LATE BRAKING NEWS - REVIEWS - FORUM

--  Dakar Stage 8 - Calama to Tucuman (first half stage canceled because of heavy rain) Stage 8 Results 1, Joan Barreda , Spain, Husqvarna, 2 hours 07.26 2, Campbell, USA, Honda, 2:14.30 3, Ivan Jakes, Slovakia, KTM, 2:15.23 4, Bianchi Prata, Portugal Husqvarna 2:18.36 5, Vincent Guindani, Italy, Yamaha, 2:20.33 6, David Casteu, France, Yamaha, 2:21.39 Overall Standings after Stage Eight 1, Casteu 19:56.37 2, Despres, KTM, 20:05.59 (provisional - will drop to sixth after being handed the regulation 15 minute penalty for changing engines) 3, Faria KTM 20:07.49 4, Lopez, KTM 20:08.33 -- KTM Report Despres claws back some time in Stage eight After a difficult day on Friday in the Dakar 2013, Red Bull KTM Factory Rider and titleholder Cyril Despres managed to claw back some time in Stage Eight on Saturday, the last day before the one rest day in this mammoth 8000 km trek through a good slice of South America. Despres and his factory teammate had worked in the riders’ bivouac for much of the night to change engines on his machine after he suffered mechanical issues the previous day. Stages seven and eight were designated ‘marathon’ stages in which competitors were allowed no outside assistance from their support team. So it was up to his fellow factory riders to help Cyril make the switch. In a show of typical KTM team solidarity they all worked to change over the engine of Despres’ bike with the KTM-supported bike of Polish rider Marek Dabrowski. KTM is indebted to Marek’s team for allowing the changeover. Despres went out on Saturday hoping to gain some time and managed to avoid navigational mistakes to finish 9′26″ down on new overall leader David Casteu of France. But he will be handed a 15-minute penalty for the engine change and this will drop him down to sixth place overall ahead of the second week of racing. His position going into the second half of the rally could also be influenced if other riders choose to strategically change their engines on the rest day Sunday. The French rider also seemed to have a lucky break when many of the leader riders got lost in the final section of Saturday’s timed special and finished well down the order on the official time sheets. On Saturday riders also had a much shorter challenge than the planned 491 km of timed special when organizers announced at the beginning of the day that only the second half would be contested due to heavy overnight rain in the region. The second half of the timed special was new to all riders because it broke new ground not previously covered in earlier editions. Team boss Alex Doringer said on Saturday night after clearly what was an eventful day on the stage that the race was still wide open. “Saturday showed us that nothing has been decided yet,” he said. Sunday is the official rest day however teams will be very busy preparing the bikes for the second half of the rally. -- Husky Report Dakar 2013, 8th Stage: Cachi – San Miguel de Tucuman (Argentina) 500 km stage (312 miles) including 183 km special test Third victory for "Bang Bang" Barreda and Husqvarna Rallye Team by Speedbrain Joan Barreda landed a victory in the second leg of the Marathon stage, which ran from Cachi to San Miguel de Tucuman. A heavy rainfall in the night forced the organizers to reprogram a shorter than planned stage, and cancel the first part of the special test, leaving only the final 183 km (114 miles). Joan Barreda on the Husqvarna TE449RR by Speedbrain notched up his third stage victory so far in this Dakar, equalling Chilean Lopez as the rider with most stage victories to date. Joan stormed his way through a tough, technical special, making an excellent interpretation of the course, whilst imposing a seven minute advantage over his nearest rival. Paulo Goncalves and Alessandro Botturi, on the other hand, made a navigational blunder as they followed the main leader’s group down a mistaken route. After eight stages and around 4000 km of racing, the Dakar caravan gets a well-deserved day of rest tomorrow. But there’s still another 4000 km to go before Santiago... Joan Barreda: ”After a couple of days in which just about everything has happened to me, this is a really important victory! Winning again is vital for me and for the whole team. I was up with Despres, but 50 km from the finish I saw that he had taken the wrong route, so I halted and then decided to take another path, and that led to victory.“ Alessandro Botturi: “I was unable to find the right route. A whole load of us arrived at that point about a 110 km into the special. Besides the track was really dangerous. Anyway, we are only at the halfway point, and I’m happy with the way things have gone up until now.” Wolfgang Fischer: “We are halfway through the race and we have won three out of the eight stages. Joan has shown again today just how valuable he is, and how mature he is, especially with navigation. It’s a real shame that he won’t be battling for a place at the top of the leader board after the setbacks of a couple of days ago. But there’s still a long way to go…” -- KTM Report Despres claws back some time in Stage eight After a difficult day on Friday in the Dakar 2013, Red Bull KTM Factory Rider and titleholder Cyril Despres managed to claw back some time in Stage Eight on Saturday, the last day before the one rest day in this mammoth 8000 km trek through a good slice of South America. Despres and his factory teammate had worked in the riders’ bivouac for much of the night to change engines on his machine after he suffered mechanical issues the previous day. Stages seven and eight were designated ‘marathon’ stages in which competitors were allowed no outside assistance from their support team. So it was up to his fellow factory riders to help Cyril make the switch. In a show of typical KTM team solidarity they all worked to change over the engine of Despres’ bike with the KTM-supported bike of Polish rider Marek Dabrowski. KTM is indebted to Marek’s team for allowing the changeover. Despres went out on Saturday hoping to gain some time and managed to avoid navigational mistakes to finish 9′26″ down on new overall leader David Casteu of France. But he will be handed a 15-minute penalty for the engine change and this will drop him down to sixth place overall ahead of the second week of racing. His position going into the second half of the rally could also be influenced if other riders choose to strategically change their engines on the rest day Sunday. The French rider also seemed to have a lucky break when many of the leader riders got lost in the final section of Saturday’s timed special and finished well down the order on the official time sheets. On Saturday riders also had a much shorter challenge than the planned 491 km of timed special when organizers announced at the beginning of the day that only the second half would be contested due to heavy overnight rain in the region. The second half of the timed special was new to all riders because it broke new ground not previously covered in earlier editions. Team boss Alex Doringer said on Saturday night after clearly what was an eventful day on the stage that the race was still wide open. “Saturday showed us that nothing has been decided yet,” he said. Sunday is the official rest day however teams will be very busy preparing the bikes for the second half of the rally. -- HRC Report Great second place for Johnny Campbell SS8 Salta – Tucuman – 183 km special – 228 liaison The 8th stage was divided into 2 special stages, split by a neutralisation section. Because of yesterday's heavy rain, the first timed section was cancelled for bikes, cars and trucks so the total timed section today was reduced from the original 492 km to183 km. Riders continued their marathon stage from Cachi, a separate bivouac where no assistance was allowed which meant they had to work on their bikes by themselves. With the first timed section cancelled, the first riders started for the second part of the special at noon, passing through canyons, river beds, green areas and fast tracks. Navigation was the key issue today as there were several river crossings with many different lines that could mislead the riders. Tricky navigation was complicated by the rain that started to fall during the stage. An incredible performance by American Johnny Campbell gained him second position, 7’04 behind Barreda who won today’s stage. Johnny felt at home on the fast tracks similar to the California desert. Starting from the back, he found the correct direction while navigation mistakes spoiled today’s stage for Rodrigues and Pizzolito. Rodrigues finished 10th and drops into 14th position overall, while Javier finished 25th but moves 2 positions up to 10th overall. Johnny Campbell SS8 2nd +07.04", 66th overall: “It was a nice stage, I started from the back and it was kind of challenging in the “off piste”, but when we arrived on the hard pack, there were very fast tracks like navigating in the California desert and it felt like home. Finishing 2nd after the long marathon stage is a very good result”. Helder Rodrigues SS8 10th +15’57", 14th overall: “Dakar is like this, today the navigation was very difficult and I lost valuable time with a mistake. At km 400 I went on the right while everybody else went on the left, I rode for 10 km alone, there were no marks and I started to doubt myself, so I changed direction and I caught up everybody, that were lost. This was a wrong decision and this mistake spoiled my stage result. It’s a real pity but this is the human side of the Dakar challenge”. Javier Pizzolito 25th +20’38”, 10th overall: “The rain complicated a lot of the first part of the stage, navigation today was very difficult and I got lost like many of the riders. Once I caught Helder, I followed him, finding the right way. All in all being 10th overall after the first 8 stages is a good result. Now I look forward to the rest day and then more desert stages ahead”. Today’s result are subject to change because the jury is still evaluating the possibility to cancel the final part of the stage with the results being taken at CP2.

- LATE BRAKING NEWS - REVIEWS - FORUM - WALLPAPER -