese teammate who enjoyed the additional bonus of adding a further three minutes to the gap that separates himself from Lopez, seventh quickest in Stage 12 and now 13’40 behind the rally leader overall.
Australia’s Rod Faggotter holds down an impressive 15th place overall ranking, while Ben Grabham follows closely in 16th position. Fellow Aussie’s Warren Strange, Todd Smith, Simon Pavey and Matt Fish hold down 28th, 34th, 61st and 108th places, respectively.
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