2007 Dakar Rally Stage 10 Results

Stage 10 : Néma – Néma

January 16, 2007 - Today the competitors finished the 10th stage of the Dakar Rally.  It was a special stage, looping from Nema back to Nema, covering over 300km of sandy track.  The stage is replacing the originally planned Nema-Timbuktu stage which was rerouted for safety reasons.

TRPA’s Casey McCoy loved the stage, riding for a 28th place finish. Casey is poised to finish the rally very well in Dakar. He joined the team this year because of his steady and reliably fast riding. At the start of the rally, Casey’s main task was to support the team’s primary rider, Jonah Street. However, on the challenging dunes stage from Er Rachidia to Ouarzazate, Jonah suffered an engine failure, knocking him out of the rally. Casey has taken over the role of primary rider, with the goal of netting the team a finish in Dakar.

Jonah performed spectacularly in the first 4 stages of the rally. At the bivouac in Oarzazate, he was in 4th place overall, less than 7 minutes behind. He was much better off than we had planned at this stage, prepared to charge to the front in the soft sand of Mauritania. But, unfortunately, Jonah’s bike didn’t make it to that part of the rally. The entire team is disappointed by his departure. Team Manager Charlie Rauseo, “The bright side is that we now know that Jonah can beat the factory racers.”

Jonah’s bike is being transported to Paris by the rally organizers, and the team will dissect it in their San Francisco shop when it returns in February. The engine was running perfectly when it left Er Rachidia early in the morning, but mechanic Niles Follin says that Jonah was obviously riding it very hard to keep ahead of the much larger KTM factory 690 motorcycles.

The team’s assistance crew has been very busy. Early on in the rally, another team’s assistance vehicle broke, so the team decided to help the riders who were left without mechanics. Tim Hall withdrew in Morocco due to injuries sustained in a crash. Klaus Pelzmann bowed out in Mauritania due to exhaustion. But, Casey McCoy, Paul Broome, Steve LaRoza, and Chris Jones remain in the rally, supported by the team’s two Ford F350 trucks and assistance crews.

Yamaha Team Report
With a stage-win, a second place and six other top 15 finishes Yamaha WR450F rider Helder Rodrigues (POR) is the current leader of the category up to 450cc.

Helder is closely chased by Frenchman Michel Marchini, also riding a Yamaha WR450F.  With nine of the 15 riding days and already 5000 km absolved, the riders are now less then a week away from the finish of the grueling 2007 edition of the Dakar rally.

Top Yamaha man David Frétigné held the 450cc class lead up to stage seven, but then misfortune hit him hard and he was forced to retire.

David crashed heavily in the dunes on the seventh leg from Zouérat to Atâr, the last stage before the rest day.  David explained; "After the fuel stop around 350 km's in the stage my bike did not run well and I crashed when the engine stopped when I was descending a dune.  I went over the handle bars and the bike landed on top of me and the foot peg hit me in my right side, injuring my ribs."

Despite the aggravation David remounted straight away and carried on with his crash damaged bike in order not to loose too much time on the leaders.  "The fuelling problems continued and David lost a further one and a half hours doing the necessary repairs.  David arrived very tired and frustrated at the finish line; "To make things worse, just on the day when I have a problem the stage was made ten km longer due to poor visibility!"

After the finish it became clear that David's condition was pretty bad with two fractured and one broken rib; 'I did not sleep at all and it felt like somebody was poking a knife in my right side".

The next morning David decided to retire from the race; I'm not able to restart in this condition and be competitive, I would have to take unnecessary risks just for making up the numbers.  I came here to finish each of the stages in the top six, close to the podium overall and win the 450cc class, that is now impossible, so it is better to quit."

With Frétigné out, Yamaha's hopes are now on Helder Rodrigues who had one of his toughest days on the Sunday stage.  This 589 km special stage was the longest and possibly the hardest day of the rally; very difficult to navigate and with a very rocky surface.

Rodrigues was one of the riders to get lost early on, costing him a detour of 15 km, yet he recovered strongly to finish 12th overall.  Yesterday, Monday 15 January,Rodrigues further improved his position in the overall standings with a seventh position finish, Marchini came in eight minutes later to trail Rodrigues on 40 minutes in the overall standings and second in the 450 class.

The leaders overall (bikes over 450cc capacity) are the factory supported Coma (Spa), followed by Despres (Fra) and Casteu (Fra).  Yamaha rider Josef Machacek (CZE) is on top of the Quads leaderboard.

Chris Blais Report
After the change of course recommended by the Foreign Ministry, the participants of the 29th Dakar enjoyed a half-day's rest in Nema swept across by the howling winds of the Sahel before heading - on a no timed route - to Ayoun-el-Atrous, a small town located some 280 km from the start.  At this stage in the rally, 142 bikers, 112 car teams and 60 trucks are still in the race; the retinue has lost a big third of its volume since Lisbon.

The leaders in the race, who have now covered 3,416 kilometers against the clock at the sustained pace of 83.48 km/h average for Marc Coma on a bike and 90.87 km/h for Stéphane Peterhansel in his Mitsu, finally had the opportunity to enjoy the scenery without thinking race strategy or worrying about the threats of mechanical breakdowns.

Today was a somewhat of a semi-rest day on the Dakar with no timed special test section planned.  Riders and teams will travel by highway to the bivouac in Ayoun - a wise move toward safety of all participants prompted by the above mentioned Foreign Ministry.

Cruising comfortably down the tarmac on his still immaculate #9 Red Bull KTM 660 Rallye, Chris Blais had the opportunity to savor the success he's enjoyed so far this year.  As of last night, he sits comfortably in the 4th overall position - mind, body, and motorcycle have all worked, according to Chris "Perfect. No problem."

Some in the rally are sold on the "new is better" concept.  And evidence of this is everywhere.  However, Chris and his technician Matt "Rock Steady" Spencer have opted to stick with "old" technology in the form of KTM's proven 660 Rally engine, versus the more modern, perhaps more powerful (and, for some, less reliable) 690 powerplant.  Blasphemy?  Results don't lie and they American's gamble has paid off.  With just over 25-minutes separating him from the 3rd overall #8 Repsol KTM of David Casteau, who can argue with that?

 wBW Home  |  Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy  |  Site Info - Contact Info  |