2007 Dakar Rally

2007 Dakar Rally Podium

2007 Dakar Rally Stage 15 and Final Results

Stage 15 : Finish Line

January 21, 2007 - KTM Sweeps Podium.  Despres, Casteu and Blais Win the 2007 Dakar Rally.

KTM Factory riders made a clean sweep of the podium at the conclusion of the Dakar 2007 Rally Sunday when Cyril Despres (Gauloises KTM) came home safe and sure in the final stage to finish overall leader by 34.19 minutes.

The rally, which started on January 6 in Lisbon has taken riders 8696 grueling km to the finish line at Lac Rose near Dakar to live up to its reputation as the world’s toughest rally for both man and machine.

The 32-year old Frenchman finished ahead of fellow Gauloises KTM team-mate David Casteu with American rider Chris Blais (Red Bull KTM), 52 minutes behind the leader, finishing third.

“I am really happy with the victory,” Despres said.  “I approached it day by day and I tried not to look forward too far.  I have never doubted that I could win the Dakar again.  I knew I could do it.  I know my skills and I had faith in myself, my team and my bike.“

Despres won the event in 2005.  His latest victory was a tribute to his superiority on his KTM machine but also a touch ironic. 

His arch rival and friend Spaniard Marc Coma (Repsol KTM) had a commanding lead going into the final stages and seemed certain to secure his second consecutive Dakar victory when navigation problems and a crash dashed his hopes on Friday. 

The door was then opened for Despres to ride home steadily to seize the 2007 title. Ironically the situation was the complete reverse of what happened in the closing stages of the Dakar 2006.  Then Despres looked a sure winner in the final stages only to crash out and retire with a broken collarbone, leaving the glory to Coma.  The Spaniard, hospitalized and badly shaken after his crash Friday, was already back in the paddock with fellow KTM riders on Saturday afternoon.

KTM 690 Rally Bike Proves Its Worth
The three podium places for KTM continue the company’s winning streak in the world’s toughest rally, which they won for the first time in 2001 and have continued to dominate ever since.  Above all the 2007 victory confirms the dominance and reliability of the new KTM 690 Rally race bike, the first time it has been used in the Dakar.  Further developed and refined over the last year with significant input from factory riders, the 690 was also extensively tested in other world class rallies during the 2006 season by Marc Coma.

True to its reputation as the world’s toughest rally, the Dakar this year claimed its share of non-finishers.  Coma had prophetically remarked in an interview on Thursday that despite a commanding lead he didn’t consider himself the winner until Sunday.  His dream went up in a cloud of dust the following day.

Four of the other eight KTM factory riders also did not finish.  Thankfully, although they were taken out of contention through a series of crashes over the eight stages, all of them escaped serious injury. This was a testament to the effectiveness of the new KTM Neck Brace protection system that all KTM factory riders wore for the Dakar 2007.

Hans Trunkenpolz, Overall Team Manager expressed his satisfaction with both the result and his entire team.

“As always the Dakar is very, very tough,” he commented.  “Apart from the great effort from Despres, Casteu and Blais I am really satisfied with the performance of the entire team and with the new 690 Rally race bike.  I would like to extend my thanks to every single team member for their dedication and their hard work.”

Yamaha Team Report - Yamaha’s Helder Rodrigues wins 450 class in Dakar
For the third time since the conception of the new technical regulations of the Dakar, the Yamaha WR450F has been victorious in the hotly contested 450cc motorcycle class.  David Frétigné won the class in 2004 and 2005 and Helder Rodrigues came close in 2006 when he finished ninth overall as best Yamaha rider.

This year Rodrigues managed to clinch the 450 class title.  The Portuguese Enduro star finished two and half hours behind race winner Cyril Despres (KTM 450cc) to match Frétigné’s best performance in 2005 with a fifth position overall.  Quad rider Josef Machanek caused more reason for celebrations in the Yamaha camp with his overall victory in the Quad category.  The Czech proved the speed and endurance of his Banshee YFZ350 by leading only five fellow competitors from 13 starters over the finish line.

Helder Rodrigues’ fifth position overall places him as second best privateer rider behind Norwegian Pal Anders Ullevalseter (KTM), who finished fourth overall, but on a bigger capacity bike.  Besides consistency, Helder showed some fearsome speed on the more technical stages.  He finished second in the sandy opening leg, won the second and tenth stage and finished third in the 16 km beach special on the last day.  On the stages where top speed was less advantageous, Rodrigues always made sure to claw back time on the bigger bikes.

The accumulated experience of his previous two Dakar participations helped Rodrigues to celebrate his first African stage win this year. ; “The stage of day 10 was very technical, which allowed me to battle with bikes from the bigger categories.  With my 450, I lost out somewhat on the straight sections, but I was able to make up for this on the technical parts.  I’ve had a good day and this victory is very important for the team, and me as well, because it’s the first time that I’ve won a special stage in Africa.  Previously, my best was a third place last year”.

Rodrigues continued by confirming he exceeded his own expectations, and vows to be back next year even stronger.  “My aim was to be in the top five and to win one stage.  I am fifth in the overall rankings and I won two stages.  So I am more then happy.  We all worked well together.  The team was better and so was the Yamaha.  I was unable to give priority to preparing the Dakar because of my endurance race commitments.  But next year, I’ll change priorities and dedicate more time to preparing for the Dakar”.

Besides the winning success of Rodrigues there have been other great achievements of WR450F riders.  The Frenchman Michel Marchini finished seventh overall and second in the 450 class, while Dutchwomen Mirjam Pol again managed to finish as runner-up female.  She has left 84 males in her wake and 49th overall is a significant improvement over her 80th place last year.

Although it is not an official category victory, Mirjam is in fact the fastest woman on a 450, as her French opponent Ludivine Puy (KTM) finished in front of her on a bigger capacity machine.  The formidable result for the 23-year-old sports teacher did not come easy and she has had some ups and downs since leaving Lisbon.

“At the end of the marathon stage in Foum Zguid, I started running a fever and it got worse the next day.  Then during the stage to Zouerat I landed badly after a jump and twisted my right ankle.  I did not think much of it in the beginning, but the pain kept me awake all night.”  With her ankle tightly strapped, the strong Dutchwoman kept on going.  “I don’t care so much about my ranking or about the other women in the race.  Ludivine Puy was better than me this year”, she admits looking at the rankings.

During the stage to Atar, Mirjam deserved a fair-play award when she stopped to give another top female competitor Swedish Annie Seel some fuel.  Most of the seasoned contestants judged the 2007 Dakar to be a little bit easier then previous editions.  Over half of the 245 motorcyclist, 132 to be precise, made it to the finish, a percentage that is slightly higher then past events. 

Final Results: Stage 15 and Complete Standings of Riders in the 2007 Dakar Rally

2007 Dakar Rally - Stage 15 Results for Top 10 Riders

Pos.	N°	Name	Make	Time	Variation
1	023	VINTERS (LAT)	KTM	00:08:42	00:00:00
2	006	ULLEVALSETER (NOR)	KTM	00:08:49	00:00:07
3	010	RODRIGUES (POR)	YAMAHA	00:09:07	00:00:25
4	005	DE AZEVEDO (BRE)	KTM	00:09:10	00:00:28
5	028	CROQUELOIS (FRA)	YAMAHA	00:09:12	00:00:30
6	008	CASTEU (FRA)	KTM	00:09:14	00:00:32
7	085	BETHYS (FRA)	HONDA	00:09:27	00:00:45
8	233	WILLEMSEN (HOL)	YAMAHA	00:09:31	00:00:49
9	033	GONCALVES (POR)	HONDA	00:09:34	00:00:52
10	203	MERKIT (TUR)	KTM	00:09:36	00:00:54
25	009	BLAIS (USA)	KTM

2007 Dakar Rally - Final Results for All Riders

Pos.	N°	Name	Make	Time	Variation	Penalty
1	002	DESPRES (FRA)	KTM	51:36:53	00:00:00
2	008	CASTEU (FRA)	KTM	52:11:12	00:34:19
3	009	BLAIS (USA)	KTM	52:28:59	00:52:06
4	006	ULLEVALSETER (NOR)	KTM	53:14:50	01:37:57
5	010	RODRIGUES (POR)	YAMAHA	54:07:34	02:30:41
6	023	VINTERS (LAT)	KTM	54:21:14	02:44:21	03:00
7	020	MARCHINI (FRA)	YAMAHA	54:37:20	03:00:27
8	085	BETHYS (FRA)	HONDA	55:03:26	03:26:33	03:00
9	103	KATRINAK (SLQ)	KTM	55:17:03	03:40:10	10:00
10	016	CZACHOR (POL)	KTM	56:00:57	04:24:04
11	011	KNUIMAN (HOL)	HONDA	56:14:32	04:37:39	10:00
12	019	PLANET (FRA)	KTM	56:51:11	05:14:18
13	024	STANOVNIK (SLO)	KTM	58:11:41	06:34:48
14	116	VINTERS (LAT)	KTM	58:44:46	07:07:53	10:00
15	133	MACEK (CZE)	YAMAHA	59:16:38	07:39:45
16	031	PAIN (FRA)	YAMAHA	59:18:50	07:41:57	30:00
17	015	ALGAY (FRA)	YAMAHA	59:55:25	08:18:32	09:00
18	146	CLASSEN (AFS)	KTM	60:14:50	08:37:57	33:00
19	043	BERGLUND (SUE)	KTM	60:34:26	08:57:33
20	102	KATAI (HUN)	KTM	60:37:25	09:00:32	05:00
21	047	FLOIRAC (FRA)	KTM	60:42:50	09:05:57
22	028	CROQUELOIS (FRA)	YAMAHA	60:53:28	09:16:35	16:00
23	033	GONCALVES (POR)	HONDA	60:55:47	09:18:54
24	017	DABROWSKI (POL)	KTM	60:58:02	09:21:09
25	005	DE AZEVEDO (BRE)	KTM	61:21:38	09:44:45	01:00:00
26	076	LEPAN (FRA)	KTM	61:24:30	09:47:37
27	110	CARILLON (FRA)	KTM	61:27:58	09:51:05
28	040	VAN PELT (NED)	HONDA	61:32:46	09:55:53	13:00
29	223	COTTET (SUI)	YAMAHA	61:34:43	09:57:50
30	004	ESTEVE PUJOL (ESP)	KTM	61:42:25	10:05:32	05:00:00
31	232	MC COY (USA)	PAI	61:44:25	10:07:32
32	067	MATEUS (POR)	KTM	61:58:16	10:21:23	10:00
33	213	VAYSSIE (FRA)	YAMAHA	62:17:07	10:40:14
34	221	RAMOS MARTINEZ (ESP)	KTM	62:57:46	11:20:53	13:00
35	112	FEUILLADE (FRA)	YAMAHA	63:08:17	11:31:24	06:00
36	038	LAZARD (URU)	KTM	63:37:05	12:00:12
37	170	CASANOVA (ESP)	TOT CURSES	64:21:19	12:44:26	16:00
38	054	MONTEAUD (FRA)	HONDA	65:05:42	13:28:49	28:00
39	138	VAN DER LAAN (HOL)	KTM	65:23:14	13:46:21	30:00
40	211	PRONK (HOL)	KTM	65:53:18	14:16:25
41	061	DUBOIS (unk)	KTM	65:57:22	14:20:29	28:00
42	235	PABISKA (TCH)	KTM	66:02:57	14:26:04
43	086	GADIOUX (FRA)	YAMAHA	66:17:39	14:40:46
44	042	PUY (FRA)	KTM	66:25:30	14:48:37
45	105	CISCAR CHISBERT (ESP)	HONDA	66:57:39	15:20:46
46	051	GYENES (ROM)	KTM	67:09:15	15:32:22	03:00
47	092	DE GROOT (HOL)	HONDA	67:41:19	16:04:26
48	233	WILLEMSEN (HOL)	YAMAHA	67:45:05	16:08:12	06:00
49	093	POL (HOL)	YAMAHA	67:48:12	16:11:19
50	229	AMBROSIO (BRE)	KTM	68:03:19	16:26:26
51	032	KASTAN (CZE)	SUZUKI	68:38:46	17:01:53	03:00
52	049	PUERTAS HERRERA (ESP)	KTM	68:43:52	17:06:59	23:00
53	013	PAGNON (FRA)	KTM	69:07:14	17:30:21	03:00
54	186	ORTA GOMEZ (ESP)	TOT CURSES	69:07:56	17:31:03	06:00
55	139	VAN DORP (HOL)	KTM	69:25:04	17:48:11
56	097	ARNOULT (FRA)	KTM	69:41:34	18:04:41
57	022	TIXADOR (FRA)	KTM	70:00:35	18:23:42
58	200	IRVINE (MEX)	YAMAHA	70:04:49	18:27:56	01:25:00
59	204	TORUNLAR (TUR)	KTM	70:15:31	18:38:38	31:00
60	152	RONCONI (ITA)	YAMAHA	70:30:53	18:54:00
61	203	MERKIT (TUR)	KTM	70:43:41	19:06:48	42:00
62	104	ARAGONES (ESP)	KTM	71:05:04	19:28:11	36:00
63	142	MATESANZ MERINO (ESP)	KTM	71:13:36	19:36:43	01:00:00
64	205	BARRIERE VARJU (AUS)	KTM	71:35:11	19:58:18	05:00
65	260	MACHACEK (CZE)	YAMAHA	71:40:26	20:03:33	13:00
66	056	LE POEN (FRA)	KTM	71:49:34	20:12:41	10:00
67	052	BONNET (FRA)	KTM	72:01:26	20:24:33
68	123	AUGUSTYNS (BEL)	KTM	72:04:03	20:27:10	10:00
69	155	SNIJDERS (HOL)	KTM	72:35:55	20:59:02
70	062	CARON (FRA)	YAMAHA	73:04:56	21:28:03
71	050	KATERBAU (ALL)	KTM	73:09:14	21:32:21
72	168	CAPODACQUA (ITA)	KTM	73:18:48	21:41:55
73	126	HAMARD (FRA)	KTM	73:24:17	21:47:24
74	171	CASTELA ALA MARTINS (POR)	KTM	73:45:38	22:08:45	10:00
75	140	VAN LEE (HOL)	APRILIA	73:53:44	22:16:51	05:00:00
76	114	BLANCKAERT (FRA)	HONDA	74:07:02	22:30:09	20:00
77	058	DEVOUGE (FRA)	KTM	74:16:23	22:39:30	27:00
78	063	ARREDONDO (GUA)	KTM	74:49:14	23:12:21	01:00:00
79	083	BLONDEL (FRA)	HONDA	74:52:35	23:15:42
80	094	MIOTTO (ITA)	YAMAHA	75:15:16	23:38:23	01:19:00
81	074	VULLIET (FRA)	YAMAHA	75:45:18	24:08:25	01:09:00
82	121	VERBURGH (BEL)	HONDA	76:03:42	24:26:49	16:00
83	073	VULLIET (FRA)	YAMAHA	76:08:56	24:32:03	03:00
84	132	ROCHE (FRA)	KTM	76:35:22	24:58:29	13:00
85	261	AVENDANO (ESP)	SUZUKI	76:55:15	25:18:22	02:03:00
86	145	WATSON-MILLER (ALL)	KTM	77:28:07	25:51:14
87	046	MAZET (FRA)	KTM	77:38:03	26:01:10
88	141	INGLES MASSONI (ESP)	KTM	78:06:09	26:29:16	01:06:00
89	256	PENA (ESP)	CAN - AM	78:18:58	26:42:05
90	078	FREINADEMETZ (AUT)	KTM	78:24:20	26:47:27	26:00
91	075	CHIRENT (FRA)	YAMAHA	78:33:05	26:56:12
92	224	TRISCONI (SUI)	YAMAHA	78:44:56	27:08:03	03:00
93	109	LAROZA (USA)	KTM	79:11:00	27:34:07	10:00
94	098	SEEL (SUE)	KTM	79:18:20	27:41:27	24:00
95	180	STIJKEL (HOL)	YAMAHA	79:36:27	27:59:34	03:33:00
96	197	JONES (USA)	KTM	80:12:36	28:35:43
97	252	MOREL (FRA)	CAN - AM	80:41:33	29:04:40
98	106	ZUIDINGA (HOL)	YAMAHA	80:55:33	29:18:40	03:00
99	175	MEI (ITA)	BETA	81:28:31	29:51:38
100	208	KROON (HOL)	HONDA	81:29:12	29:52:19	06:00
101	150	BROOME (ENG)	HONDA	81:58:02	30:21:09
102	100	RHODES (FRA)	KTM	82:12:55	30:36:02
103	045	BIANCHI PRATA (POR)	YAMAHA	82:13:53	30:37:00	01:03:00
104	161	BRAGA (FRA)	KTM	82:39:59	31:03:06
105	251	MOREL (FRA)	CAN - AM	82:42:46	31:05:53
106	159	MALONE (UK)	KTM	83:21:52	31:44:59
107	082	VISSER (HOL)	HONDA	83:38:17	32:01:24
108	099	GUY (FRA)	KTM	84:00:57	32:24:04
109	115	LEBLANC (unk)	HONDA	84:27:33	32:50:40	01:00:00
110	173	DE BOIS (HOL)	HONDA	84:30:02	32:53:09	03:00
111	077	COET (FRA)	KTM	84:36:42	32:59:49	05:00:00
112	113	CLAIR (FRA)	KTM	85:05:56	33:29:03	03:00
113	176	VILLY (FRA)	YAMAHA	85:29:34	33:52:41	26:00
114	059	JAYEZ (AFG)	YAMAHA	86:51:40	35:14:47	38:00
115	177	ANO (FRA)	YAMAHA	87:58:56	36:22:03	02:00:00
116	183	MELLONI RIBAS (ESP)	YAMAHA	88:33:32	36:56:39	05:40:00
117	134	DE GROOT (HOL)	YAMAHA	88:46:45	37:09:52	01:03:00
118	066	BROWET (BEL)	YAMAHA	89:22:59	37:46:06	22:00
119	018	GUYOMARC’H (FRA)	HONDA	89:41:33	38:04:40	30:00
120	071	DULLUM (DEN)	KTM	90:14:04	38:37:11	10:00
121	187	SOUEID AHMED (MTN)	KTM	91:23:29	39:46:36
122	257	FILLATRE (FRA)	CAN - AM	94:41:20	43:04:27
123	191	DABRIGEON (FRA)	KTM	95:07:14	43:30:21	15:00:00
124	219	OHASHI (JAP)	YAMAHA	95:45:39	44:08:46	03:00
125	131	HUGHES (AUS)	KTM	95:53:07	44:16:14	05:00:00
126	151	KIRISHIMA (JAP)	YAMAHA	96:30:12	44:53:19	05:00:00
127	218	TILLIETTE (FRA)	HONDA	98:20:06	46:43:13	07:45:00
128	220	BESTEL (AFS)	KTM	98:42:59	47:06:06	05:00:00
129	118	TILLIETTE (FRA)	HONDA	99:23:04	47:46:11	09:17:00
130	124	DE HAUTECLOCQUE (FRA)	HONDA	99:31:38	47:54:45	06:00:00
131	227	TONIN (FRA)	KTM	100:01:03	48:24:10	05:13:00
132	088	CUCURACHI (ITA)	KTM	135:07:14	83:30:21	07:24:00