Pro 2013 Dakar Rally

Olivier Pain Still Leads Dakar Rally

Plenty Of Pain In This Year's Rally
Some late-sleeping Kurt Caselli fans might have woken up to see that the Red Bull KTM rider was leading the overall standings of the Dakar Rally. Turns out it was some misinformation on the official website of the race, but it was fun while it lasted.
Caselli ended up 20th today and he sits 19th in the overall standings after the fifth stage of the race. Yamaha's David Casteau won today's stage - a 255-mile ride over a mix of rocky ground, hard pack and just six miles of sand that made up the 85 miles of timed special - over his teammate Olivier Pain as the Yamaha team is starting to make a serious mark on the world's toughest rally.
Although Casteau won the stage (the third of his career), it's Pain who leads the overall standings with the Yamaha men one-two after five days of racing. Pain leads Casteau by one minute and 15 seconds with defending race champion and four-time Dakar winner Cyril Despres third - six minutes and seven seconds behind Pain.
Third in today's stage went to Juan Pedrero on the KTM MRW Rally KTM, the Spaniard bouncing back after two rough days in the rally. Pedrero finished second in the second stage of the rally and was third overall at the time, but has since slipped down the standings. Today's effort helped his cause and he not sits 21st overall.
Today's hard luck story goes to Joan Barreda, the Husqvarna Rallye Team By Speedbrain rider who won yesterday's stage and climbed back to fourth in the overall standings after slipping back to 18th the day before. Today the Spaniard ended up dead last to basically ruin his chances of a top finish. The Husky rider suffered a mechanical problem at the 72 km mark and repairs left him some three hours off the pace today. Barreda is now 54th overall.
Honda's Johnny Campbell finished today's stage in 25th place and that moved him from 120th overall to 99th.

Yeah, JC suffered MORE fuel pump problems stranding him out on the dunes. They didn't say anything about Kurt in stage 3.
 
Pain Still Leads Dakar, Kurt Caselli 12th!

Olivier Pain still out front, but Caselli improves

Somewhat fittingly, Chile's Francesco "Chaleco" Lopez won the first fully Chilean stage of the Dakar Rally today, the Tamarugal Racing XC KTM rider takng his second stage win of this year's rally and the eighth stage victory of his Dakar career.
Lopez took over at the front when early leader Paolo Goncavles had a technical problem 206 miles into today's stage from Arica to Calama in Chile. From there it was all Lopez in the long (276 miles of special stage with 180 miles of link) and his result today bumped him up two spots in the overall standings from sixth to fourth.
The overall lead is still held by Yamaha's Olivier Pain, but Red Bull KTM's Cyril Despres cut into the margin today as he moved from third overall to second. With Despres finishing third in today's sixth stage and Pain dropping to 10th, the pair are separated by just two minutes and 22 seconds.
Pain's teammate David Casteau finished 15th in today's stage and lost second plaace in the overall standings to Despres. Still, Casteau is third overall - four minutes and 48 seconds behind his teammate.
Despres' factory KTM teammate Ruben Faria finished second in today's stage six and he's now fifth overall.
Californian Kurt Caselli had his best day of this year's Dakar, the Red Bull KTM rider finishing the stage in fourth place and vaulting to 12th in the overall standings in his Dakar debut.
Honda's Johnny Campbell, meanwhile, also had a good day, the veteran off-roader finishing today's stage in 24th.​
 
Pain Still Leads Dakar, Kurt Caselli 12th!

Olivier Pain still out front, but Caselli improves
Somewhat fittingly, Chile's Francesco "Chaleco" Lopez won the first fully Chilean stage of the Dakar Rally today, the Tamarugal Racing XC KTM rider takng his second stage win of this year's rally and the eighth stage victory of his Dakar career.
Lopez took over at the front when early leader Paolo Goncavles had a technical problem 206 miles into today's stage from Arica to Calama in Chile. From there it was all Lopez in the long (276 miles of special stage with 180 miles of link) and his result today bumped him up two spots in the overall standings from sixth to fourth.
The overall lead is still held by Yamaha's Olivier Pain, but Red Bull KTM's Cyril Despres cut into the margin today as he moved from third overall to second. With Despres finishing third in today's sixth stage and Pain dropping to 10th, the pair are separated by just two minutes and 22 seconds.
Pain's teammate David Casteau finished 15th in today's stage and lost second plaace in the overall standings to Despres. Still, Casteau is third overall - four minutes and 48 seconds behind his teammate.
Despres' factory KTM teammate Ruben Faria finished second in today's stage six and he's now fifth overall.
Californian Kurt Caselli had his best day of this year's Dakar, the Red Bull KTM rider finishing the stage in fourth place and vaulting to 12th in the overall standings in his Dakar debut.
Honda's Johnny Campbell, meanwhile, also had a good day, the veteran off-roader finishing today's stage in 24th.

Good news for both Mericans.....
 
Caselli Wins Stage 7!!

That didn't take long: Just seven stages into his Dakar Rally career, Red Bull KTM's Kurt Caselli won his first stage today, the Californian winning the high-speed stage seven that took the field from Calama to Salta in Argentina. Caselli's stage win in his his debut Dakar also moved him into the top 10 in the overall standings in eighth.

Caselli beat fellow KTM man Francisco Lopez, the Chilean who has won three stages in this year's rally ending up one minute and 23 seconds behind Caselli. Yamaha's Olivier Pain, the overall leader after seven stages, finished third on the same time as Lopez. That means the Frenchman leads Lopez by six minutes and six seconds in the overall standings.

Red Bull KTM's Cyril Despres, the defending race champion and four-time winner of the Dakar Rally, lost some 13 minutes in today's stage and drops to fifth in the overall standings - 27 minutes and 46 seconds behind Pain.

Fourth in the overalls standings is now held by Despres' Red Bull KTM teammate Ruben Faria, the Portuguese rider ending up fifth in today's stage seven.

Caselli's win today bumped him up four spots in the overall standings from 12th to eighth. He now trails fifth-placed Despres by some 13 minutes, but is only seven minutes from sixth placed Jakub Przygonski.
 
Caselli Wins Stage 7!!

That didn't take long: Just seven stages into his Dakar Rally career, Red Bull KTM's Kurt Caselli won his first stage today, the Californian winning the high-speed stage seven that took the field from Calama to Salta in Argentina. Caselli's stage win in his his debut Dakar also moved him into the top 10 in the overall standings in eighth.

Caselli beat fellow KTM man Francisco Lopez, the Chilean who has won three stages in this year's rally ending up one minute and 23 seconds behind Caselli. Yamaha's Olivier Pain, the overall leader after seven stages, finished third on the same time as Lopez. That means the Frenchman leads Lopez by six minutes and six seconds in the overall standings.

Red Bull KTM's Cyril Despres, the defending race champion and four-time winner of the Dakar Rally, lost some 13 minutes in today's stage and drops to fifth in the overall standings - 27 minutes and 46 seconds behind Pain.

Fourth in the overalls standings is now held by Despres' Red Bull KTM teammate Ruben Faria, the Portuguese rider ending up fifth in today's stage seven.

Caselli's win today bumped him up four spots in the overall standings from 12th to eighth. He now trails fifth-placed Despres by some 13 minutes, but is only seven minutes from sixth placed Jakub Przygonski.

:USA: America! Fuck Ya! :rocker:
 
What Caselli Said!

Kurt Caselli after Winning his stage

Here's what Red Bull KTM's Kurt Caselli said after winning today's seventh stage of the Dakar Rally...
"It's good, I mean, today was easy. It was just roads, there was no off-track or anything - pretty easy to follow. Ruben [Faria] and I had to stop a little bit for Cyril [Despres]. I don't know why, he had some problems with something. I waited for him, but he told me to keep going, so we've come here and hopefully we can figure it out tonight for the marathon stage. Everything for me was fine. I'm learning the navigation better and I can understand it. This is my first Dakar so I'm just learning a lot. I didn't have any idea what to expect when I first came here. It's fun and I'm enjoying it. The race is great and the people are too. I'm having a good time."​
 
Barreda Wins Stage, Johnny Campbell Second!

Joan Barreda Wins Stage 8

Joan Barreda rode his Husqvarna By Speedbrain Husky to victory in today's eight stage of theDakar Rally, the Spanish rider taking advantage of the navigational miscues by some of the top men in the rally - including yesterday's stage winner Kurt Caselli.
Caselli had never led off the start prior to today and he made a wrong turn at the 30 km and then got lost again at the 118 km mark, along with several of the other top men. Caselli ended up 57th in the stage and it drops him to 11th overall - 36 minutes and six seconds behind the overall leader.
Barreda won the last stage - from Salta to Tucuman in Argentina - over Honda's Johnny Campbell, the Californian having his best day thus far in the rally. The second-place finish vaulted Campbell up to 67th overall as he continues to climb back up the rankings after a miserable stage three that saw mechanical problems push him down to 158th.
The Dakar is now being led overall by Frenchman David Casteau on the factory Yamaha. Casteau minimized his mistakes today to finish sixth and that gives him a nine-minute and 25-second lead over Red Bull KTM's Cyril Despres in the overall standings.
Casteau's Yamaha teammate Olivier Pain, the overall leader going into today's stage, was one of those who had a rough day. Pain was one of those suffering with a navigational snafu and he ended up 79th today. It drops him to fifth overall - 16 minutes and 10 seconds behind Casteau.
Third, fourth and fifth in today's stage went to men having their best days of the rally: Ivan Jakes, Pedro Bianchi Prata and Vincent Guindani.​
 
Cyril Despres Wins Dakar's Stage Nine

Long stage to defending race champion

Frenchman Cyril Despres won his first stage of this year's Dakar Rally today, the defending race champion and four-time Dakar winner earning victory in the longest stage of the rally - a 368-mile run from San Miguel de Tucuman to Cordoba in Argentina - a day after the racers had their first rest day of the rally.
The stage win - combined with the misfortune of the Yamaha man he was chasing, David Casteau - puts Despres second in the overall standings behind new overall leader Ruben Faria. And Faria is the man hired to make sure Despres makes it to the finish line in first place - so for all practical purposes, Despres leads the Dakar Rally.
"It was a good day with lots of attacking and lots of turns," Despres said. "It would have been impossible for me to do well without my trainer, who makes me work on a bicycle year-round, or without my Michelin tires. Thanks to them for making my muscles strong and my tires sturdy. When I get back to the bivouac, I'll be able to check this stage on my list. I knew that it would be physically demanding, that I'd have to give it my all. I've got blisters on my feet and my hands are sore, but I had to bang my fist on the table to say: 'Hey, I'm here!' Ruben [Faria] and I are racing well for the team; he's in good shape and that's the most important thing right now."
The leader going into today's stage has had a horrible day. Casteau's troubles started early when he and his factory Yamaha struck a cow at the 130-mile mark of the stage. The Frenchman remounted with an injured shoulder after getting assistance from Yamaha's Vincent Guindani, but he'd lost over 21 minutes to Despres and it would only get worse as he encountered a problem with his fuel tank that he couldn't repair.
Husky By Speedbrain's Joan Barreda finished second to Despres in today's stage, the Spaniard ending up some four minutes behind the Frenchman. Barreda's Italian teammate Alessandro Botturi finished third for his best stage finish in what is his second Dakar Rally.
Faria ended up fourth in today's stage with Honda's Helder Rodrigues fifth - an effort thatmatched his best from stage four.
Of the Americans it was Honda's Johnny Campbell faring best in stage nine, the Californian ending the stage in 10th. That result - and his second-place finish on Saturday - bumps him up to 37th overall.
Red Bull KTM's Kurt Caselli rebounded from his horrible Saturday to finish 17th in today's stage. Caselli is now 30th overall after incurring three hours and 20 minutes worth of penalties on Saturday.​
 
Joan Barreda Wins Stage 10 Of Dakar Rally

Joan Barreda Wins, But Despres In Control
Husqvarna By Speedbrain's Joan Barreda and Red Bull KTM's Cyril Despres had a back-and-forth battle in today's 10th stage of the Dakar Rally with the win eventually going to Barreda by a minute and 15 seconds. But there's no doubt that the big winner was Despres, the defending race champion now in complete control of the race as he tries to win his fifth Dakar Rally.
Despres took over at the top of the overall standings with his ride today, the Frenchman leading his teammate Ruban Faria in the race by one minute and 37 seconds with Faria in position to aid his teammate for the duration.
Third place overall is held by another KTM - this one ridden by Chilean Francisco Lopez on the Tamarugal Racing team. Lopez, who has won three stages of this year's rally, is 13 minutes and 41 seconds behind Despres.
Today's stage win for Barreda was his fourth in this year's Dakar, the Spanish rider moving up to 18th in the overall standings with his effort. When he doesn't have troubles, Barreda has proven to be the fastest man in the rally. But he's finished 10th, 44th, 144th, 29th, 20th and second in the six stages he hasn't won. Despres, on the other hand, has only one stage victory to his credit - but he's been fifth, 12th, third, 14th, fifth, third, 32nd, 58th and second in the other stages.
American Kurt Caselli ride his Red Bull KTM to fifth in today's stage. The Californian is now 20th overall after 10 stages.
Honda's Johnny Campbell continues his surge, the veteran off-road racer finishing 21st in today's stage. He's 22nd overall after 10 stages.
The race is on between Caselli (20th overall) and Campbell (22nd overall)...:ride:
 
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