Stage 9 victory extends Coma's Dakar Rally lead
Red Bull KTM ace continues to inch toward the 2014 overall.
Source: Dakar Rally.
Red Bull KTM’s Marc Coma stretched his lead overnight in the 2014 edition of the Dakar Rally, winning Stage 9 by 1m41 over closest rival Joan Barreda (Team HRC).
The riders went down from yesterday´s plateau through the Atacama desert towards the Pacific Ocean. Sand and dunes challenged the competitors, especially in the final third of the stage, demanding excellent navigation skills.
In between the organisers had placed fast sections with dangerous diagonal grooves and creek beds. The day offered everything that classifies a true raid rally, ending with the spectacular downhill part to the coastal town of Iquique.
It was Coma who came out on top to build a 40m19 lead overall from Barreda, while third on Stage 9 for yesterday’s winner Cyril Despres (Yamaha) bumped him up another place to position eight. Sixth during today’s stage was Jordi Viladoms, maintaining his podium position overall.
Of the Aussies Troy O’Connor snuck into the top 40 now in 38th overall, with countryman Allan Roberts three positions behind him in 41st. Shane Diener also made progress, slotting into 49th.
2014 Dakar Rally
Argentina-Bolivia-Chile
Stage 9 results:
1. Marc Coma 4h49m05
2. Joan Barreda +1m41
3. Cyril Despres +5m28
4. Juan Pedrero Garcia +8m43
5. Stefan Svitko +9m42
6. Jordi Viladoms +11m23
7. Helder Rodrigues +11m44
8. Ivan Jakes +13m40
9. Laia Sanz +14m34
10. Jeremias Israel Esquerre +15m01
Overall standings (after Stage 9):
1. Marc Coma 36h55m24
2. Joan Barreda +40m19
3. Jordi Viladoms +1h38m45
4. Jeremias Israel Esquerre +2h07m06
5. Olivier Pain +2h16m10
6. Helder Rodrigues +2h24m25
7. Jakub Przygonski +2h25m16
8. Cyril Despres +2h29m56
9. Daniel Gouet +2h57m42
10. David Casteu +3h23m06
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