Day 11 Dakar 2014: Coma Wins, Extends Overall Lead
Day 11 marked the longest stage to date of the Dakar Rally, as the competitors tackled the 605km (376 miles) special stage, covering a variety of terrain, hard ground, mountains, plus 120km (75 miles) of sand and dunes in the Copiapo area. Despite this, and a fall at the beginning of the stage, Marc Coma again demonstrated his status as boss of the Dakar 2014, by picking up his third victory of the year, further reinforcing his position at the top of the general standings.
Five-time Dakar winner Cyril Depres opened the piste for 400km before dropping slightly to finish just 02:31 behind Marc Coma in first. The result keeps Despres in sixth in the standings, now 23:22 from third.
Depres’ teammate Olivier Pain was also on form, finishing the stage in third position behind Despres, 5:28 from the front. The result moves the Frenchman closer to a possible Dakar podium. Sitting in fourth in the overall standings he is now just 13:44 from third.
For his part, after falling at the beginning of the stage, Coma then attacked before catching up to Depres in the dunes. The two then finished together, handing Coma the stage victory.
As a result, in the general standings, Marc Coma increases his lead to 52:36 over Joan Barreda, who set off first this morning, but who fell after 250km of the day’s special, breaking all his navigation instruments, forcing him to finish the special stage just by the naked eye. Thanks to his third best time, Olivier Pain is now within 13:44 of the third step on the podium, which is still occupied by Jordi Viladoms. As for Cyril Despres, he continued his climb back up the general standings and now only trails fifth placed Helder Rodrigues by 43 seconds.
Classification Stage 11 |
1 | Marc Coma | 6:36’08 | ESP | KTM | KTM Red Bull Rally Factory |
2 | Cyril Despres | +02’51 | FRA | YAMAHA | Yamaha Racing |
3 | Olivier Pain | +05’28 | FRA | YAMAHA | Yamaha Racing |
4 | Jordi Viladoms | +05’53 | ESP | KTM | KTM Red Bull Rally Factory |
5 | Joan Barreda | +08’12 | ESP | HONDA | TEAM HRC |
6 | Helder Rodrigues | +09’23 | POR | HONDA | TEAM HRC |
7 | Joan Pedrero | +09’50 | ESP | SHERCO | Sherco Rally Factory |
8 | Stefan Svitko | +13’25 | SLO | KTM | Oraving Slovnaft Team |
9 | Kuba Przygonski | +14’40 | POL | KTM | KTM Rally Factory |
10 | Ivan Jakes | +14’47 | SLO | KTM | Nad Ress Adventure |
General standings after Stage 11 |
1 | Marc Coma | 48:24’41 | ESP | KTM | KTM Red Bull Rally Factory |
2 | Joan Barreda | +52’36 | ESP | HONDA | TEAM HRC |
3 | Jordi Viladoms | +02:07’56 | ESP | KTM | KTM Red Bull Rally Factory |
4 | Olivier Pain | +02:21’40 | FRA | YAMAHA | Yamaha Racing |
5 | Helder Rodrigues | +02:30’35 | POR | HONDA | TEAM HRC |
6 | Cyril Despres | +02:31’18 | FRA | YAMAHA | Yamaha Racing |
7 | Kuba Przygonski | +02:43’55 | POL | KTM | KTM Rally Factory |
8 | Daniel Gouet | +03:24’35 | CHI | HONDA | Tamarugal Honda Racing XC Rally Team |
9 | Stefan Svitko | +03:46’32 | SLO | KTM | Oraving Slovnaft Team |
10 | David Casteu | +04:07’56 | FRA | KTM | Team Casteu |
Troy's been riding motorcycles and writing about them since 2006, getting his start at Rider Magazine. From there, he moved to Sport Rider Magazine before finally landing at Motorcycle.com in 2011. A lifelong gearhead who didn't fully immerse himself in motorcycles until his teenage years, Troy's interests have always been in technology, performance, and going fast. Naturally, racing was the perfect avenue to combine all three. Troy has been racing nearly as long as he's been riding and has competed at the AMA national level. He's also won multiple club races throughout the country, culminating in a Utah Sport Bike Association championship in 2011. He has been invited as a guest instructor for the Yamaha Champions Riding School, and when he's not out riding, he's either wrenching on bikes or watching MotoGP.
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