As the Dakar headed towards the Chilean capital Santiago, it was Carlos Sainz who was the big winner on stage 10. Already in the lead heading out of La Serena, the Spaniard drove faultlessly, not only maintaining his advantage, but also adding to it.
‘El Matador’ was in no mood for resting on his laurels during stage 10 as he looked to pass second place Nasser at the earliest opportunity.
He said: “There were no problems on the stage, it took us 80km to catch up with Nasser. We stayed behind him because he couldn’t hear the GPS so we couldn’t get past. It was quite a slow and winding route, mostly lanes.”
With Nasser’s hearing playing up, Sainz found himself driving through the dust but that did not stop him taking a few priceless minutes off his team-mate.
Over in the bike class, defending champion Marc Coma’s fighting spirit in the face of hefty penalties continue to win the Barcelona fan more admirers. Indeed, he underlined his credentials as one of the best around with yet another stage win.
Coma said: “We’ve left the Atacama Desert behind us and we’re heading south. It’s a complete change of terrain. Stage 10 was like a day of endurance riding. There was a lot of skidding, but it was technical and interesting. Every day, I try to show that I’m quick and comfortable on the tracks.
A debatable six-hour time penalty has ended Coma’s chances of retaining his crown but he is sticking with the race. The proud Catalan remains determined to show Dakar fans the quality he possesses.
He added: “I went looking for victory. I started first and opened the road for the whole stage. It’s hard. In fact it’s the hardest thing to do. Trying to claw back some time is difficult too. But we did it, so I’m happy, even proud – all thanks to the team."
Vladimir Chagin recorded an historic 55th stage win in the truck class and, in the process, increased his lead over his Kamaz team-mates. The Tsar was full of praise for the route as he keeps on trucking right towards another Dakar title.
Chagin said: “In my opinion, it was the finest stage of the rally. Since the start, it’s been a wonderful race, but today, on the 238km of the timed section, it was perfection itself.”
The Tsar also gave us an insight in to the mind of a champion and it seems he drives his truck like some kind of giant Nintendo Wii. He added: “Sometimes it almost felt like a computer game. In sporting terms, it was problem-free. It was a good stage which we took at an easy pace, the dice seem to have been cast already for the leading places.”
Spotlight on Red Bull riders
The common train of thought in the bivouac is that Cyril Despres is on course to canter to victory as the Dakar leaves Chile for Argentina. But, there is still one man who is not taking a Despres victory for granted, Cyril himself.
The Frenchman said: “Stage 10 was a difficult ride with lots of danger. For sure, I rode with my head today because the race was not there to be won but it could have been lost.”
With his nearest rivals all nearly 1hr 30mins behind, Despres knows it is his race to lose. He added: “I was just focused on keeping concentrated today. On every corner there was the chance to hit a rock or a cactus, maybe even fall in a river bed.”
It is a champion’s mentality which sees the Frenchman lead going in the final four stages. What his tremendous bursts of speed allow him to do is conserve his KTM bike when he needs to.
Despres reflected: “It was better to ride smooth, nice and steady. In a race over three day race then perhaps you don't have the chance to ease off for an hour but, in a two-week period, you can afford to go steady sometimes.”
Daily Dakar Daiquiri Moment: So long big blue
As the Dakar leaves the coast of Chile, the Pacific Ocean has as good a reason as ever for being so blue. Following the race has taken me up and down Chile's north coast and there have been splendid sights aplenty along the way.
As we approached Santiago, however, we realised that none of us in the car had as yet dipped a toe into the big blue. Keen to right this wrong, we pulled off the highway 100km north of Chile’s capital to the unassuming town of Los Molles.
With no beach in sight after travelling along a dirt track for a mile or two, we stopped to ask a local if we were heading in the right direction. The kid turned out to be a real ‘yes man’ as he answered in the affirmative to our questions concerning the beach, a few ales, seafood and all the other pleasures of the seaside.
The young Chilean was not wrong with his frank assessment of the joys of Los Molles. As we finally reached the beach, we quickly found the place had all we were looking for and more, full body massage anyone?
When your travelling with the Dakar you quickly learn you have to take your breaks as and when they come. A few golden hours chilling by the beach were just what the doctor ordered. Too soon though it was back on the trail of the world’s toughest moto-endurance race.
For more info, visit the official Dakar Rally website, the Volkswagen Motorsport site or Twitter along with driver Mark Miller.
iPhone users can also follow all the Dakar action with Volkswagen Motorsport’s free Dakar Rally app.
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