Coma claims 4th Dakar
After two gruelling weeks of what has been called the toughest Dakar Rally to date; Marc Coma was crowned winner for the fourth time. The Spaniard who missed last years Dakar due to injury won the rally by an impressive margin of 1h 52m 27s.
Travelling close to 5500 miles in 13 stages across Argentina, Bolivia and Chile the rally saw more than 50% of its competitors retire as the terrain and distance took their toll. Special motorbike only sections were added this year to make the rally more difficult after talk that the 2013 rally was a little tame. Organisers definitely stepped up but it was not enough to stop the experienced Coma on the dominant KTM from taking his 4th win.
Coma commented after his win, "Without the right people behind me it would have been impossible to win. We have worked very well throughout the race and also before. I am very proud of this victory. What was key to winning the Dakar was not to make any mistakes." Coma dedicated his win to fellow rider and friend Kurt Caselli who sadly died in a race accident in November.
Coma's biggest rival and 5 time Dakar winner Cyril Despres decided to move away from KTM for this years Dakar. He rode for Yamaha but suffered some technical difficulties in the early stages which lost him position. His experience pulled through by the end though and he narrowly missed a podium spot.
Brit Sam Sunderland impressed with a stage 2 win, the first UK stage winner in 15 years. Sadly two days later he was forced to retire with an engine failure on his factory Honda. No doubt he'll be back next year with a point to prove.
For more information and results visit the official Dakar website.
23.01.2014 - MCE Insurance
